Nashville Man Dies from Workplace Injury

A young worker employed by Southern Medical Disposal, a medical waste disposal facility on Cement Plant road in Nashville, died last Thursday as a result of an on-the-job accident. The 21-year-old man slipped at work and attempted to brace his fall by grabbing onto a heavy object. Rather than helping the worker stay upright, the object fell on him. The resulting internal injuries were irreparable, and the young man died.

This Tennessee man, whose name was not mentioned in news reports, was one of almost six-thousand people who died from work-related injuries in the United States in the last year. Although he is nameless to the media, his untimely death has certainly affected the many individuals who loved and called him by name.

Six-thousand dead workers are six-thousand too many, but they are just a fraction of the 4.2 million people who are injured on the job every year in the United States. They are just a fraction of the 4.2 million individuals whose very livelihoods, sense of self, and physical abilities are forever changed and, for some, destroyed, as a result of mishaps in the workplace. Employers have a responsibility to provide workman’s compensation to each of these injured people. While some companies do honor those commitments, the confusing nature of Tennessee Workers Compensation Law allows many employers to get away with inadequately providing resources for their injured employees.

If you or someone you know has been injured on the job, do not hesitate to question the quality of your compensation. There are laws in place to protect you. This is your life we are talking about.