A 43-year-old public works employee working outside a high school in Palm Coast suffered injuries working on a construction project, which is part of a $5 million capital improvement endeavor to help correct the flooding problem on Bulldog Drive and make the intersection a safer area for pedestrians and vehicles. A representative for the city of Palm Coast said that the employee and other crewmembers were in in the process of laying down a 40-inch pipe at the time of the construction accident, after which the public works employee was taken to an area hospital.
The crew was in a trench about 20 feet wide and 8 feet deep near Flagler Palm Coast High School shortly before 12 p.m. on June 10. An equipment operator saw that the ground was beginning to shift and commanded everyone to vacate the trench. Only one worker was unable to exit the trench safely and became pinned against a pipe with dirt surrounding him almost up to his waist.
Crewmembers responded quickly by using shovels to dig out the injured employee, who was then transported by ambulance to nearby Florida Hospital Flagler. He was listed in fair condition later that day.
Anyone who is injured in a workplace accident can consider filing for workers’ compensation benefits in order to receive reasonable medical treatment and potentially a portion of any wages that were lost because of his or her recovery. However, some accidents occur because of negligence from the employer, other employees or even a third party. If the negligent party was the employer, the injured worker can decline receiving workers’ compensation benefits and instead file a lawsuit. However, if the negligent party was another employee or a third party, a lawsuit could be filed against that individual to make up for any accident-related expenses that workers’ compensation does not provide for.
Source: The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “Palm Coast worker hospitalized following job site injury“, Tony Holt, June 10, 2014
