Victims of work-related injuries are dependent upon swift action for medical care. Injured Bergen County employees and their families also expect workers’ compensation claims to be handled expeditiously to pay for accident-related financial losses. Many families seek legal advice when claim delays and denials add pressure to an already-stressful situation.
Federal safety inspectors recently were called to two, unrelated industrial accidents in Freehold Township. A sanitation worker lost his life in a machinery accident at Freehold Cartage Inc. In a second incident, an employee for an engineering firm suffered a severe leg injury during a digging project.
The 31-year-old trash company worker was struck by part of a machine that had broken free in a waste transfer station. The married father of two from Brick died at the scene. Police said the at-work death investigation was being handled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
New Jersey workers’ compensation insurance covers medical costs and lost wages for occupational injuries and illnesses. Additional benefits for surviving family members are available when a worker loses his life on the job.
Local authorities received an entrapment report four days after the fatality at the trash company. An Old Bridge man suffered a crushed leg while working on an F.T. Engineering crew that was preparing to install a septic system. The 49-year-old worker was standing in a hole when a protective steel wall, erected to prevent a collapse, gave way; the injury was not life-threatening.
A family’s priority is the health and recovery of an injured loved one. Grief takes precedence when a workplace accident causes a relative’s loss of life. Dealing with insurance claims or evidence of possible negligence after a job-related accident is more than many families can bear.
Injured employees need and deserve compensation when work accidents threaten their health and livelihood. Attorneys can assist families with the burden of monitoring claims and securing financial relief.
Source: Asbury Park Press, “Dad killed in one of two industrial accidents in Freehold” Margaret F. Bonafide, Jun. 03, 2014