Aurora, Colorado, was the scene of a horrific workplace accident recently. According to ABC7 News, a construction worker was building a retaining wall when the prefabricated concrete slab fell on him. The man is recovering in the hospital, but it is unclear what his condition is. As he takes time to recover and until he is ready to return to work, he may be eligible for lost wages.
Lost wages are typically awarded to those people who are temporarily disabled from a workplace accident. Whether they are partially or totally disabled, injured workers can try to apply for lost wage benefits. When someone is completely unable to work because of a temporary total disability, he or she will receive two-thirds of his or her weekly salary. Those who are able to work but have received a pay cut because of their injuries or because they are no longer able to work full time will receive temporary partial disability benefit at two-thirds of the decrease in wages.
Some sources report that the construction worker who was injured was less than 30-years-old, but that he was responsible for a slab of concrete that weighed thousands of pounds. It appears the accident happened when part of the concrete broke off the slab and fell.
It has been said that the piece of concrete that fell on him was about 15-feet long. His coworkers were luckily able to get the pierce of concrete off of the man before paramedics came. He was initially stabilized before he was brought to the hospital.
Source: ABC 7 News, “Falling Concrete Slab Injures Worker,” Alan Gathright, May 22, 2012