On May 5 at around 5:30 p.m., a young female employee was working at a restaurant in the Park Town Shopping Center and was accidentally burnt by hot oil that was somehow spilled on 30 percent of her body, burning her head and other body parts. How the accident occurred is still unknown. The young victim was transported via ambulance and then by medical helicopter at around 5:55 p.m. to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. The following day, she was reported to be in stable condition after undergoing a number of skin graft surgeries.
The Limerick and Royersford Police first started an investigation into the accident after they received a call reporting the worker’s burns, according to the Limerick Police Chief. They referred the matter to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Two days later, OSHA started an investigation into the accident and the dining establishment where it occurred, according to its deputy director. The Police Chief said that he could not comment further because the incident was now the subject of an active OSHA investigation.
The young girl in this story could be facing a long period of surgical procedures, skin grafts and rehabilitation. When a serious workplace injury occurs, such as this one, the victim could be eligible for compensation for emergency air transport, medical bills, loss of work, and pain and suffering.
An attorney could help a workplace injury victim to file a lawsuit based upon unsafe working conditions. The victim’s attorney could start by reviewing all of the evidence collected by OSHA and the Limerick Police Department that could prove negligence on the part of the young girl’s employer.
Source: The Mercury, “Teenage girl burned by oil at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Limerick”, Frank Otto, May 5, 2014
Source: The Phoenix Reporter & Item, “OSHA investigating Limerick eatery where employee was burned“, Frank Otto, May 22, 2014