Worker buried in terrifying construction accident

On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Construction Workers’ Accidents on Thursday, June 30, 2016.

There is perhaps no end to the possible risk for injury while on a construction site. Many construction workers in Illinois have to deal with malfunctioning equipment, unstable scaffolding and neglected safety regulations on an unsettling common basis. Safety was apparently not a top priority on an out-of-state site where a construction accident ultimately killed one person.

A construction crew was in the process of completing a sewer project when the accident happened. For reasons that are still not clear, the worker — who had been employed by the construction company for quite some time — was hit by a backhoe type of vehicle. That collision somehow ended with him being pushed into a different vehicle that held hot asphalt. He was then buried by the asphalt before being retrieved.

Police closed down the construction site, and the worker was taken to a hospital in order to receive treatment for his injuries, but it was too late. The worker was pronounced dead sometime after his arrival. Local authorities have since wrapped up their investigation, although an independent investigation is also to take place soon.

A construction accident as tragic as this can be especially difficult for families to understand, especially as it involved a man who had been in the construction industry for years. As Illinois families wait for the results of investigations to be revealed after similar accidents, they can still move forward with workers’ compensation claims. Temporary death benefits are often a necessary component of readjustment for families who have lost loved ones in construction accidents.

Source: West Haven, CT Patch, “UPDATE: Worker Dies in Tragic Construction Site Accident“, Vincent Salzo, June 22, 2016