A sixth worker died last week as a result of injuries suffered in the February 7 explosion at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown, Connecticut. The man had been in intensive care due to the injuries he suffered in the construction accident. The explosion happened as workers were testing the system for the natural gas power plant. The exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
We strongly recommend to anyone who is involved in a serious construction accident that they retain experienced personal injury lawyers immediately. There are several reasons for this. One is that investigating a construction accident such as this is a complex undertaking, and having experienced lawyers on your side allows you to get court orders as needed to ensure that well-qualified experts and investigators can do their work. The other is that there is a potential third party liability construction accident case, and the relationship between the third party liability suit and the worker's compensation case can be complex indeed.
The final reason is that there are actually two parts to every Illinois wrongful death suit. One part is the survival action, which is for conscious pain and suffering and other damages incurred prior to death. The other part is the wrongful death action, which is for the losses suffered by the surviving next of kin as a result of the death. We work early in the case to develop witnesses and testimony who can help us support claims for both the wrongful death and survival portions of the case.