Lafayette, Louisiana Tree Care Worker’s Tragic Death on the Job Spreads Awareness about the Dangers Tree Care Workers Face

A fatal workplace accident hit headlines earlier this year, and the Lafayette community mourned the loss of one of their own. According to local news reports, 71-year-old Curtis Spencer, of St. Martinville, Louisiana, was working for tree care employer Possum’s Tree Service, when he was tragically killed in a workplace accident. The terrible and fatal workplace accident was reported to have happened on January 20, at approximately 9:30 a.m. in the morning. Reports regarding exactly how the fatal workplace accident occurred are sparse, and the only details that have been released indicate that “The Lafayette Police Department responded to a report of an employee injured at a work site…” and “Upon arrival, officers discovered that the worker had died from the injuries sustained in the accident.” Reports indicate that Possum’s Tree Service is “fully cooperating” with the Lafayette Police Department as it investigates the terrible and fatal workplace accident.

Louisiana Tree Service Workers Face a Number of Serious Hazards on the Job 

According to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are a number of hazards that tree care workers in Louisiana, and throughout the United States, face on the job regularly. First of all, tree care workers have a risk of suffocation by being crushed by tree limbs and branches, as well as fronds and other parts of trees, and can die as a result of asphyxiation. Secondly, tree care workers may be seriously injured or killed if they are involved in caught-in accidents on the job. Caught-in hazards are defined by OSHA as “Injuries resulting from a person being squeezed, caught, crushed, pinched, or compressed between two or more objects, or between parts of an object.” Tree care workers are at risk of caught-in accidents when working around machinery, such as wood chippers. Thirdly, tree care workers who work with and around electrical equipment are at risk of being electrocuted on the job. In addition, with tree care sometimes requiring workers to work at extreme heights, falls from trees can also present serious workplace hazards to tree care workers. Finally, struck-by accidents, those accidents where a worker is hit by another object, are not all-too-rare in tree care work. Tree care workers can be struck and injured by falling tree limbs and other parts of trees, vehicles, and other moving objects at the worksite.

Getting Legal Help for Your Workplace Accident in Louisiana

If you are in Louisiana and you were injured at work, the best next step that you can take is to pick up the phone and chat with an experienced Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyer about your rights and options. The experienced Louisiana workers’ compensation lawyers at the law firm Lunsford Baskin & Priebe, PLLC are here to help injured Louisiana workers get important workers’ compensation benefits due to them. Do not hesitate to speak with an experienced lawyer about your case today. Contact Lunsford Baskin & Priebe, PLLC and speak to a lawyer about your case now.

Sources:

osha.gov/sites/default/files/caught_iorb_ig.pdf

kadn.com/news/local/tree-service-worker-from-st-martinville-dies-in-on-the-job-accident-in-lafayette/article_db64a46c-d754-11ef-9f16-a763455c9c94.html