The building of the country’s infrastructure takes a toll on public funding, time and the hard labor of employees. Unfortunately, some employees pay the highest price and either suffer serious or even fatal injuries on the job. There have been many Missouri families whose lives have been forever altered by a serious construction worker accident.
One family is now faced with mourning the loss of a loved one after another construction worker died in the building of a highway that has already taken the lives of three other workers since construction began in 2015. The latest incident occurred earlier this month as workers were attempting to move drainage piping. Employees were hoisting the 20-foot section when the pipe broke free and struck a worker in the head. The unidentified man was transported for emergency medical treatment. Sadly, he could not be saved and was pronounced deceased at the medical facility.
The construction company has postponed further work while the local sheriff’s department conducts an investigation into the accident. This is the fourth fatality since work began on the so-called Ultimate Highway 4 in Florida. The first incident occurred in February, 2016, when a worker was struck and killed by a steel rebar. A second man was killed when he was struck by a construction vehicle in December of that same year.
In March 2018, a subcontractor was fined by officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration after a second man died after being hit by steel rebar. The agency found that the subcontractor was in violation of serious safety regulations and levied fines of $12,000. It is unclear whether the company, SGL Constructors, will face any consequences in this latest incident. Missouri employees who have been injured in a construction worker accident — or in any other workplace accident — are entitled to seek guidance from an attorney who is well versed in the handling of workers’ compensation claims for maximum benefits.