COMMUNITY NEWS
Public can aid tree trimmer’s family
B KENNETH A GAILLIARD
The Sun News
The employer of a Surfside Beach man who died trimming trees last week is raising money for his family, which found itself with no insurance coverage after his death.
Brian D. Kitchen Jr. had been part of the three-man crew of Meadows Tree Removal and Lot Clearing of Myrtle Beach for more than three years. He died Oct. 16 after a cut tree struck him while he was working in the 500 block of First Avenue North in Surfside Beach.
Kitchen’s wife, Cindy Kitchen, said the family had no life insurance, and her husband’s employer, Michael Meadows Jr., didn’t have workers’ compensation insurance. Meadows, along with John McCarthy, owner of Acadia Tree and Stump, are raising money to help the family.
Cindy Kitchen said she was surprised and disappointed to learn her husband’s employer didn’t have workers’ compensation insurance.
But Meadows said Kitchen knew the tree service didn’t have the coverage and that Meadows only carried liability insurance on the business.
Joel Scott, compliance investigator for the SC. Workers’ Compensation, Commission, said businesses with fewer than four employees aren’t required to have workers’ compensation insurance, which he said can be costly for small companies.
The accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine whether safety regulations were violated.
Meadows said he is raising money to help Kitchens family because, “He was not only my friend, he was my right hand. This was like a family.”
McCarthy and Meadows have raised about $800 combined, and they are still seeking donations.
“I’m doing this because they are struggling, and I hope this money will help them out,” he said. “He was a nice guy, very personable, and he liked everybody.”
Cindy Kitchen said she is thankful for any help. She said Meadows and other friends gave her about $800 to help offset the $5,000 cost of her husband’s final arrangements. Services were held Sunday in Maryland.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” she said. “I’ll take it a day at a time.”
She and Kitchen had been a couple about 17 years and were to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary Thursday, she said.
She worried about the potential dangers of her husband’s job, but she said he was a cautious worker.
‘He was a hell of a man” she said. “He did anything for anybody.”
INFORMATION:
Want to help?
A fund has been established to assist the family of Brian Kitchen. Make checks payable to Kitchen Family Memorial Fund, and mail to Sun Bank, c/o Sherri Presley, P.O. Box 1359, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576.
Contact KENNETH A. GAILLIARD at 626-0312 or
kgailliard@thesunnews.com.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/4364511.htm
[ October 30, 2002: Message edited by: Tim Gardner ]
