Foreign-Born Employees, Undocumented Workers And Day Laborers

Foreign-Born Worker Death Claims Attorney

Fatal on-the-job injuries can happen to almost anybody on the manufacturing floor or construction jobsite. While the number of documented and undocumented foreign employees is smaller than the entire job force at large, there should be no less attention paid to the safety and welfare of foreign-born employees, undocumented workers and day laborers working in New Jersey.

Workers from Central and South America, as well as those from the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East have as much right to safe and relatively risk-free work environment as anyone else. Foreign-born employees, day laborers and undocumented workers are often found in jobs involving heavy construction equipment and large machinery, which means these groups can be at risk for serious or fatal injuries on a daily basis, especially in the following industries:

• Agriculture
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Transportation

Many of the companies within the aforementioned industries require some or all of their employees to work with potentially dangerous tools and equipment. While many types of industrial machinery have the potential to inflict serious harm if mishandled or operated contrary to their intended design, most industrial equipment is generally safe when employees are properly instructed on how to operate them. Even so, the risk of injury or death in the workplace can be an ever-present threat even with the right training.

As experienced death benefit claim professionals, New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer of JFM Law fully understands the risk that foreign-born and non-English speaking workers regularly face. Here in the Garden State, as well as the U.S. as a whole, foreign workers are frequently found in some of the more physically demanding and hazardous jobs. Every year in New Jersey, an average of 30 foreign workers and resident aliens are killed on the job.

For even the most well-off working families, a fatal on-the-job accident can take a toll on the surviving spouse, children or dependent parents. Fortunately, New Jersey state law requires that survivors of those victims killed in work-related accidents have the right to death benefits. This is mandatory monetary compensation that can often ease the financial burden for a grieving family. Our workers’ compensation specialist, Daniel Santarsiero, Esq., has an extensive background to help you and your family navigate the death benefit process.

Fatal On-the-Job Accident Claim Attorneys For Foreign-Born Employees, Undocumented Workers And Day Laborers

Our skilled attorneys at law have decades of experience representing the families of victims who have been killed in industrial or commercial accidents. The survivors of those who have died while working for their families deserve to be compensated fairly. If you live in New Jersey and have lost a loved one to a workplace accident, we recommend that you speak with a qualified workers’ comp death benefit attorney.

Workers’ compensation is a compulsory type of insurance that all employers are obligated to purchase for their employees (except for certain instances, such as those covered by other federal programs). New Jersey law is quite specific: If a worker is killed while on the job, death benefits are payable to the dependents of that deceased worker. Survivors who typically qualify for death benefits may include:

• Widow/widower
• Civil union partner
• Natural children (up to 18 years old; up to 23 years for full-time students)
• Parents, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, etc.

The law requires that survivors who claim death benefits must prove actual dependency at the time of the worker’s death. (Dependent children who are mentally or physically disabled may also be eligible for additional benefits under the law.) Furthermore, New Jersey workers’ comp rules also state that the employer or the employer’s insurance carrier must provide as much as $3,500 toward funeral expenses for any employee who suffers a fatal work-related injury.

Sparta, New Jersey, Hispanic And Latin American Day Laborer Death Benefits

Regardless of a worker’s nationality or immigration status, everyone deserves to feel safe in their job. In commercial and industrial working environments, it is the employer who is ultimately responsible for the health and well-being of his or her employees. Manufacturers and service businesses must ensure that the machines used by their workers are as safe as possible. This is typically accomplished through the implementation of critical safety measures, as well as by providing proper maintenance for those pieces of equipment.

Industry regulations laid out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) strictly prohibit employers from removing warning labels or defeating safety features on the machinery used on production floors and commercial worksites. For employees who speak little or no English, receiving occupational training in their mother tongue is one-way employers can help to ensure that proper operation of all equipment, as well as company safety procedures, are understood by every employee; and worker safety naturally benefits from such practices.

Unfortunately, the combination of the profit motive and corporate cost-cutting efforts can often result in the reduction or elimination of training on important safety features, devices and procedures. The following are some additional examples of potentially deadly corporate and company management decisions that can be injurious or even fatal for all workers, and most especially Hispanic, Latin American and other non-English-speaking employees:

• Buying inferior machinery or repair parts
• Putting off critical equipment maintenance or skipping maintenance altogether
• Using English-only instruction sheets and safety placards
• Failing to remove/replace malfunctioning equipment on the worksite or factory floor
• Removing safety devices to increase production speed
• Not paying employees for machinery training and factory safety classes
• Not providing proper safety equipment (glasses, goggles, gloves, dust masks, etc) for specific jobs
• Turning a deaf ear to employee complaints about malfunctioning equipment

At New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, we understand how some employers treat immigrants, undocumented workers and day laborers with less deference than natural-born citizens. But the United States is a country of laws, many of which have been created to protect the worker from unfair labor practices and unsafe working environments. Our law firm is ready and willing to assist surviving spouses, dependent children and other family members to understand their rights regarding Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits.

Whether your loved one died from a work-related accident in Warren, Union, Somerset, Camden or any other New Jersey county, we are here to help you and your family. If your family member died as a direct result of a commercial or industrial accident, whether through a fall, mechanical injury or occupational exposure to a hazardous or cancer-causing agent, please contact our offices at 866-916-3549 and ask for Mr. Santarsiero.

Understanding your rights under the Garden State’s workers’ comp laws is very important for any surviving dependents. We can set up a free, no-obligation consultation to review your case. If you choose to retain our law firm following the consultation, we will represent you on a contingent fee basis – we won’t charge any legal fees unless we make a recovery on your behalf. As experts in the field of work-related death benefit claims, our attorneys can help you navigate the claims process so that you can receive the compensation you deserve.