Cesar Sapatanga Killed in Merrick, NY, Work Accident
Merrick, NY -- October 13, 2016, Cesar Sapatanga was killed following an accident in which he somehow fell from a scaffold while working.
Investigating authorities stated that the incident occurred in the 1700 block of Laurel Street at a residence. Sapatanga was doing vinyl siding work at the time.
The OSHA report indicates that Sapatanga was working without a safety vest, and he somehow lost his footing. This caused him to fall roughly 20 feet, and he sustained fatal injuries as a result.
Authorities did not release any additional details about this accident.
Map of the Area
Commentary
A key point that stands out to me here is that Mr. Sapatanga reportedly did not have a safety vest while working. I think it's important to find out whether or not his supervisors were supposed to provide him with one and simply neglected to. It's not uncommon to see some employers try to cut corners on safety procedures to save time and money. The unfortunate consequence of this is often the death of one of their workers.
I hate to see companies who value dollars over lives of their employees. That sort of mentality leads to accidents like this one where a family now grieves for their lost loved one. While OSHA may have investigated the accident, I doubt that they did anything to truly help the surviving family of the victim in this accident. For true justice to be done, there should be a more thorough investigation into the actions taken by the employer and what could have been done to prevent this accident. Not only is this necessary for those affected to find peace of mind, but it's important to rectify any issues to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.
--Grossman Law Offices
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