About 1,000 workers lose their lives from fatal work site accidents every year, and if the trend Washington State has seen this year continues we are looking at a dramatic increase in this number. This year already Washington State has seen 7 on the job fatalities. As a Seattle work injury lawyer and Washington wrongful death attorney I understand how devastating these fatal work site accidents can be on the families- nobody ever thinks about the chances of being crushed by a pallet or having a harness give out and kill them. A Sedro-Wooley man unexpectedly lost his life in a Port Townsend work accident.
69-year-old Allen Clifford made a propane delivery to the Sunshine Propane Company’s holding facility around 6p.m. on Wednesday and afterwards called his employer at Sunshine Propane to inform them of a problem with the delivery truck. Clifford was told to take the truck to Tacoma for a repair and was never heard from again.
The next day at approximately 7:45 a.m. a coworker found Clifford’s body trapped under the back wheel of his delivery truck.
There is an investigation underway into the cause of Clifford’s death, but the case is currently being treated as a work accident fatality. It is unknown what caused the truck to roll onto Clifford or why he was near the wheel.
My condolences go out to the Clifford family as well as to the friends and family of Allen Clifford. Losing a friend or companion so unexpectedly is never easy, especially when the reason for the incident is unknown.
Many work injuries are due to improper safety codes or faulty equipment if you suffer from a work injury or lose a loved one in a fatal work accident do not hesitate to contact a Seattle personal injury lawyer to review your case- most offices will provide a free consultation and let you know what you can do to help prevent the same accident from destroying another life.