Wednesday started out as a workday, just like any other workday. A construction worker reported to the jobsite to pursues the tasks of the day. But in an instant, the circumstances rapidly changed for the worker. A 41-year-old Vernon man sustained serious work-related injuries Wednesday morning.
The construction worker showed up at a construction site along Route 57. Materials were being delivered to the construction site that morning. A delivery truck was parked, ready to have materials off-loaded when a tragic New Jersey construction accident occurred.
The 41-year-old worker was piling bundles of wood to elevate a pallet for a forklift. The worker was placing some wood under the pallet to reach the forks. The forklift operator was not present at the time the accident occurred.
While stacking the wood near the forklift and delivery truck, the forklift began to move. Police say the forklift, for an unknown reason, was left in drive. While widening the forks on the machinery, the forklift moved into the worker. The 41-year-old became trapped between the forklift and the delivery truck. It is not known how long the worker was trapped.
Police and emergency personnel were dispatched to the Route 57 site. Upon arrival, they found the worker on the ground, conscious and alert. The worker was experiencing abdominal pain from being trapped by the forklift.
Emergency crews originally transported the 41-year-old to Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. The worker was picked up at Hackettstown and airlifted to Morristown Memorial Hospital for treatment for stomach injuries.
While worker’s compensation law, which https://www.marketmymarket.com/ clients have observed, governs compensation between an employer and employee for work related injuries, third party claims are addressed under sunrise personal injury law.