Many industries have hazards and are where the workers should always observe safety. In sectors, accidents, injuries, and even death occur and may get labeled as “wrongful death” if negligence is present. Finding a Macon wrongful death lawyer can help sift through the information if a wrongful death occurred. Regarding industries, these wrongful deaths happen in these industries the most:
- Transportation
- Manufacturing plants
- Construction Sights
How Wrongful Deaths Occur in Transportation
Where more people travel, death from car accidents is always an issue. In big cities, many people are on major highways. There is a case for wrongful death if the person hit dies in a car accident and negligence was the primary factor.
Commercial businesses that offer transportation services, whether for people or goods, must have liability insurance to cover accidents, especially when death happens. Transportation is one of the most hazardous industries where death occurs.
Commercial truck drivers can hit and take the life of another person in a vehicle, and the company is responsible. Insurance is paid through liability to cover the damages. It is meant to cover hospitalization, medication, recovery and rehab, funeral costs, and other bills caused by accidents.
Insurance companies try to wiggle their way out of paying claims, which calls for a wrongful death attorney if the person hit by the commercial vehicle dies as the cause of the wreck. The company and its insurance are held responsible, and negligence is the word that will force them to pay.
How Wrongful Deaths Occur in Manufacturing Plants?
There are two ways a manufacturing plant is held accountable for wrongful deaths when they occur. The first deals with the factory and its machinery and plant organization policies and procedures. The second is the products put forth by a manufacturing plant.
Wrongful Death Inside the Plant
Like any workplace, safety must always be at the forefront of every company policy. There is no room for negligence or errors. Negligence in manufacturing companies could mean many things. These are some examples of previous causes of death where negligence was a factor.
- Mechanical failures kill a worker due to mistakes made in the fixing or inability to repair the machines.
- Slips and falls would not happen if upper management took preventative measures.
- Any accident that kills a worker when upper management knows about the dangers and fails to address them.
Wrongful Deaths from Products Created by a Manufacturing Company
Everything needs to get tested before putting products out on the market. Products put on the market with defaults, defects, salmonella, outright broken parts, and chemicals that are unsafe for the public, including children and pets, must be deemed 100 percent safe. The manufacturing company is sued for wrongful death if the product kills a consumer or pet.
How Wrongful Deaths Occur at Construction Sites?
Like manufacturing companies, construction sites have many forms of dangerous equipment and tools where safety is a priority. Every construction site has a foreman or supervisor overseeing the project’s labor to ensure all workers are working safely.
Some of these tools and machines also take mechanics to repair them. If the machine or equipment breaks, the first person everyone goes to is the mechanic who fixed the broken tools or equipment last. Negligence on the mechanics’ part will cause wrongful death if the person dies from the broken machinery or tool.
Likewise, the foreman or supervisor is responsible for having a safe working environment. Injuries and death occur at construction sites primarily because of negligence and failure to create a safe environment for the workers.
Suppose the supervisor is told of an unsafe hazard, and they do nothing about it. If someone goes and falls or gets killed in a hazardous area, the supervisor is negligent, and the construction company is sued for wrongful death. These issues are avoided with follow-ups, lockout/tag outs, or fixing the problems.
What Is Wrongful Death?
Many people may confuse wrongful death with murder. This is not the same type of case, but homicides may get included in the situation. Two things make up wrongful death, and they are: intent to harm or kill and negligence. The intention to harm or kill may turn the case into a full-blown homicide case, but only negligence is often uncovered. Law enforcement agencies will carry out their separate investigations for homicide, which fall under criminal cases, while wrongful death and negligence fall under civil cases.
Many wonder if they should get an attorney for wrongful death, or maybe they are unsure if the unexpected death is considered a wrongful death. If someone caused the death through negligence, the attorney would know how to label the case and what steps to take to fight for the family’s rights.
Inside the free consultation, the attorney will also begin by explaining the legal term of “wrongful death.” Any questions are answered at that time, and all the information is gathered to see if there is anything the attorney can do for the family. Once they find negligence is present in the case, they will move on to the next steps.
Wrongful Death Attorneys Will Not Let Negligence Slide
Negligence is compared to lazy acts that could be avoided if someone in the company, or the operator of the machine or vehicle, took the initiative to be responsible, focus, and do their jobs. If everyone in the workforce does their job correctly and continues with the practices of OSHA safety regulations, negligence would never be an issue.
Unfortunately, this world has companies that will try to save a dollar before they try to save the lives of their workers. This is when specific details get overlooked, and accidents happen. These companies must be held accountable and pay the families left behind.
Wrongful death attorneys will open up an investigation. They will speak to witnesses while the story of what happened is fresh in their minds. They will take the witnesses’ testimonies and possibly reenact the accident scene. As they work to figure out the details, they will go up against the insurance companies of these industries and work out a settlement.
If the insurance companies fail to do their part and pay up, the attorney will take more action to bring the case to litigation. The insurance companies often lose the case and have to pay more than the initiative settlement.
Conclusion
The top three industries of transportation, manufacturing, and construction are the top three industries where wrongful death takes place. To find out if there is a case for the family left behind, they should contact the Macon wrongful death lawyer for more information.
