The goal of personal protective equipment (PPE) is to reduce an employee’s exposure to chemical, physical, radioactive, electrical, and mechanical risks on the job. If your loved one was injured on the job due to inadequate personal protective equipment, you might be entitled to file a wrongful death claim.
What Kinds of Personal Protective Equipment Are Typically In Use?
PPE refers to a wide range of protective equipment, which includes:
- Gloves for the workplace
- Goggles or other forms of eye protection
- Harnesses for safety
- Helmets for safety
- Masks and other respiratory protection
- Clothing with high visibility
- Safety shoes
- Hearing protection (principally as protection from loud noise)
Is it Mandatory for an Employer to Offer PPE to His Employees?
The California Occupational Safety and Health Act imposes numerous rules on employers, including providing and paying for personal protective equipment (PPE).
Employers are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to conduct a job site hazard assessment to identify harmful circumstances. When a hazard cannot be under careful supervision at the source through engineering and administrative procedures, an employer must identify and supply employees with suitable personal protective equipment (PPE).
Employers must also train staff members on how to use personal protective equipment. The training should include instructions on how to put on and take off the equipment as well as which PPE should be purposeful for particular tasks. Employers should provide training on how to correctly fit PPE because badly fitted PPE might pose significant risks. In order to alert their supervisor when equipment needs to be repaired or replaced, employees should learn how to properly care for, clean, and maintain personal protective equipment (PPE).
In California, Who May File a Wrongful Death Claim?
The following family members are permitted to file a lawsuit under California Code of Civil Procedure 377.60:
- Surviving spouses
- Domestic partners
- Children
- Grandchildren (if the victim’s children are no longer living), or
- Anybody qualified to inherit the deceased’s assets under California’s laws on intestate succession.
How To Prove the Wrongful Death Claim in California?
Four legal elements can be proven in a wrongful death lawsuit. In particular, they include negligence, duty violation, cause, and damages.
In fact, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant’s carelessness led to the death of their loved one.
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Breach of Duty
The defendant must have owed a legal duty of care to the deceased, in the second place. This duty is to behave sensibly, as others could in a certain circumstance.
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Causation
Third, the plaintiff in a wrongful death action must demonstrate that the defendant’s carelessness directly caused or significantly assisted in the death of their loved one.
Lastly, the plaintiff must demonstrate that his loved one’s death resulted in specific, quantifiable legal damages as the fourth requirement of a wrongful death claim.
What Damages Can a Surviving Family Member Recover in a Wrongful Death Claim?
Damages from the loss of a family member include economic and non-economic damages. Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical costs
- Costs of burial and cremation
- Charges for hospital stays
- Income loss and prospective future earnings
- Investments and more financial assistance
- Gifts or advantages that the plaintiff anticipated the dead to provide, like child support payments
- Value of the reasonable domestic services that the dead would have rendered, such as mowing the lawn and fixing things
Contrarily, non-economic damages include:
- The absence of a partner, love, support, comfort, help, affection, or protection
- Loss of parental guidance and instruction
- Pain and suffering
Contact Experienced Wrongful Death Attorney Today!
Certainly, if the employer fails to equip your family member with the appropriate PPE to execute the job safely, which results in wrongful death, contact us. Comparatively, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim and receive compensation for inadequate personal protective equipment. Kaass Law wrongful death attorneys have experience helping to get the compensation you deserve. In addition, be sure to contact us to schedule a consultation today at (310) 943-1171. Also, make sure to view our other website for more of our practice areas at Kaass Law.