Worker killed in construction site accident

Accidents can happen at any type of workplace, but the hazards at construction sites are especially dangerous. At a busy work site where heavy equipment and materials are moving around, any accident can easily turn deadly.

A person described as a self-employed truck driver died in what police described as a construction accident that took place a little over an hour away from Charlotte. According to police, the truck driver had hauled certain heavy wall slats that were meant to soundproof an area around the road to the construction site. Apparently, the truck driver went to the back of the truck to help unload the slats. However, as he was removing the straps holding the material in place, a slat slipped and came off the back of the truck, striking and pinning the truck driver. The driver died at the scene of the accident.

A spokesman for the state agency responsible for investigating accidents of this nature, the North Carolina Department of Labor, indicated the agency was looking in to the cause of this tragic fatal accident. This accident, tragic in itself, also has the potential to raise some important legal issues that the family will have to work through. For one, since the driver was self-employed and from out of state, whether and to what extent his family will be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits is an important and potentially complicated issue.

After a fatal construction accident such as this one, a workers’ surviving family members may have several potential ways to pursue compensation for their loss. The workers’ compensation system may provide survivor benefits. There may be a cause for action in a wrongful death lawsuit, as well. If negligence was a factor in the accident, a number of parties could potentially be held liable for the death of a worker in a construction site accident, including the victim’s employer and other contractors and other businesses involved in construction project. An experienced Charlotte work comp attorney may be able to work through these issues with victims’ families to get them the justice they deserve.