Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog
The explosion of an oxygen tank as it was being filled left an employee of the Metro West Ambulance service in Hillsboro injured over the weekend, according to a report in The Oregonian. The newspaper quotes the victim’s father saying that the employee received first- and second-degree burns and is currently in intensive care.
According to the newspaper the victim, “a volunteer firefighter with the Scappoose Fire Department,” was on duty, but working alone when the accident took place. He “was filling oxygen tanks at the (ambulance) service’s headquarters… when a malfunctioning valve caused an explosion and fire,” the newspaper reports, citing a spokesperson for the ambulance company.
Though most of us would not think of an ambulance company as a potential site for an Oregon industrial accident this incident is a reminder that, in legal terms, industrial accidents can involve almost any sort of business.
Simply put, the law of Oregon industrial accidents places a responsibility on manufacturers, vendors and employers to ensure that the products they make, sell or provide to workers are safe, properly manufactured, suitable to the job at hand and well-maintained. I have often written in the past about Oregon industrial accidents in the more rural parts of our state involving propane cylinders. Oregon propane cylinder explosions are surprisingly common. The Hillsboro incident, however, is an unfortunate reminder that almost anything compressed and stored in metal cylinders has the potential to explode, often with tragic consequences, even medical devices designed, in the first instance, to save lives.
As the previous paragraph indicates, the laws governing Portland and other Oregon industrial accidents can be complex. A Portland industrial accidents lawyer can offer valuable assistance to anyone coping with the sometimes confusing world of law and the courts. Everyone has a right to justice in the wake of an industrial accident. Courts are here to help protect everyone’s rights. Attorneys are here to act as guides and advisors throughout the process.
The Oregonian: Family of worker badly hurt in Hillsboro explosion ‘hoping for the best’
