Alabama Worker’s Death by Crane Accident Serves as Reminder to Mississippi Workers of Dangers of Working with Cranes
An Alabama worker’s tragic death due to a workplace crane accident on Tuesday, November 22, serves as a reminder to Mississippi workers of just how dangerous working with cranes can be. Tragically, just before the 2023 Thanksgiving holiday, 65-year-old Ballard Concrete worker Cornell James was killed at the Ballard Concrete industrial facility located on Lavender Hill Road. According to local reports, James was killed when a shipping container fell onto him from an overhead crane that he was operating. The reason that the crane fell, apparently, was that the chains holding the container onto the crane broke as workers were picking up the container. The horrific workplace death is not an isolated incident, and workers should be aware of the dangers of working with cranes on the job.
The Dangers of Working with Cranes in the Workplace
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from 2011-2017 there were a total of 297 reported crane-related workplace deaths. This works out to an average of 42 crane-related workplace deaths per year over the 7-year period. Of those crane-related workplace deaths, over half of them were due to the worker who was killed “being struck by an object or equipment.” Like the case of Cornell James, three-fifths of the cases, or 91 of 154 total deaths, were caused by a worker “being struck by a falling object or equipment.” Furthermore, according to the BLS, “the worker was operating a crane at the time of the injury in 22 percent of cases”, just like Cornell James. In terms of industries where crane-related workplace fatalities occur the most, according to the BLS, in 23% of cases the worker was involved in construction, assembling or dismantling work, while 27% of crane-related workplace fatalities were in the construction industry. A further 24% of crane-related fatalities, according to the BLS, occurred at a factory or plant workplace setting, while 8% occurred specifically in road construction work, and 6% occurred at a dockyard.
Legal Help for Injured Workers in Mississippi
In Mississippi, most workers who are injured in their line of work and who become disabled from working as a result are entitled to Mississippi workers’ compensation benefits. These important benefits are designed to help Mississippi workers heal from their injuries and get back to their work and regular life, and to assist them financially while they are disabled. In order to determine whether you may be entitled to Mississippi workers’ compensation benefits, it is best to speak with an experienced Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyer about your rights and options.
The experienced Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyers at Lunsford Baskin & Priebe offer a free and confidential consultation to learn about your workplace injury and to see if they can help to get you Mississippi workers’ compensation benefits due. Contact the experienced Mississippi workers’ compensation lawyers at Lunsford Baskin & Priebe today and speak to an experienced lawyer about your rights and options for free.
Source:
cbs42.com/news/local/man-killed-in-workplace-incident-in-moundville/
