Worker critically injured in construction accident

On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Construction Workers’ Accidents on Thursday, February 4, 2016.

A man’s life may never be the same after suffering catastrophic injuries at a construction site outside of Illinois. It is not entirely clear if the necessary safety precautions were in place before the worker fell a full four stories. Multiple agencies, including local police, have since stepped in to investigate the construction accident.

The 40-year-old worker was described as a quiet, nice guy by his co-workers. Just prior to the fall, he was atop a ladder in order to apply drywall to the building. After falling four stories down the inside of the building’s elevator shaft, he was impaled on three steel bars, commonly referred to as rebar. The bars drove through the man’s thigh, groin area and stomach.

Those present at the construction site described the grizzly scene, indicating that the victim was conscious the entire time despite the fall and a troubling bump on the man’s head. Emergency responders were able to remove two of the bars before transporting him, but the third had to be removed at the hospital, where his condition was first listed as critical. Health care workers later released an update, saying he had since become stable.

This is just one of an untold number of tragedies that exemplify the need for safety equipment to prevent falls. The average construction site holds any given number of potential hazards, all of which construction workers must safely navigate in order to complete their job. With the proper safety gear and precautions in place, a construction accident could be lurking around the corner for any given construction worker in Illinois, after which workers’ compensation benefits are usually necessary in order to achieve the best recovery possible.

Source: dnainfo.com, “Construction Worker Impaled on Rebar in 4-Story Fall, Officials Say“, Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner, Jan. 27, 2016