Benefits are available for Harrisburg employees who are injured on the job. Workers’ compensation benefits, provided by employer-paid insurance, cover medical costs and wage losses for workplace accident victims. Benefits are also available for immediate family members when a loved one suffers a fatal job-related injury.
A Pennsylvania sanitation worker died recently when he was struck by a pickup truck in the northwest part of the state. The accident victim was on morning rounds with another worker in St. Marys. Both men were collecting trash outside a parked garbage truck when the collision occurred.
Investigators reported the pedestrian accident happened around 6:40 a.m. The incident took place on a morning when fog and related glare from headlights possibly interfered with the truck driver’s ability to see the men working. Police have come to no final conclusions about the cause of the accident.
The 44-year-old victim of the job-related vehicle accident was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The cause of death was blunt force trauma. The fatal collision was ruled an accident — authorities are continuing to investigate.
Drivers are expected to adjust accordingly to changes in the weather. Driving too fast for conditions can include going any unsafe speed in snowstorms and rainy or foggy conditions.
Every driver owes a “duty of care” to others on the road – other operators, vehicle occupants, bicyclists and pedestrians. The obligation is to operate a potentially dangerous vehicle as safely as possible to avoid unnecessary harm.
Plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases must show a defendant had a responsibility toward an accident victim, before it can be proven the accused did not uphold it. Allegations of negligence assert a defendant’s unreasonable behavior contributed to an injury or death.
A recipient of workers’ compensation benefits is not prohibited from filing legal claims against third parties. Attorneys help victims and families pursue of all available compensation.
Source: The Bradford Era, “Garbage truck driver killed in St. Marys on Monday rounds,” Oct. 05, 2015