There are many jobs that are potentially hazardous to the health and well-being of the people who work at them day after day. Workers’ compensation laws are designed to make sure employers pay employees who are injured on the job. These payments can include medical expenses and lost wages due to injuries or occupational diseases directly related to work.
Along with other provisions that protect employers and co-workers, this insurance not only covers economic needs of an injured worker, it can provide financial security to the family of an employee who is killed while performing his or her job.
According to a Wisconsin Occupational Safety and Health Administration official, struck-by hazards are one of the most prevalent causes of construction and transportation injuries. Employers have the responsibility to protect and provide training for their employees to be sure safe conditions exist. A concrete company in Elderon has been cited by OSHA for failing to do so. In 2013, an accident happened when a trolley boom crane cable snapped. A driver’s foot was severed and leg crushed when he was pinned against a concrete riser.
OSHA defines a serious citation as one that reflects a hazard that an employer knew or should have known would likely cause serious injury or death. After the man’s accident, the company received 18 serious safety citations. Proposed fines of $56,700 have been assessed. The company employs about 1,250 across several Wisconsin locations.
In this case, the truck driver can seek workers’ compensation benefits with the investigated violations behind his request. OSHA has standards in place that govern construction derricks and cranes. The possibility of a legal remedy based on negligence can also be considered. Careful evaluation of the circumstances, the family’s financial needs going forward and medical expenses involved will allow for determining which choice will provide the best help for this employee.
Source:
CompNewsNetwork, “Worker’s Foot Severed at WI Job Site” No author given, Feb. 28, 2014
