On any given construction site, there are a number of moving vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment. All it takes is one wrong move or moment of inattention for a serious — or fatal — construction accident to occur. Unfortunately for one Illinois highway worker, he was involved in such a construction accident when a dump truck backed up on him.
The accident happened when the highway worker was working to repair the culverts in an Illinois community. While he was working, a dump truck that was owned by the township started to move backward, struck him and ran him over. Though nobody saw the accident as it happened, many of his fellow workers saw the horrific results when they found him underneath the dump truck.
His fellow workers called for emergencies crews immediately after they came upon the accident site. Unfortunately, when emergency crews arrived, there was nothing they could do for the man. He was finally pronounced dead less than an hour later. After an autopsy was performed, it was determined that he had died from compression asphyxiation, meaning his lungs couldn’t expand after being crushed.
It is no wonder that his family must be shocked by the construction accident. After all, seeing as he was still working successfully in construction at the age of 62, they likely thought that he would continue working until his eventual retirement. As they grapple with their loss, they may be interested in knowing that workers’ compensation death benefits may be able to cover any final expenses as well as provide other important benefits. Though this benefit cannot bring the man back, a fact the surviving family is keenly aware of it can at least provide some financial support as the family struggles to come to terms with the tragedy.
Source: Belleville News-Democrat, “Township truck backs over highway worker, killing him,” Oct. 4, 2012
