If a person is afraid of heights, then construction may not be the best employment option. Construction workers are commonly required to work on tall buildings and structures while on the job in Illinois and elsewhere. Understandably, this puts them in danger of falling and severely injuring themselves. In the worst case scenario, this type of construction accident could result in death. Tragically, this is what happened recently to a construction worker who fell three stories to his death.
The man was installing metal decking at a construction site at a local university when he lost his life after falling three stories. The incident happened at approximately 8:25 a.m. one day in early November. He was installing metal decking on a connector between two university buildings. There have yet to be any reports released regarding the specific details of the tragic accident.
The construction worker was employed by Solvay Iron Works, which was hired as a subcontractor for the construction site. The university did not initially reveal the identity of the decedent so that his loved ones could first be notified of the incident. The local fire department ambulance transported the man to a nearby medical facility, where he died approximately an hour later.
When a family loses a loved one in a construction accident, such as this one, there is undoubtedly serious grief and anguish. However, the death of a loved one also comes with more pragmatic problems, such as funeral costs or even medical bills from a visit to the hospital which did not ultimately save the victim. This is why families of those who died in a work accident in Illinois or elsewhere may take some solace in the fact that an on the job injury or illness is typically covered by workers’ compensation benefits. In this instance, the surviving family is likely entitled to death benefits to cover funeral and final medical expenses as well as to address the lost income engendered by the tragedy which occurred.
Source: Syracuse.com, “Iron worker dies this morning after fall at SUNY Oswego construction site,” Charley Hannagan, Nov. 9, 2012
