Family of Pregnant DOT Employee Killed on Job Works to Change Laws

St. Louis, MO (WorkersCompensation.com) – The family of a pregnant Missouri Department of Transportation worker who was killed on the job is working to change the law in Missouri. 

The bill, introduced last week in the Missouri Legislature, would provide Missouri citizens with the ability to seek punitive damages if they or a family member are injured if the state violates safety rules. 

It would also increase burial fees and compensation for deceased employees. 

According to the Missouri Department of Labor, employees killed on the job as the result of a work-related accident are entitled to death benefits. The weekly death benefit paid to the employee’s survivors is 66 2/3 percent of the deceased employee’s average weekly wage for the year immediately preceding the fatal accident, subject to a state maximum. The employer/insurer is also responsible for funeral expenses up to $5,000. 

The new bill stems from an accident in November when Kaitlyn Anderson, 25, and James Brooks, 58, were killed while they were working as Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) employees on a striping project. 

Officials with MoDOT said Anderson, who was 22-weeks pregnant, Brooks and a third employee were working on striping operations on Interstate 255. The three workers were standing behind a Chevrolet Silverado with its blinkers on. 

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, around 11 a.m. on November 18, a Chevrolet Cavalier drove through the construction zone. The driver Stanley McFadden, 52, struck the Silverado and the three workers. 

Brooks and Anderson died at the scene from their injuries. The third employee was injured and taken to a nearby hospital with moderate injuries. 

At the time of the accident, MoDOT issued a statement expressing its grief. 

"Our hearts are breaking and our sympathies go out to all the families of our employees. These were our friends and coworkers, and they will be sorely missed by us. At this time, the Missouri State Highway Patrol is still actively investigating the crash." 

Anderson’s family said previously that she had requested a safer position with the MoDOT when she realized she was pregnant. The family said the agency honored her request and moved her out of the buffer trucks she had been in before where she had been hit three times. 

However, the family questioned why the workers were behind the truck instead of in front of it. 

"Who is in charge?" Tabitha Moore, Anderson’s aunt told KMOV. "What needs to be done to protect these workers? MoDOT put out a report yesterday saying that 138 people have died. Wasn't one too many?" 

Andrew Mundwiller, the family’s attorney said the family will pursue all legal options, in addition to seeking legislation that will change safety protocols so no other MoDOT workers are endangered. 

"The biggest obstacle is getting lawmakers to care about human beings and not about the insurance agency and corporate power structures and big government," said Andrew Mundwiller, the family's attorney. 

Mundwiller said he feels the new legislation has a good shot at passing, even though similar bills have been proposed in the past without success. 

"People that are the victims of negligence usually get shut out of the process because of the strong insurance lobby in Missouri and so that is something we are still concerned about how far can we get with these bills but with that being said, this family is so resilient," Mundwiller said.  

The family met with legislators in Jefferson City this past week, Mundwiller said, and continues to ask everyone to slow down, stay alert for any transportation workers, and to support them in their efforts to get new safety protocols enacted.

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