Attorneys investigating the recent fatal workplace accident at Arkansas Nuclear One note how such accidents relate to our previous blog post “Arkansas On the Job and Workplace Accident Information.”
In the March 31, 2013 accident at Arkansas Nuclear One, a Bigge crane was attempting to remove a Main Turbine Generator Stator, weighing some 500 tons, out of the turbine building and onto the transport waiting below. According to Enformable online, federal investigators concluded in the aftermath of the incident that the “lift crane failed” in the removal process and “dropped the load.” Other investigations, conducted by the United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), concurred with the judgement that the “equipment being used in the operation failed.” One worker was killed and eight others were hospitalized for their injuries as a result of this tragic occurrence.
Based on information currently available to Arkansas on the job accident attorneys, it appears that the family of the fatally-injured worker, in addition to having claims under the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Law, may have a causes of action against the manufacturer and suppliers of both the lift crane which failed and whatever product was used to secure the turbine to the crane during transportation.
The tragic accident at Arkansas Nuclear One demonstrates how on the job and workplace accident injuries can potentially give rise to causes of action beyond a workers compensation claim. Often, such accidents can be the result of product liability on the part of the manufacturer or supplier of defective equipment, or fault on the part of other third parties besides the injured person’s employer (against which a workers’ compensation claim is the exclusive, although often insufficient, remedy).
If you have been injured in an Arkansas on-the-job accident, you need to know your rights. Speak to an Arkansas workplace accident attorney today.
