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What To Do If You Suspect Your Loved One Died Of Negligence While At Work

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Nobody ever expects their loved one to die while at work, but unfortunately some professions, such as construction, underwater welding, and oil rig working, carry a higher than normal risk of death or serious injury. If you have a loved one who has recently passed away while on their job site and feel that the company they work for is responsible for their death, it is your job to fight for justice and get the financial and medical compensation for the family left behind. Here are the things you should do if you suspect your loved one has passed away because of something their job may be responsible for.

Investigate the company

If you feel your loved one died in a strange or unlikely fashion, follow your gut and do some research on the company they worked for. You want to look for newspaper reports of onsite accidents, learn how frequently fire extinguishers, alarms, and other emergency supplies are inspected, and even study the interview process to see what kind of training the employer provides for their staff. In digging a bit into the history of the company, the deceased worked for, you may be able to uncover negative activity that can help confirm your suspicions.

Hire a wrongful death attorney

The job of this type of attorney is to heavily investigate the workplace, employer, common work practices, and previous or current injury or death cases while on the job of involved parties. They also look into the medical records of the deceased as well as coroner reports. What they look for are certain clues and outright evidence of negligence by the employer, such as:

  • failure to adhere to state and federal safety laws
  • inadequate training of employees for hazardous tasks
  • lack of available safety and emergency equipment
  • knowingly putting employees in harms' way

A lawyer can also help you determine how to pursue a wrongful death case and how much money (if any) to sue for so you can successfully win your case, or more likely, settle with the company discreetly out of court.

If you feel that your loved one passed away due to employer negligence, don't hesitate to act on that inclination. There may be an actual negligence case you can file against the company to not only get the compensation the family members left behind deserve, but to keep the company from putting other employees in danger as well. A wrongful death attorney can assist you in all the legal activity you will go through as part of the negligence case process.


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