Chicken feed delivery led to fatal workplace injury

The electrocution of a man delivering chicken feed on a recent Wednesday morning at the beginning of July has left a lasting impression on an eyewitness. The 63-year-old victim died when part of his delivery truck touched an overhead power line. This accident is an example of some of the dangers to which agricultural workers across the United States, including Tennessee, are exposed. A workplace injury within the agricultural sector may arise from such a dangerous situation

Officials investigating the accident believe that the explosion was caused after a boom, used to feed the grain to the adjacent silo from the back of his truck, touched a power line. The accident happened at just before 9 a.m. The explosion left residents in the area without power for about 30 minutes. The power had to be cut to allow rescue teams to put out the fire resulting from the explosion.

According to the eyewitness, he looked up as he heard sirens and saw a cloud of dark smoke. When he got to the truck, he saw the victim lying behind the truck. It was clear that the victim was badly injured and was beyond help.

Although the authorities consider the explosion and workplace injury an accident, the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) is investigating the incident. It is standard policy for a TOSHA investigation to take place in a fatal workplace accident. It is not known for how long the victim was employed by the company, but the family of the deceased may choose to file for workers’ compensation death benefits. Benefits awarded in a successful workers’ compensation claim may assist the surviving family in dealing with many of the expenses that result from these types of tragedies, including funeral and burial costs.

Source: newschannel9.com, “Man Electrocuted In McMinn County”, Jerry Askin, July 3, 2014