Because of the dangerous nature of construction work and the negligence of some highway drivers, many transportation workers face serious injury, or even death, each year. As a result, states have passed laws to limit speeds in construction zones in an effort to keep the roadways safer for workers. Despite these efforts, many highway workers still incur serious injury annually and, as a result, seek workers’ compensation.
One such worker in New Jersey was critically injured recently after a driver apparently failed to obey traffic laws. The accident occurred in late July in Saddle Brook. The 38-year-old driver of the passenger vehicle that struck the worker was following a detail of three debris-removal trucks on the highway when he attempted to pass the detail on the right-hand side. While doing so, the driver struck both a concrete barrier and two DOT trucks before it came to a stop with the worker’s body pinned beneath his vehicle.
If not for a good Samaritan, a tow-truck driver who used his equipment to lift the vehicle off of the injured worker, the victim would not have survived. The worker was rushed to a local medical center. He was placed in a coma, and he remains in stable, but critical, condition.
This worker, like a host of others in New Jersey, suffered an injury doing day-to-day work that was within the normal scope of his duties. Because of another person’s seemingly reckless decision, he now faces many surgeries and a long road to a full recovery. Workers’ compensation benefits may help him and his family with the financial costs resulting from the accident, so they may choose to seek legal advice to ensure that the full range of benefits is obtained in a timely manner.
Source: dailyrecord.com, “Morris tower saves life of DOT worker“, William Westhoven, July 30, 2015