Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
FOX4 is reporting a fork lift accident claimed the life of a 57-year-old landscaper working at a farm on South Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers.
The man was reportedly repairing the fork lift at the time of the incident and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. 
Work injuries are a common threat in Fort Myers and landscapers are at particularly high risk. Common causes of forklift injuries include forklifts falling from unsecured trailers or docks, workers being struck by forklift, forklifts being driven off docks, workers struck by falling materials, and workers getting crushed between two vehicles. OSHA estimates nearly 100 employees are killed each year in forklift accidents and more than 35,000 are seriously injured.
Legal Fault in Work Accidents
An employee or his family may pursue several avenues of compensation following a serious or fatal work accident. Workers’ compensation is a first line of defense. These benefits aim to pay medical expenses and a portion of lost wages while an employee recovers, but are often insufficient to cover the full extent of a family’s losses. Short-term or long-term disability may also provide limited compensation. But contacting an experienced personal injury law firm in Fort Myers is always the best course of action. Workers’ compensation and disability benefits involved complex bureaucracies. Your medical evaluation and diagnoses may be critical to the value of a claim, as are estimates of future medical expenses and the likelihood of long-term partial or total disability.
Not only can an experienced injury attorney help you in the immediate aftermath of a work accident, but we can also conduct a through review of your case and rely on our own outside medical and investigative experts to identify additional parties that may share blame. In some cases, a third-party may at fault. And, unlike workers’ compensation benefits which are meant to provide compensation while shielding most employers from a liability lawsuit, an at-fault third party may face litigation. Identifying all at-fault parties and their associated insurance carriers is the best option for full and fair compensation following a serious or fatal work accident.
Landscape Injuries in SWFL
In some cases, employers may unfairly classify employees as independent contractors, and/or pay them cash under the table in order to avoid paying for workers’ compensation insurance. This is quite common in the landscape industry and can leave injured employees particularly vulnerable. Again, speaking to an experienced injury attorney as soon as possible is the best option for protecting your rights.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than a million people are employed in the landscaping and groundskeeping industry. Nearly half are Hispanic or Latino. It should be noted that an employee’s immigration status should not bar a claim. Those with concerns should call for a free and confidential consultation.
Nearly 200 a year die from on-the-job injuries in landscaping. Common causes of fatal accidents include operating machinery, vehicle or transportation accidents, falls and electrocution.
If you’ve been hurt on the job, call Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner, Attorneys for the Injured, at 1-800-646-1210.
