San Diego Industrial Accident Proves Fatal for Worker
A worker who sustained fatal personal injuries in a San Diego industrial accident has been identified by local authorities, as 54-year-old Alberto Herrera-Garcia. According to a news report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the fatal on-the-job accident occurred the morning of December 24, 2009. Herrera-Garcia was unloading wooden beams from a forklift when the load shifted off the forklift and fell on top of him. The accident was reported at an industrial site on Marconi Drive.
The impact caused Herrera-Garcia to fall backward. He sustained severe head injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after the accident. Herrera-Garcia was said to have driven the truck, which was carrying the 20-foot long wooden beams. Authorities are investigating the cause of this fatal forklift accident.
I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Alberto Herrera-Garcia for their devastating loss. They will certainly be in my prayers.
Forklift Accidents Can be Devastating
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that there are approximately 85 forklift accident fatalities that occur each year. OSHA also estimates that each year in the United States, about 35,000 people are seriously injured in forklift accidents. A majority of forklift accident deaths occur at construction sites or manufacturing facilities, the report states.
Cause of the Accident
I trust investigators are looking into what caused this fatal job injury accident. There are many questions here that still need to be answered. Who was operating the forklift at the time of the accident? Did anyone else's negligence cause the load to shift and fall on Herrera-Garcia? Were the workers supervised at the time? Were they trained to do what they were doing at the time of the accident?
Workers Compensation and Third Party Claims
Herrera-Garcia's family will be entitled to receive worker's compensation benefits from his employer. However, California worker's compensation benefits are certainly not sufficient to cover medical expenses in case of serious injuries or enough to cover a family that has suffered the loss of a primary wage earner. In such cases, families of deceased workers would be well-advised to contact an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer, who has successfully filed third party claims on behalf of injured workers and their families. A third party claim is one that is filed against a negligent party, other than the employer, that caused the accident - such as a contractor, sub-contractor or the manufacturer of a defective product. These claims are usually worth a lot more to injured workers and their families than California workers compensation benefits.
We are not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call a reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free confidential consultation to "not a fault" persons named in this article and their family members.
