Construction Workers Slammed by 18-Wheeler

Three injured on I-4 when tractor trailer collides with construction truck near Dover.

When construction worker Steven Cofield and Police Officer Maurice
Hensley reported for work at the construction site on I-4 near McIntosh
Road late Sunday night, they had no idea they would be dealing with
auto insurance and worker’s compensation insurance claims about to kick
in.

At about 1:55am on the morning of July 13, 2009, an “18-wheeler”
tractor trailer truck driven by Jack Duran of Orlando slammed into the
back of a construction truck driven by Steven Cofield of Bradenton,
creating a chain reaction crash with a police cruiser driven by Maurice
Hensley of Tampa and a second construction truck driven by William
Pettet of Valrico. The driver of the tractor trailer, along with the
driver of the construction truck, Steven Cofield, and also Officer
Hensley, were treated for potentially serious injuries as a result of
the crashes.

The four-vehicle pile-up closed the westbound lane of I-4 for nearly
four hours while police detectives conducted an investigation and
victims were rendered aid and transported to various hospitals,
including Tampa General, Saint Joseph’s, and Brandon Regional. Mr.
Pettet was the only operator of a vehicle not transported to an area
hospital.

All of the vehicles involved in the pile-up were lighted properly.
Both construction vehicles had flashing arrow signals, and the police
cruiser had its police lights in full ‘on’ mode as a warning to
oncoming traffic.

While the immediate assumption of the victims and their families is
probably that they only have auto accident insurance, they should know
that a huge portion of the claim will have to be dealt with through
worker’s compensation law. Since the construction workers, police
officer and tractor trailer driver were all “on the job” at the time of
the accident, both auto insurance and worker’s compensation laws now
become somewhat intertwined in the application to this case, and can
get relatively complex.

When faced with complex insurance claim issues, such as they appear
to be in this case, and dealing with multiple insurance companies, it’s
always a good idea to seek the advice of a competent attorney
specializing in both worker’s compensation and auto or car accident
injury law. Worker’s compensation claims come in a variety of guises.

Tony Francis is an Orlando personal injury lawyer. His practice
specializes in being an Orlando accident lawyer helping innocent
victims get compensation for their losses. To learn more about Orlando injury lawyer, Orlando personal injury lawyer, Orlando accident lawyer, Orlando injury attorney, visit Francislawgroup.com.