Connecticut Highway Worker Injury Lawyer
Workers’ Compensation for Highway Workers
Despite an abundance of precautions, highway maintenance workers and road crews are constantly at risk of getting hit by oncoming traffic. Road construction zones can be an extremely hazardous place to work. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) says that 100,000 highway work zone accidents happen every year (one accident every 5.4 minutes), injuring more than 20,000 workers and killing about 120. Similarly, the United States Department of Transportation documented 200,000 workers injured and 4,400 killed in highway work zones from 2014-2019. In Connecticut, various occupations for tunnel, bridge and elevated highway workers have been listed as high-risk or safety-sensitive occupations by the Connecticut Labor Commissioner. These jobs include bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, divers, diving tenders, laborers, operating engineers, pile drivers, truck drivers, and truck driver helpers engaged in tunnel, bridge and highway construction.
Morizio Law Firm helps injured workers engaged in dangerous occupations, including highway workers throughout the state of Connecticut. If you are an injured highway worker or the family member of a highway worker who has been injured or killed, call Morizio Law Firm at 475-338-3505 for help getting financial assistance.
Highway Maintenance Workers Get Hit by Oncoming Traffic
Workers on the road are exposed to severe injury or death if they get hit by an oncoming vehicle while working in a road construction zone. Likewise, operators of backhoes, loaders and other construction machinery may get involved in a crash when entering or exiting the work zone. The employer should be providing flaggers, illumination, safety apparel, barriers, buffer zones and warnings to drivers as reasonable safety precautions to prevent these accidents. As regards the employer, fault is not really an issue, as you can receive workers’ compensation benefits regardless of whether the employer was negligent or not. However, you might have a personal injury claim against a negligent driver as well as a workers’ comp claim. It’s important to pursue a personal injury when you have one, because you can recover more damages in a civil suit than you can get from workers’ comp. If suing a negligent driver, fault does matter. You’ll need to prove the driver was to blame, and they might, in turn, allege that the employer was negligent in maintaining the site. Having a board-certified workers’ compensation specialist on your side can help in determining liability and finding the right avenues to pursue maximum compensation for your claims.
Helping Injured Highway Workers in Connecticut Collect Benefits and Compensation
Board-certified workers’ compensation specialist Lawrence Morizio helps highway workers pursue workers’ compensation and personal injury claims, as applicable, when they are injured on the job. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a highway work accident, call Morizio Law Firm at 475-338-3505, or contact us online to tell us about your case.
