A 20-year-old mechanic was killed at a shop in Fort Myers after a swollen tire exploded under pressure Monday, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. while the man and at least one other worker were filling tires with air. As the man relieved air pressure from the tire, police said, it blew off the rim and struck him in the head. The other worker was also hit in the leg. Coworkers used towels to help stop the bleeding but emergency responders pronounced the 20-year-old dead at the scene at around 1 p.m.
A Centers for Disease Control State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Face) Report, a program that examines fatal occupational injuries, conducted following a similar situation with a 20-year-old apprentice mechanic in California recommended that employees never perform maintenance on an inflated tire. Additional recommendations from the report included the supervision of new employees and testing employees following training to ensure that they are ready to take on the job with less supervision.
In the latest available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released in November, private industry employers in the United States reported 2.8 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2022. This was a 7.5% increase from 2021. Approximately 5,486 fatal occupational injuries were recorded in the United States for 2022.
The fatal work injury rate, which was 3.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2021, was recorded as 3.7 per 100,000 in 2022. This means that, in 2022, a worker died every 96 minutes from a work-related injury. The data also showed that workers in transportation and material moving occupations experienced the most fatalities followed by construction and extraction workers.
Leesfield & Partners
As a law firm with over four decades of experience representing clients injured in and throughout Florida, Leesfield & Partners has become one of the top personal injury law firms in its field. Attorneys with the firm work diligently and with creative legal strategies to ensure they obtain the best possible result for injured clients and their families. Whether it is a painful slip and fall case or a case of negligent security resulting in injury to a worker, Leesfield & Partners attorneys will work tirelessly for their clients to not only achieve the best possible settlement amount but to also bring about change so that hopefully no one else falls victim to the same incident.
One instance of a workplace-related injury handled by Leesfield & Partners involved a gas station employee who was killed in a high-crime area with no security. Attorneys secured a $685,000 mediation result in the case.
Leesfield & Partners also obtained a $1.38 million award after a store employee was raped and robbed during the day at work. The store where the crime took place had reportedly reduced security before the attack.
The firm also handled the case of a cruise ship crewmember who lost his arm after going to the ship’s medical team for nausea. Cruise ship doctors ordered the maximum allowable dose of 25 mg of Promethazine. Instead of adhering to the black warning label on the box and administering medication to the man intramuscularly over a period of two minutes, the medical staff injected the drug into the man’s IV, causing him to feel an immediate and excruciating burning sensation through his right arm. The doctor refused to medevac the man from the ship to a medical facility better equipped to treat him and it was not until 17 hours after his first symptoms that he was able to disembark and seek medical treatment. By then, it was too late.
Doctors at the hospital performed an emergency fasciotomy, meaning that they a procedure that involves cutting thick connective tissue surrounding muscle compartments. Days later, when it became apparent the procedure was unsuccessful and his arm unsalvageable, doctors were forced to amputate.
Attorneys with the firm obtained a $3,337,500 arbitration award against the cruise line.
What To Do
If you find yourself injured at work, the most important thing you can do is to seek medical attention. Your health and well-being is paramount no matter the situation. As you begin recovery, worries about staggering medical bills, lost wages and permanent damage may come into play. This is when you may start to build your case.
It is crucial to preserve all documentation related to your injury. This may include CCTV footage that may have captured the moment where you were injured, medical records, doctor’s notes and or correspondence between you and your employer regarding the incident.
It is important not to hesitate when making your valid worker’s compensation claim. In Florida, the statute of limitations for filing a worker’s compensation claim is two years from the date of injury, but there are exceptions. These exceptions come into play if a person is legally disabled, if the injured person discovers the injury after the injury date, or if the defendant leaves Florida before the plaintiff can file a lawsuit.
If you or a loved one was injured in a workplace accident, please don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney for a free consultation today at 800-836-6400.