Worker Dies After Being Crushed by Lift

A worker died after being crushed by a hydraulic lift in a Georgetown neighborhood recycling plant last week.

Longtime SeaDruNar employee John Colombini, 46, died from head injuries he suffered when a hydraulic lift collapsed on his head, a spokesman for the King County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday.

Colombini was repairing a lift attached to a truck cab used to haul waste containers onto the vehicle, a Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman said.

Under Washington law, injured workers (or the families of fatally injured workers) cannot directly sue their employers, except for intentional injuries. However, workers can sue third party who cause their injuries while on-the-job.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Workplace Injuries and Discrimination.