A van carrying 11 workers crashed and rolled over killing three and injuring eight. The accident happened Wednesday afternoon October 16, 2019, when the driver of the van lost control and the van hit a road sign and rolled over. The van was traveling in the southbound lanes of the Route 1 bypass near Newark Road. According to police at the scene, one victim was ejected and three others trapped.
Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and eight were transported to local hospitals. Police are not certain why the driver lost control of the van, and at this time it’s too early to tell if alcohol, drugs or excessive speed contributed to the crash.
Passenger Work Van Accidents
Each year, around 2,500 workers die in automobile crashes making it the number one cause of workplace accidents. Worker transportation accidents make up over 40 percent of workplace deaths each year, the next closest is slips and falls at 17 percent.
There are many reasons why transportation deaths are so high, and the primary reason is the risk everyone takes when they are out on the roads. Also, in many cases, vans, trucks and buses are often carrying a large number of workers making a single accident potentially responsible for several deaths.
Work Transportation Injury Liability
When a work van or other passenger vehicle gets in an accident, the victims who are employees are sometimes able to collect compensation through the state’s workers compensation insurance. Also, the victims can recover from the at-fault driver. This is based on the negligence of the at-fault driver, and any compensation from this person or company is separate from any workers compensation benefits that may be available.
Responsible Driver
If the at-fault person is a driver of another vehicle, then that driver’s insurance will pay compensation for the injuries and damages. Even then, there may be some liability on the company and the transportation service if separate from the company.
At other times, the at-fault person might be the driver of the passenger van carrying the workers. In these cases, the law will require the driver and the company that the driver works for to pay compensation for those injured. A good attorney will know how to determine which policies and compensation sources are available in each accident.
Defective Equipment or Other Causes
Sometimes the cause is something other than driver error, and this means that the victims might have to be a bit creative to find someone with enough funds to compensate them for their losses. Equipment failures, poor maintenance or even improper maintenance on the roads can all be causes of worker van accidents.
In these cases, a third party—other than any of the divers involved in the crash—might be on the hook for the victims’ losses. The good news in most of these cases, the amount of funds available is much higher if a company or business is to blame. Most businesses have at least a one million policy for bodily injury and other negligence by their employers.
Contact a New Jersey Auto Accident Lawyer.
After any accident involving a serious injury, contact a highly rated Auto accident lawyer such as Edith Pearce. Unlike the huge firms with dozens of attorneys and many different attorneys handling different aspects of your case, Edith Pearce is personally involved in every case that we handle. She genuinely cares about her clients and you will not be treated like just another case or file.
Contact The Pearce Law Firm, P.C. at (215) 557-8686 for a free consultation and case evaluation.