July 18, 2013
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently signed a bill aimed at giving sanitation workers the same protections on the road that are given to emergency responders. Reports indicate an injured worker, who lost a majority of one leg and had the other seriously damaged in a Wisconsin Car Accident, lobbied for the law to be approved.
According to an article from the Deseret News, the worker was injured as he was collecting trash along his route in the town of Stoughton, Wisconsin. The victim explains that as he was walking around the side of his truck, a vehicle struck him and pinned him against his own vehicle.
He continues to recover from the loss of his leg and is only able to walk short distances due to injuries his other leg sustained in the incident.
His story prompted lawmakers to adopt a bill that doubles the fines for motorists caught speeding or driving recklessly near a garbage truck. The punishment is now the same as what an offender committing these acts near any emergency vehicle would face.
The injured worker had lobbied for the new law months before his accident, but says the passage of the bill helps make all he has gone through worth it.
A car accident lawyer in Appleton, WI with Sigman, Janssen, Sewall, Pitz & Burkham hope the new law will effectively protect the safety of sanitation workers in Wisconsin.