Man charged after construction accident kills worker
On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Construction Workers’ Accidents on Friday, June 27, 2014.
Those workers who have chosen a career in construction know that, while the job is physically hard, it comes with its own feeling of accomplishment when the work has been completed. One man, who may have experienced that satisfied feeling of completing a job many times in his long career, has been killed after suffering injuries in a construction accident. The driver who hit him has been arrested by Illinois police officers and charged with drunk driving among other violations.
The accident occurred in the pre-dawn hours on a Saturday morning when the victim and his co-workers were busy applying fresh asphalt to the road surface. The driver who was charged was alleged to have been driving at a high rate of speed and turning in and out through the construction barriers. He finally came to a stop after hitting the 58-year-old man and then colliding with the machinery that was laying down the paving.
A co-worker who was operating the equipment immediately checked to see where the worker was and spotted his body laying several feet over on the walkway. The driver who was injured in the wreck was transported to a medical facility, as were his injured passengers. According to the report, some of the other injured construction workers received treatment at the site. The driver’s blood alcohol level was recorded at .195, well over twice the legal limit in Illinois.
The driver is facing several serious charges in connection to this fatal construction accident. The family of the man who was killed will most likely receive death benefits from the state’s workers’ compensation insurance program. In addition, if any of the other construction workers were wounded seriously enough to miss work, they too may qualify for the program. Even though the survivors may receive the benefits, they might also research the possibility of filing a wrongful death suit against the driver who may be held liable for their tragic loss. Other workers who have questions about applying for these benefits can seek information that may be useful when filing a qualifying claim.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Prosecutors: Driver in fatal construction worker wreck was impaired“, Geoff Ziezulewicz and Rosemary Regina, June 22, 2014
