Landscaper killed when working with heavy machinery

On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Workplace Accidents on Thursday, December 13, 2012.

There are a significant number of employees in the Champaign area that use heavy machinery through the course of their job. Whether it is in construction work, industrial work, agricultural work or any other job that requires the use of such machinery, there are workers all across Illinois that are using potentially deadly machines on a regular basis. Unfortunately, working with such machinery can and does prove fatal for some workers every year.

Although individuals that are injured through the course of their job should be entitled to coverage of their medical expenses and income replacement under workers’ compensation, it is not always that simple or straight forward. The system currently in place typically favors employers over victims, and sometimes the workers’ compensation that is awarded is not necessarily a just remuneration for the victim.

In the aftermath of the worst workplace accidents, in which employees die, families are left to grapple with their huge emotional loss as well as left to scramble to figure out how to absorb the financial loss as well. Death benefits and sometimes further compensation can be obtained more readily with legal assistance.

An out-of-state family is like trying to come to terms with their loss after their loved one was killed on the job last week. The decedent was a landscaper, and thereby worked with heavy machinery. It is unclear why, but last week when the man was working, a large piece of metal came loose from a machine and fatally impacted the worker’s head and neck.

This late worker was only 36 years old. It seems unfair that this man was taken from his family so young. There is little by way of comfort that can be said to the family of an individual killed on the job. Unfortunately, nothing can bring such individuals back, but financial remuneration can be a way for the family to pursue some sense of justice and acknowledgement of their loss.

Source: Detroit Free Press, “Man dies in Oak Park after workplace accident,” Associated Press, Dec. 4, 2012