A Pennsylvania court has ruled in favor of a woman whose 48-year-old husband was worked to death by his employer.
In 2007, Robert Dietz dropped dead on the job of a massive heart attack, following a grueling 14-hour shift at Lower Bucks County’s municipal water department that involved operating a jackhammer, digging up tree roots and mending pipes.
The impoverished widow and child of the jack-of-all-tradesman has sought compensation for their lost breadwinner ever since, and this month they finally prevailed .
Friday, a panel of Commonwealth Court judges granted Dietz’s dependants 60-percent of his wages plus funeral costs, pursuant to rules governing the dispensation of workers’ comp.
“The overwhelming circumstantial evidence in this case shows that exertion from Decedent’s regular work activities over the course of a 14-hour workday caused his heart attack,” the court stated in its decision.
The municipal water authority, which is located in the Philly suburb of Levittown, has 30 days to appeal.
