Trucking is a dangerous industry in the United States, and not just for the time 18-wheelers are on the road. The loading and unloading of big rigs can also be dangerous, as the cargo the trucks carry is often heavy and hard to handle. This is why it is imperative that safety measures are in place to keep the workers who load, store and unload cargo safe.

Unfortunately, a Texas warehouse worker was recently killed at a Con-way Freight worksite in San Antonio and now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating if any safety regulations contributed to the death.

According to a police report, another worker had just used a forklift to remove a 7-foot-tall, 1,500-pound crate from a tractor-trailer and set it down on the loading dock floor when he noticed the crate begin to wobble.

The forklift operator told police he immediately yelled a warning to the 49-year-old female worker who was examining a load of pipe nearby, but she could not get out of the way quickly enough and was crushed by the crate after it toppled over.

Several workers in the warehouse reportedly ran to the female worker's aid, trying to manually lift the crate off of her, and when that was unsuccessful, using a forklift to free the woman. However, the woman had already sustained massive head trauma as a result of being pinned by the crate.

The woman was rushed to Brooke Army Medical Center and was pronounced dead just after midnight, the county medical examiner's records reported. The accident was just days after the woman's 49th birthday. An investigation into the accident by OSHA began the same day.

If OSHA discovers that Con-way Freight was in violation of any safety regulations, the company could face massive fines. Additionally, the company could face a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of the worker killed if negligence contributed to the accident.

Although wrongful death lawsuits can never take away the pain of losing a loved one in a workplace accident, they can provide finically security during a time of such grief and uncertainty.

Source: My SanAntonio.com, "Con-way Freight accident results in death," Guillermo X. Garcia, 7/15/2011.