Illinois worker’s death caused by bulldozer ruled accidental

On behalf of Jeffrey Frederick of Frederick & Hagle posted in Construction Workers’ Accidents on Friday, February 1, 2013.

Back in Sept. of 2012 we posted about a terrible Illinois construction accident in which a 53-year-old construction worker was killed on the job when he was run over with a bulldozer. The autopsy of the victim showed evidence of several fractures scattered throughout the entirety of his body from the impact with the heavy machinery, in addition to severe trauma to his skull. It appears that the bulldozer that ultimately killed this construction worker was being operated by a fellow construction worker as the two were working to level a section of road in Washington, Illinois.

An Illinois State Trooper reports of the man that was operating the deadly machinery, “The bulldozer operator said he backed up to get more dirt and looked over his left shoulder when he felt the machine jar.” A judge ruled last week that the 53-year-old construction worker’s death was an accident, rather than a fatal construction accident stemming from an act of negligence.

It was found that the machine was in operating condition, and the operator did not have any significant hits on his toxicology report to indicate that he should not have been operating the machinery. However, even though it was determined there was not any negligence in this accident, the surviving families of victims similarly killed are still able to obtain some financial recovery following the death.

In such situations, the surviving family should be entitled under Workers’ Compensation Law to burial benefits of $8,000, and survivors benefits to provide some income replacement. An experienced attorney can assist families in securing such benefits following fatal workplace accidents.

Source: East Peoria Times Courier, “Jury rules construction zone death an accident,” Marlo Guetersloh, Jan. 30, 2013