Wyoming man killed at G & D Integrated in Morton

A truck driver from Wyoming in rural Stark County was killed in a workplace accident at G & D Integrated in Morton last week.  The truck driver, an employee of Brubaker Transfer in Goodfield, was delivering a load of pipes to G & D.  Forklift drivers employed by G & D were unloading the pipes and caused the load to shift, and a 30-foot long, 2,500 pound pipe fell off the flatbed trailer and onto the truck driver's midsection, causing crushing injuries.  Even though the pipe was lifted off him and he was taken immediately to the hospital, the man was pronounced dead three and a half hours later at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.  OSHA is investigating.

When someone suffers fatal injuries on the job, their family is entitled to seek Illinois worker's compensation death benefits.  However, when someone other than the deceased employee, his employer, or a co-worker are to blame for the accident, his family can also file a third party liability lawsuit against the persons or companies responsible for the accident.  In that lawsuit, they would be claiming that the negligence of the at-fault parties caused the wrongful death accident.  The reason that a family in this situation would want to a third party laibility lawsuit is because it provides significant additional compensation for the death and holds the true wrongdoers accountable for what occurred.

Families that find themselves in this situation do not have to choose between filing for worker's compensation benefits and pursuing a third party liability suit.  They can do both.  The interplay between the worker's compensation case and the third party liability suit can be quite complex, so we always strongly recommend that people in this situation hire an experienced Illinois personal injury lawyer.

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