Utility Worker Killed in Bucket Truck Accident in McDuffie County, Georgia, Prompting Discussion about Bucket Truck Safety
A utility worker originally from Tamarac, Florida was killed in an unfortunate and fatal bucket truck accident while working at a roadside utility project in McDuffie County, Georgia. According to local news reports, WJBF News Channel 6, 48-year-old Andrew Francis, a utility worker from Florida, was working on Old Whiteoak Road in Dearing, Georgia on the afternoon of April 19, in a bucket truck when a vehicle driving down the road became caught in a cable line. Investigators believe that the cable line, that was part of the utility project, was stretched across the road when the accident happened, and Mr. Francis was pulled out of the bucket truck as the car became entangled. Mr. Francis was, sadly, pronounced dead at the scene of the terrible accident at 4:25 p.m. The horrific workplace accident prompts a serious discussion within the construction and utility work industries, as well as other industries in which bucket trucks are utilized, about bucket truck safety.
Bucket Truck Safety – Ejections from Bucket Trucks
According to Buckettrucks.org, a website dedicated to “bucket truck information”, being ejected from the bucket truck is the most common way that workers fall from bucket trucks. Falls from bucket trucks on the job happen for a number of reasons, including:
- Objects hitting the bucket truck (such as tree branches, debris, or another vehicle);
- The basket or boom part of the bucket truck snagging on an object, causing the bucket truck boom to recoil and release rapidly;
- The bucket truck lift rope breaking;
- The load slip breaking;
- Ropes used to secure or “tie off” branches breaking or slipping, causing branches to fall or swing, hitting the bucket truck or bucket truck boom;
- Mechanical failure of the bucket truck vehicle; and
- Improper branch cutting, causing the branch to fall onto the bucket truck.
Buckettrucks.org recommends that, in order to mitigate serious bucket truck accidents and hazards, workers who work with bucket trucks should always wear a fall protection system. Of course, workers and their employers should always exercise extreme caution and vigilance when working with or around bucket trucks on the job.
Help for the Victims of Serious and Disabling Workplace Accidents in Decatur, Georgia
In Decatur, when a worker is injured on the job, whether in a bucket truck fall or other type of serious workplace accident, they may be entitled to compensation under Georgia workers’ compensation laws. Workers’ compensation benefits in Decatur may include wage replacement compensation, medical expense reimbursement, vocational rehabilitation, and more. In order to determine whether you may have a claim for workers’ compensation due to a serious workplace injury in Decatur, it is best to speak with an experienced Decatur workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as possible about your rights and options.
The experienced Decatur worker’s compensation lawyers at the O’Connell Law Firm are here to help Decatur workers get workers’ compensation benefits due to them. Contact the O’Connell Law Firm today and speak to a lawyer about your case now.
Source:
wjbf.com/csra-news/fl-man-died-after-accident-while-working-on-utility-bucket-truck-in-mcduffie-co/
