Following the death of a commercial diver at a hydroelectric dam, Butler Kahn - (678) 940-1444 - has obtained a confidential settlement with Georgia Power.
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The Atlanta-based personal injury and wrongful death law firm represented the diver's family in their case against the owner and operator of the dam where the accident occurred.
More information about the case is available athttps://butlerfirm.com/blog/confidential-settlement-for-wrongful-death-in-lockout-tagout-loto-diving-accident
Commercial diver Alex Paxton died while working inside the Oliver Dam on the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia. The Georgia Power Company settled with Paxton's family after admitting his death resulted from its failure to follow Lockout-Tagout procedures.
Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) procedures refer to practices and procedures for securing machines and equipment while maintenance and repairs are performed. These processes are designed to protect workers by ensuring that all potential sources of hazardous energy are locked and tagged out, keeping them in a zero-energy state until safe to re-engage.
In the case handled by Butler Kahn, Georgia Power left a valve open - despite communicating to the dive team that all valves were closed, locked, and tagged out. Subsequently, Alex Paxton descended into the Oliver Dam where his arm was sucked into a pipe with 850 pounds of force, resulting in his death by suffocation.
According to a spokesperson for Butler Kahn, "The force from the differential pressure was so great that, after a few minutes, Alex could no longer inflate his chest to breathe."
The accident occurred on October 27, 2020, during an exploratory dive scheduled by Georgia Power to search for suspected damage to an underwater chain.
The Butler Kahn legal team determined that Georgia Power conducted a safety meeting with the dive team before beginning the exploratory dive. During this meeting, the company produced documentation mistakenly indicating the LOTO procedures were active, meaning it was safe to begin work without risk of exposure to hazardous sources of energy.
On behalf of the victim's family, Butler Kahn produced extensive expert testimony and an affidavit from a former Georgia Power employee indicating serious mistakes made in connection with Paxton's death. Given the strong evidence against their client, Georgia Power's attorneys pushed for mediation, leading the parties to reach a confidential settlement.
The case was handled by attorneys Jeb Butler and Tom, with assistance from Matt Kahn. Naveen Ramachandrappa of Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore also provided support on certain legal issues.
For more details, please visit https://butlerfirm.com/blog/confidential-settlement-for-wrongful-death-in-lockout-tagout-loto-diving-accident
Contact Info:
Name: Jeb Butler
Email: Send Email
Organization: Butler Kahn
Address: 10 Lenox Pointe NE, Atlanta, GA 30324, United States
Phone: +1-678-940-1444
Website: https://butlerfirm.com/
Source: PressCable
Release ID: 89115646
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