Wilmington, North Carolina Man Dies when a Boat falls on him

A young man, 25- year old Ryan Lee Church, died suddenly on the job when a boat fell on him at Pages Creek Marina on Market Street in Wilmington, North Carolina (NC).

According to the New Hanover County Sheriff's Deputy Charles Smith, Rylan Lee Church was attempting to load a large boat on to a trailer at the marina when the boat fell off the trailer and pinned him in. Emergency medical workers were called to the scene but Church was found dead.

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is running an investigation into the death, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are running an investigation in to the possibility of an avoidable work related injury.

Tragically, Ryan Lee Smith’s death isn’t the only on the job related death to go on record. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported 5,703 on the job deaths in 2006 and that number continues to rise despite the OSHA’s job site inspection and training policies.

Hazardous work areas or machine malfunctions can cause needless loss of life on a job site. The OSHA runs an investigation into any death in the workplace and often determines that death to be at the fault of the employer. However, that can provide little comfort to the family of the victim. Medical bills, funeral costs, and pain and suffering on behalf of the family add up quickly. A personal injury attorney can go beyond the OSHA ruling and serve not just the victim, but the family as well.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law with experience handling wrongful death cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our law firm holds offices in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC) and Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys have handled numerous wrongful death cases and we understand the difficult circumstances which accompany these types of cases. An experienced attorney can help you through the legal process. Our lawyers hold licenses in NC, VA, SC, WV, KY and DC. We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, and our ready to talk to you, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube .  Our lawyers also proudly edit the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard, as well as the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.