Maryland Recycling Truck Accident: Worker Dies While Collecting Paper

Police in Montgomery County, Maryland are investigating a recycling truck accident that resulted in the horrible death of a Rockville man. The fatal work accident occurred in the Aspen Hill, Maryland area on Nov. 12, 2008 during a morning recycling truck run.

Juan Antonio Rosales-Lopez, 26, of Rockville, Maryland, was working for the Potomac Disposal Company collecting paper for a recycling truck compactor. According to the truck driver, this terrible work accident occurred when Rosales-Lopez reached into the truck to clear the chute and was accidentally pulled into the compacting machinery. The driver says he tried to free Rosales-Lopez but was unsuccessful.

In addition to the Montgomery County Police investigation, officials from the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Act were called in to determine potential liability in this fatal work-related truck accident.

Maryland employers are regulated by state and federal law to meet safety standards to protect the health and well-being of all of the people who work for them. Mr. Rosales-Lopez was only doing his job on the recycling truck — a job that most of us would be hard-pressed to handle given the hard physical labor and early morning hours. Something obviously went very wrong, very quickly.

As a personal injury attorney who’s advocated for people and families hurt and killed in car accidents, truck accidents, and work accidents in Maryland for decades, I’ve seen and heard a lot of sad stories. This one is particularly unfortunate, as a young man lost his life while doing hard work in a sanitation job that many people would never apply to do. It makes me wonder if this tragic accident could have been prevented.

Recycling Truck Worker Dies While Collecting Paper The Associated Press, Examiner.com, Nov. 12, 2008

Related Web Resource

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH), Division of Labor and Industry

Contact Information