January 16, 2012--Nevada City, CA--In a terrible accident which occurred January 12 in the Nevada City area, a worker was decapitated while clearing debris from a roadside and feeding it into a wood chipper.
Martin Lara, a 50-year-old Applegate resident, was apparently clearing brush from beside a house along the Indian Shack Road, and was feeding large pieces of wood into a chipper. The wood apparently became stuck, and a rope which was used to feed wood into the machine wrapped around Lara’s neck, decapitating him. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Department is calling the incident an accident, but the investigation is ongoing.
The prevailing theory by authorities is that the rope became entangled somehow and was pulled into the machine, and as Lara was not able to reach the cutoff switch, he was unable to disentangle himself from the rope in time to escape.
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to Lara’s family in the time of this terrible tragedy.
Accident Statistics
According to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, work-related accidents and illnesses affected more than 4.1 million people per year, with at least half of those injured severely enough to require absences from work and ongoing medical care. At least 18 people per day die from work-related injuries, with construction workers accounting for one in five workplace-related deaths.
While car crashes are the leading cause of workplace fatalities, many other categories exist, such as falling objects, being caught between objects, and being pulled into machinery, as happened in this case.
What Caused This Accident
While authorities are still investigating the causes of this terrible accident, it does appear clear that there was a malfunction in the intended operation of the chipper unit and the rope used to secure large pieces of debris. Exactly how this malfunction occurred is still under investigation, but it does raise questions about the safety of the device.
If the victim could so easily be caught in the rope, were there safety measures which should have been taken to prevent this accident? Were the devices removed from this unit or not engaged properly? A good personal injury attorney should investigate the facts of this accident to determine if the injury was caused by negligence.
Liability Issues
In a case such as this, liability can attach to several people or groups. First, the company which manufactured the chipper could be liable if the safety devices in place were not sufficient to prevent the accident. The owner of the chipper could also be liable if he or she failed to install the required safety devices properly, or if the safety devices were allowed to malfunction. Finally, if something in the environment interfered with the proper working of the chipper, the landowner or the governmental agency which has jurisdiction over the road could have liability.
Until the circumstances are fully understood, a determination of liability will be impossible. Once the facts of the case become apparent, however, an expert <a href="http://www.bestattorney.com/personal_injury.html" target="_blank">personal injury attorney</a> can evaluate the liability issues and work with the family of the victim to recover damages for this terrible accident.
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