On June 22, an accident in Burnsville left one Department of Transportation worker with critical injuries and another with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities reported. The two workers were reportedly demarcating a lane on Interstate 35 with traffic cones when a car struck their truck.
One of the injured workers, a 43-year-old man and resident of Champlin, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with critical injuries, authorities said. The other injured worker, a 57-year-old man and resident of Rockford, suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the accident. The two men were part of a construction crew woking on a project to construct a concrete flood barrier alongside the interstate in the Burnsville area, reportedly.
Police booked the driver of the car involved in the accident, a 25-year-old man, into the Dakota County Jail on charges of criminal vehicular operation. The Minnesota State Patrol said that they are investigating the accident. Furthermore, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that they will conduct a safety audit of the accident to determine if they can make any improvements to prevent such workplace accidents in the future.
When this kind of unforeseen yet consequential accident occurs at the worksite, injured workers have the right to receive benefits through workers’ compensation insurance. Therefore, it is important that workers retain a workers’ compensation attorney and commence the claim-filing process if they suffer an injury while on the job. The attorney may not only guide injured workers through the process of filing a claim, which can sometimes be complicated, but also represent those workers if employers and their insurers dispute the claim, which can make for a highly contentious case. After a favorable resolution, injured workers may receive medical benefits and wage-loss benefits.
Source: myFOX9.com, “2 MnDOT workers hit by car on Interstate 35 in Burnsville”, Mike Durkin, June 23, 2014
