Farming is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. with over 500 people a year being killed in the agriculture industry including those working in food processing. These workers rely on complicated machinery often with many moving parts to get their job done, and these can be dangerous.
Worker Dies in Tragic Food Processing Accident
A 33-year-old food process worker died Friday, January 24, 2020, when she was pulled into a food processing machine. The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said that the woman died from injuries sustained from being pulled into the machine.
According to witnesses, she got her clothing stuck in the machine while she was dislodging some debris in the raisin processing machine, and officials reported that she died at the scene from her injuries.
Farm Machines and Liability
Since workers are covered by California’s worker’s compensation (WC), can the worker sue for their injuries. The answer is no and yes.
No, the worker can’t sue their employee. California WC laws prohibit an injured employee, or the family of a deceased employee, to sue their employer. However, in many cases, the injured employee can sue the machine manufacturer, or maybe the company that trained them (if different from their employer) for any negligence.
This means that if a food processing machine injured or killed someone, the victim can’t sue their employer, but can sue the manufacturer of the machine if the victim can prove that the accident was caused by some negligence by the manufacturer.
This is called third-party liability, and it’s not limited to just the maker of the machine, but any person/company that is fully or partially at fault for the injuries.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer.
After an accident involving a serious injury in the Central Valley, contact attorney Martin Gasparian for a free consultation and case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian takes a hands-on approach to every case. He believes that every client should work directly with their lawyer, get honest advice and personalized attention to detail their case deserves.
