In a situation that occurred uncomfortably close to the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a group postal workers on an Illinois military base were asked to come to a decontamination tent on the base after several post office employees reported becoming sick after a particular bin of mail was being sorted. Three employees were sent to the hospital, while 13 others were sent to the decontamination tent. Workplace accidents such as these aren’t unheard of regardless of where they occur. Some employees are exposed to potentially dangerous chemicals on a regular basis. Fortunately, officials assured that the local community was not endangered by the event.
The postal employees in this case were all treated and released the same day after coming in contact with a substance that had a sulfuric smell, but not all workplace accidents end so well.
Regardless, going to work should not be a cautioned experience. Millions of people across the nation have employment in what is considered by many to be dangerous lines of work. However, working at a post office should be the last place people need to worry about dangerous workplace accidents. Right? The world is not perfect, though, and many workplace accidents occur on a daily basis throughout the nation in any type of work environment; not all of them making national headlines.
When injured on the job, a person has the right to seek legal counsel. Whether to simply find out their rights or to fight for personal compensation, a good Illinois workplace accident lawyer may be able help an individual decide whether filing charges against the employer is the right move. Because of the nature of this incident, as well as the fact that symptoms of chemical exposure can lie dormant for an extended time, these employees may benefit in speaking with an attorney — if for nothing else than peace of mind.
Source: The Chronicle, “Suspicious package sickens workers at Air Force base,” Kim Bell, Aug. 30, 2011
