Workplace injury: 2 city workers killed while collecting trash

City workers in Tennessee, especially those working on the busy roads, are exposed to multiple hazards. Unfortunately, some motorists fail to keep a lookout for utility vehicles, such as garbage trucks. It is not uncommon for a city worker to suffer a workplace injury that was caused by a third party driver.

An accident report indicates that the incident occurred at about 9 a.m. on a recent Tuesday morning. A 51-year-old veteran city worker of 16 years along with a 22-year-old colleague who had only been employed by the city for five days were collecting garbage on a street in Overton County. The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported that the two workers would collect trash from residences and then deposit it on the back of the garbage truck.

As they were about to dump some garbage into the truck, an approaching driver failed to reduce speed and crashed into the back of the truck, striking both workers. Emergency workers arrived at the scene and did what they could to save the lives of the two workers. Sadly, their efforts were in vain, and both men were declared dead.

In most cases, the family of a Tennessee worker who dies after suffering a fatal workplace injury can pursue financial relief by filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. However, in a case such as this one in which the workers’ deaths were caused by a party not connected to the employer, the surviving families may also have viable third-party claims. Coping with both a workers’ compensation claim and a wrongful death lawsuit may be overwhelming, and surviving family members are free to retain the services of experienced workers’ compensation attorneys to support and guide them through the proceedings of both claims.

Source: wkrn.com, “2 city workers killed after pickup crashes into garbage truck”, Nov. 10, 2015