Many people envision the workplace as a building filled with desks and computers, but this is only one, narrow view of what some places of employment look like. Some are large factories while others might be the dining room of a restaurant. Some are at the bottom of a trench, like the site of a recent work-related accident in Illinois.
Two men were part of a contracted crew working to dig trenches for a soon-to-be-laid natural gas pipeline. The trenches were apparently quite large in size, measuring at least 20 feet down in some places. Both of these men were injured while working on the pipeline trenches.
One of the workers fell off of a ladder when he was either climbing into or out of the trench, and he landed on top of the other worker, who was somewhere below him. Both were injured, and were stranded for approximately 40 minutes while emergency responders safely removed them. They were ultimately manually removed from the trench with a series of ropes and pulleys, and then transported to an area hospital, one via ambulance and another by helicopter.
Depending on their workplace, employees in Illinois might face a broad range of potential hazards. Some might be susceptible to accidents from repetitive motions, while others are at a higher risk for injuries related to falls. Regardless of the manner in which a person is injured, the victim of a work-related accident is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, which provides the necessary financial compensation for recovery.
Source: dailyherald.com, “Firefighters rescue two injured workers from Elgin trench“, Madhu Krishnamurthy, Oct. 20, 2017
