4 hit, 2 injured in serious construction accident
On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Construction Workers’ Accidents on Tuesday, May 12, 2015.
When conducting roadwork, construction workers in Illinois have to deal with motor vehicles passing by at high rates of speed in addition to the daily hazards of construction work. Four out-of-state road workers were injured in a construction accident after one motorist struck them with his vehicle. The motorist was killed in the wreck, and authorities are still investigating the ultimate cause of the accident.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., the four men were collecting traffic cones from a road that had been closed for work. Though set to reopen, it remained closed for an additional six hours after the construction workers were hit. Only two of the men suffered injuries serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, one of whom had to be airlifted because of a serious injury to his pelvis.
Sadly, this was not the first accident of its kind in the area. Mere days before, a motorist swerved into a lane that had been closed for construction, hitting one construction worker. A total of 150 accidents in work zones in the area occurred in 2014, putting construction workers at risk for serious or catastrophic injuries.
Proper safety protocols are paramount for construction workers who perform their job alongside speeding motor vehicles. Whether an Illinois employer neglects to enact necessary safety parameters or a driver violates posted speed limit signs, a worker injured in a construction accident has the right to receive workers’ compensation benefits for his or her injuries. Although there is the possibility of holding a driver liable for suffered injuries, most victims’ first line of recourse for medical bills and lost wages stems from workers’ compensation benefits.
Source: NBC Philadelphia, “Driver Dies After Crashing into 4 Construction Workers in Bensalem“, Kelly Bayliss and Alison Burdo, May 2, 2015
