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September 18, 2024
Highway Work Zone Injuries Are Increasing in Kansas
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In March 2024, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) released its 2023 statistics for work zone crashes and injuries on Kansas roadways, reflecting an alarming spike in cases.
Reports show that there were 1,482 work zone crashes around the state last year, and most of the crashes happened during the day without any presence of adverse road conditions.
Driver-related causes are at fault for 92% of the incidents, with many of the cases caused by the following:
- Improper lane change
- Lack of attention on the road
- Following too closely
- Right of way violations
- Speedy driving
Over 500 cases of highway worker injury were recorded in the same report—six of which resulted in nine deaths due to negligent drivers.
About highway work zone accidents and injuries
Workers in an industry that demands to render labor on highways and overpasses live and breathe danger. In the United Stated States, a statistic from the National Safety Council (NSC) proves this—with 891 workers killed in 2022 and 337,701 injured due to work zone crashes.
Despite these numbers, efforts for preventive measures to avoid such accidents on-site do exist.
Construction work zones typically have different areas to establish vehicular traffic control and warn cars and pedestrians as they pass through the working area:
Advanced Warning Area: An area where drivers are informed of a traffic control area, road closure, incident, or lane change.
Transition Area: In the transition area, drivers smoothly transition to the new lanes set for them, avoiding the construction site.
Buffer Area: This is an extra space for drivers to correct their vehicles; it does not have storage or equipment.
Work Area: The work area is where the construction or utility work is done. It is the space dedicated to workers, material, and equipment storage.
Termination Area: The termination area is where pedestrian and vehicular traffic return to their usual travel path.
However, although there are designated areas, it still doesn’t hide the fact that construction site highway workers still move in an open environment on duty with ongoing traffic and often no concrete barriers. Any safety violations of drivers, workers, and pedestrians could lead to lethal injuries.
Moreover, some of the damage workers can sustain are broken bones, nerve damage, brain, spinal cord, back, and neck injuries.
Workers’ compensation lawyer for highway work zone injuries and deaths
Work zone injuries and deaths can change the trajectory of a victim’s life, as well as his family. Such accidents affect survivors and non-survivors financially, and recovery can be difficult.
In most cases, no matter the cause of the work zone accident, injured parties are subject to workers’ compensation claims for their medical bills, loss of earnings, punitive damages, and more.
Unfortunately, insurance companies work hard to convince you to settle for less.
In this laborious process, a workers’ compensation lawyer can help ensure that victims get their rightful claim and do not settle for less than what they deserve.
How a work zone accident lawyer can help
If you think negligence is the cause of your injury or a family member’s death on the road or construction site, we can help you gather evidence and determine the party liable for the injury.
Our team of expert work injury lawyers are experienced in handling construction accident cases, helping individuals investigate the causes of their injuries, and filing necessary paperwork for workers’ compensation claims and Social Security disability insurance.
For a free, no-obligation consultation, call 1-800-568-7500 or contact us online today.
