Category: News Reports

Work injuries are not uncommon at Texas road constructions sites.  An example is an incident which occurred in Crockett, Texas, this summer.  One person died and eight people were injured as a result of a five-vehicle collision on State Highway 7.  A construction site worker was among the injured.

According to Department of Public Safety Troopers, four vehicles were stopped at a construction zone at about 10:45 a.m. just before the crash occurred.  Those vehicles were a Ford Ranger, a silver Buick sedan, a Dodge pickup truck, and a black Buick sedan.  An 18-wheeler failed to stop and crashed into the rear of one of the vehicles, which caused a chain reaction involving all of the above-mentioned automobiles.

Teddy R. Chance, age 59, was the driver of the Ford; and he died at the scene of the collision.

Three people involved in the crash, including a construction site worker, were transported by helicopter to various hospitals in the area.  Two of them received medical treatment in Tyler at East Texas Medical Center.  The third was flown to Dallas for treatment at Children’s Hospital.

Five people involved in the collision were taken to ETMC in Crockett.

The construction worker who was injured in the accident had been working as a flagger when the collision occurred.

Among the responders to the scene were Houston County Sheriff’s Office, Crocket Fire Department, Texas Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, East Texas Medical Center of Crockett, and a constable’s office.

State Highway 7 was shut down in both directions while the scene was investigated.

Texas laws do not always allow injured workers to sue their employers directly. If a contracting company is at fault for an injury accident in the workplace, however, there is a potential for filing a claim to recover such damages as medical costs, loss of pay while recuperating, and pain and suffering. When an employee dies in a work injury accident as a result of the employer’s gross negligence, certain family members can sue the employer, whether or not the employer carried workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

–Guest Contributor

A psychologist from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Nursing has spent time researching and documenting a condition that is prevalent among many workers today, but has thus far received little attention. Compassion fatigue, as Susan Fletcher calls it, can drain a worker’s ability to cope with tasks on the job, and seriously affect emotional health.

The condition is seen in workers who care for others, including airline attendants, nursing home workers, counselors, teachers, and even financial advisors. Often at the core of the problem is that a worker is forced to do more with fewer resources. For example, a high school counselor may be assigned as many as 500 students. Having the responsibility to oversee the success of such a large number of youth can be overwhelming, leading a person to emotionally crumble under the burden.

A nursing home assistant, similarly, may face very long hours caring for individuals who often are completely unable to care for themselves. Many of those in such facilities are in their last years of life; daily facing the possibility of seeing a resident one has come to know and care for die takes a heavy toll.

Workers who develop compassion fatigue may find that they begin to make mistakes, or perhaps they fall into a pattern of avoidance. Dr. Fletcher indicates that the manifestation of the condition is unique to each individual. What is common is that the worker becomes progressively less able to perform on the job, and finds his/her personal life in jeopardy as well.

Dr. Fletcher suggests that employers are responsible for making sure workers don’t get overwhelmed. “They should encourage an environment that allows for debriefing,” she says. Counseling, exercise, journaling, and simply speaking with a friend can all help a worker avoid compassion fatigue.

Texas law does not usually allow workers to sue employers directly when an injury occurs, when there is worker’s compensation coverage. However, a contracting company may be sued, if it can be determined that the injury resulted from their negligence or fault.

– Guest Contributor