When Beasley Allen industrial accident lawyer Kendall Dunson investigates an on-the-job injury or fatality, he doesn’t just look for negligence on the part of the business owner. He also wants to know if a defective industrial product, such as dangerous machinery, may be to blame.
That was the situation in the case of Fitsroy Campbell, a young man who was seriously injured while working for Prairie Farms Dairy Inc., in Birmingham, Alabama last July.
On the day of the accident, Campbell was working in the smaller cooler where the milk is pasteurized. A defect in the machine caused milk stacks to get stuck. In order to keep the machinery running, an employee would have to manually pull the lodged stack into the appropriate location. The floor conveyor system where the milk stacks were becoming lodged was unguarded and offered no protection to employees from injuries.
When the milk stacks became stuck, Campbell went to remove the stacks when his right foot went through an unguarded part of the conveyor system. His foot became jammed in the machine’s chain and was mangled, resulting in a below-the-knee amputation. Campbell, known as a hard worker, was instantly disabled. He hired Dunson to investigate the accident.
The lawsuit filed by Dunson alleges Prairie Farms Dairy was negligent and failed to maintain a safe working environment by either removing or bypassing the safety devices that would have prevented Campbell’s injury. Dunson also alleges that the company also failed to train, direct, and warn Campbell and others who worked with the equipment that they would be in harm’s way.
Dunson also believes other defendants, including the maker of the floor conveyor system, were negligent in the design, installation, assembly, and maintenance of the machine or instrumentality that caused or contributed to Campbell’s injury. As a result, the young man’s life is changed forever. He will experience pain and physical challenges for the rest of his life.
Failure to warn about on-the-job hazards and lack of machinery guarding are among the 10 most frequently cited standard violations by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
“Because there are many potential parties at the site of an industrial accident that seriously injures or kills a worker, there are many possibilities for potential recovery,” Dunson says. “An experienced industrial accident lawyer can help workers or families of workers injured or killed on the job get the compensation they deserve.”
Industrial Accident Lawyers
Beasley Allen handles a variety of cases related to workplace safety. While all workers should be guaranteed a safe working environment, all too often we handle cases of serious injuries and deaths resulting from a hazardous work environment. Many times, our investigation reveals defective or dangerous machinery was involved, or employers failed to provide adequate protections or ignored safety regulations. If you have a client in need of an experienced industrial accident lawyer, contact Kendall Dunson or Evan Allen, lawyers in our Personal Injury; Products Liability Section who handle workplace litigation for our firm.
