Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Mine safety and workplace accidents

On behalf of Godwin and Rubin posted in Workplace Accidents on Tuesday, April 24, 2018.

It is well known that mining can be a dangerous occupation. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) exists to enforce safety regulations intended to safeguard a miner’s well-being in California. Even with such safeguards in place, workplace accidents may still occur.

In a recent mining accident, a miner suffered a serious head injury when a piece of equipment slipped and fell. The object struck the miner, causing him to fall 7.5 feet. His head injury resulted from the fall, not the falling object, and had a handrail been in place at the time, it may have prevented his fall in the first place.

MSHA maintains a list of best practice safety recommendations to help prevent accidents such as the one described above. These regulations include protecting openings with barriers, ensuring railings and covers are in place at all times, and requiring the miner to wear fall protection gear when indicated. In addition, it is required that all workers be trained to recognize unsafe work conditions.

Though mining is known to be a dangerous occupation, there should be no reason for a miner not to believe that reasonable precautions are being taken to protect his or her safety while on the job. If a miner is injured on the job in California, he or she may benefit from having a confidential conversation with a worker’s compensation attorney. A conversation of this nature may assist the injured miner in determining if he or she has a valid claim. Successful litigation of such a claim could assist with medical costs and lost wages that can be the result of workplace accidents.

Source: aggman.com, “Miner injured from fall from crusher, accident alert issued”, Kerry Clines, April 16, 2018