Bill protecting N.H. public sector workers passes with Mass. family's efforts

CONCORD, N.H. — Lawmakers in New Hampshire voted today for better protections for public sector workers hurt or killed on the job. This ends a three-year fight for accountability by a local family who is still grieving their tragic loss.

For nearly three years since her father died, Sam Wooten has told the painful story of his death to legislators here at the statehouse over and over again, knowing she had to keep fighting for him.

After three decades on Massachusetts' south shore, Tom Wooten was ready to enjoy life with his wife, daughter and granddaughter.

"This was his retirement job," Sam Wooten said. "He came up to New Hampshire, they built a house in Belmont to retire."

And between fishing and family, Tom Wooten wiled away some hours working at the Northfield DPW, until a sudden tragic moment in July 2016 when he was flagging for a tractor trailer.

Related: Report: Drop in fatal car crashes in Boston, but non-fatal hold steady

"My dad got in between to pick up a chain that had fallen, and was crushed," Sam Wooten recounted.

In the pain that followed came the shock that public sector employees in New Hampshire are not protected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

There was no investigation into Tom's death

"You'd think, for a fatal accident, they'd do something a little more proactive and efficient," Sam said. "But it just didn't happen that way."

So, she began advocating for change and for other workers’ families. On Thursday, the New Hampshire Senate passed Bill 406, requiring the State Department of Labor to investigate after death or serious injury on the job.

The Wootens wish this moment could be shared with tom. Who they miss every day.

"His smile, his witty sense of humor, his music," Sam said. "The way he looked at my daughter, everything."

But Sam has found peace in this purpose.

"I would do it for him, and he would do it for me," she said. "I just hope he’s proud, and that I wouldn’t ever stop fighting for him."

The governor is expected to sign the bill into law soon. Sam hopes it will be named after her father.

Cox Media Group