Walt Daniels, 66, a member of the San Diego Chargers' game-day staff at Qualcomm Stadium, suffered fatal personal injuries after he fell 25 to 30 feet from the coaches' box on to the cement covered ground right before a Chargers game on October 19, 2009. According to a news report from the Associated Press, Daniels suffered a massive head injury after his fall. Paramedics performed CPR and transported Daniels to a San Diego hospital where he died early morning October 20.
My heart goes out to the family and friends of Walt Daniels for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this man. Please keep Daniels' family in your prayers.
Job Injury Accident Statistics
According to the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) statistics, there were 84 construction accident related fatalities in California in 2005. A total of 59 people died in California in 2005 in construction and industrial accidents involving falls from a higher elevation.
I trust Cal-OSHA is looking into how and why this fatal job injury accident occurred. There are many questions remaining to be answered here. How did Daniels fall down? What was he doing at the time? Were all safety procedures being followed? Was his fall the result of a loose railing or some other defective structure or product that gave way? The answers to these questions should help determine whether Daniels' fall and the resulting injuries were caused by someone's negligence.
Worker's Compensation and Liability Issues
I'm sure Daniels' family will be entitled to California worker's compensation benefits. However, worker's compensation benefits are meager and hardly sufficient to cover medical and other expenses or to compensate for the loss of the family's breadwinner in the case of a fatal injury.
In such cases, injured workers and/or their families would be well-advised to consult with an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer, who is well-versed in dealing with job injury accidents and filing "third party claims." These are basically claims filed against a party that is not the victim's employer. A third party could be a contractor, sub-contractor or even the manufacturer of a defective product. Such claims are worth a lot more to injured workers and their families, than worker's compensation benefits. The best San Diego personal injury law firms will always offer a free and comprehensive consultation to injured victims and/or their families.
The BISNAR|CHASE personal injury law firm is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time the article was posted. Our information source is cited in the article. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your rights and options, call us or another reputable law firm. Do not act solely upon the information provided herein. Get a consultation. The best law firms will provide a free consultation. We provide a free, confidential consultation to not at fault persons named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.
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