When you accept a job position you expect to be protected and safe, not only by your employer but by the laws as well. But what happens when this isn't the case?

Did you know that you are unable to sue an employer for wrongful death or injuries? That is the purpose of Worker's Compensation, it protects the employer from lawsuit and provides benefits to the injured worker or their family if a death occurs. But do they? Not in the case of my little brother, Ryan Dennis.

My 26 year old brother, Ryan Dennis, accepted a job with Smith Mountain Investments, LLC inspecting telephone poles all over the USA. On Friday, June 28, 2019, he left home in Maine and traveled to Nebraska to begin the next chapter in his life with coworkers. On Monday, July 1, 2019, he began his first day at 6am and 12.5 hours later he passed away on the job. His work day consisted of manually shoveling approximately 48 holes with a circumference of 10-inches in diameter and 18 inches deep. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration citation reports this as manually displacing approximately 6,534 pounds of soil. This was all completed with a hand shovel and one other coworker. For 12.5 hours, he was outside and working in direct sunlight on one of the hotter days in Nebraska. After the sunlight and strenuous work for 12.5 hours, my brother became ill and collapsed. Ryan and his coworker were so far separated from the entire work crew that his teammate was unable to access help, they had no working phone service as they were out in the middle of nowhere Nebraska, and no vehicles. His coworker had to to find the closest house by foot to reach a phone and contact 9-1-1, leaving my brother to die alone under a tree. After, roughly 25-30 minutes emergency personnel showed up and attempted to revive Ryan for over an hour. His body was placed on ice to cool down and after an hour still had a final temperature of 106.3F. He ended up passing from hyperthermia, dehydration, and cardiac arrest, at only 27 years old, with no underlying health conditions and in good physical health.

How was my brother not protected by Smith Mountain Investment, LLC?

1. They didn't provide enough rest, breaks, or water outside of the heat to allow his body to cool down and recover.

2. They had no staff that were First Aid or CPR certified.

3. They had no access to other coworkers or help from emergency personnel.

4. They didn't follow acclimitization laws that prevent people working outside for long periods of time until their body can acclimate to the change in climate.

They knowingly disregarded laws that, if followed, would have without a doubt, prevented the death of Ryan Dennis. What was their penalty? Two fines, that they talked down and settled for roughly $16,700. Did workers compensation do anything to right this wrong? No, because he wasn't married and has no children. Can't we sue the company for gross negligence and wrongful death? No, because they are protected by Workers Compensation laws. Can't we sue the third party then? Yes, but unfortunately the third party is the Nebraska Public Power District. This means that a lawsuit against them would be against a government entity. Making all almost 10 lawyers we've spoken to unwilling to take on the hard fight. It has been expressed that we have a case but the case will be a long and hard fight which prevents lawyers from wanting to take the case. 

In 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, states that roughly 14 workplace deaths occurred daily and 100 deaths per week. Employers have no incentive to keep their employees safe when they only get a slap on the hand. The laws need to change. Employees need to be protected as much as Employers. If gross negligence can be proven then the employer should be held responsible and be eligible to be sued. If an employer knowingly disregards laws that are there to protect it's employees, they should not be protected under Worker's Compensation Laws, in order to allow a lawsuit against that employer.

Are you an employee? What about your mom, sister, brother, spouse, child, friend, or loved one? They all deserve the right to be protected and safe. Be apart of the change, help to save their life from their employer so they won't become another statistic. You can help my brother, Ryan Dennis, not be a statistic. Together, we can make a change!

Below are the OSHA articles and citations from Ryan's case as well as the references for the above statistics;

https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.violation_detail?id=1412918.015&citation_id=01001​

https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=1412918.015​

https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.violation_detail?id=1412918.015&citation_id=01002​

https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region7/10292019​

https://www.osha.gov/data/commonstats