A half a world away from Orange County, California, an Australian woman was killed in what can only be called a freak lawn mowing accident. The forty two year old Queensland native was walking past an empty lot that was being mowed by a private contractor on a commercial lawnmower. It appears that the mower kicked up a piece of steel pipe that was hidden by the long grass and sent it hurtling toward the woman, striking her in the neck and instantly decapitating her.
The driver of the lawnmower was taken to the hospital in extreme shock. Other witnesses to the accident have undergone counseling and children at the local school were sent home early to be with family.
According to the local newspaper, the unfortunate woman was simply in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” If she had passed by the spot a second earlier or later the metal pipe would have whizzed right past her.
The Workplace Health and Safety department of Queensland has launched an investigation into how the pipe came to be hidden in the long grass and the safety precautions taken by the mowing company.
At Callahan & Blaine, California’s premier litigation firm, our attorneys are practiced at negotiating and litigating complex personal injury cases like this one. Our firm recently negotiated a $28 million settlement in a similar personal injury case, where a man was left blind and brain damaged when he was struck in the head with road debris kicked up by a tractor-trailer.
Callahan & Blaine uses its 25 years of experience to accomplish record breaking jury verdicts and settlements. If you or someone you know has been catastrophically injured or killed in an accident, contact Callahan & Blaine for expert personal injury representation.
