After explosion, workers’ compensation could help victim’s family

On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Workers’ Compensation on Thursday, October 1, 2015.

A family and local community is likely in mourning following a deadly explosion at a scrap yard. The out-of-state accident killed one worker, and police are still investigating the confusing events that led up to it. In Illinois, when a worker loses his or her life in a fatal workplace accident, surviving family members are often eligible to receive death benefits through the workers’ compensation system.

The employee was apparently cutting through various metal objects when the explosion was triggered. Although no other workers appeared to be around at the time, a nearby witness was able to find a police officer and inform him about the explosion. The officer then entered the scrap yard and went to the site of the explosion, where he found the deceased worker.

A military ordnance — a type of artillery used in the armed forces — was determined to be the cause of the explosion. It is likely that the worker did not realize what he was cutting into just prior to the explosion, as no one is quite sure how the ordnance ended up in the scrap yard in the first place. A subsequent search for any additional ordnances did not turn up anything else.

No amount of compensation could ever hope to replace the life of a person, especially one lost in such a tragic accident. However, family members who once relied on a worker for financial stability and security are often left to handle the difficult burden of moving forward without them. Death benefits from workers’ compensation can help Illinois families adjust to a new normal in the aftermath of a loved one’s workplace death.

Source: tucson.com, “Ordnance explodes in Tucson scrap yard, killing worker“, Caitlin Schmidt, Sept. 23, 2015