On May 22, 2026, a bakery worker in Newark, NJ, was killed on the job when he became pinned between a malfunctioning horizontal conveyor belt and a lower stainless steel tray.
According to the Newark Director of Public Safety, police officers and firefighters were dispatched to the Santos Bakery located within the 123 block of Hudson Street. Despite the firefighters lifting the machine off the man, the injured worker was pronounced dead at the scene. His death remains under investigation.
Who Investigates Fatal Industrial Accidents in New Jersey?
In such circumstances, various governmental agencies may be called in to investigate the cause of death. It would not be unusual for the Essex County Prosecutor’s office to investigate a death to determine if the death was caused by a crime. Other agencies that will likely investigate this death include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a federal agency. They will investigate the death to see if there were violations of any state or federal regulations. They may also investigate to determine if the equipment was altered by the employing facility.
Understanding Wrongful Death & Third-Party Product Liability
It is not uncommon to find safety guards and safety devices altered, removed, or in need of repair. There may very will have been a requirement for a kill switch to stop a malfunctioning machine in an emergency situation. This type of tragic loss is known as a Wrongful Death Third Party Product Liability Claim. Because different liability theories need to be investigated, the initial answers may at first not be clear. OSHA, the Prosecutor, and the Essex County Medical Examiner all have different roles to play; however, it is the role of a civil trial lawyer with an expertise in machine product liability malfunction cases, OSHA cases, and wrongful death claims to dig deep as part of their investigation to sue and hold those who were negligent responsible.
Although no crime was likely committed, the surviving members of the deceased worker’s family may be entitled to sue for their economic losses and the pain and suffering endured by the worker as he or she lost their life. There will also likely be a separate workers’ compensation claim.
Why Immediate Legal Action is Crucial to Preserve Evidence
Our advice to the family, as product liability injury lawyers, is to contact an experienced injury lawyer as soon as possible so that the accident scene and machinery can be inspected. In this day and age, there may exist video footage, eyewitnesses, or even prior complaints.
According to Marc C. Saperstein, a New Jersey and New York personal injury lawyer at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C.,
“the first step is to serve the facility with a lawyer’s letter to preserve the accident scene and machinery as evidence that can be used at a later time; and provide an opportunity for expert witnesses to inspect and examine the machine and scene.”
How Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Can Help
Injury lawyers who sue negligent companies accept cases on a contingent fee basis, meaning that the family does not need to worry about legal fees until the end of the case. At this time, the injury law firm will get paid a percentage of the winnings.
Marc C. Saperstein is a founding partner of New Jersey’s Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., injury lawyers, and has litigated during the past thirty years product liability claims resulting in death and amputations. Since the firm was established in 1981, its lawyers have won over one billion dollars in combined settlements and verdicts. Some of Saperstein’s lawsuit wins that he handled from the firm’s Teaneck, New Jersey headquarters include fires, explosions, OSHA violations, scaffolding failures, including car and truck explosions. He can be contacted at (201) 907-5000 or by email at marc@dsslaw.com for a free consultation.
