Two people were injured on Feb. 19 after a car crashed through the window of a Wendy’s restaurant in New Jersey. The incident took place in Bayonne at 3:12 p.m. when an elderly woman crashed her BMW sports utility vehicle into the restaurant window and then drove 10 feet inside. The driver was not injured, but an 89-year-old man was left in critical condition, and a 12-year-old boy sustained leg injuries.
A police spokesperson said that the driver at fault in the car accident was not impaired by alcohol or drugs. Police said that the driver may have been trying to park her car, but they have no idea why she accelerated through the window. So far, no criminal charges have been filed as a result of the accident.
The 89-year-old man who was injured required surgery shortly after the accident. He was treated at Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health’s Intensive Care Unit and was listed in critical condition. Information about the injured boy’s condition was not immediately available. Following the accident, authorities cordoned off the area, and the vehicle was removed from the building. The Wendy’s building was structurally sound after the accident, but the restaurant remained closed the following day.
A worker who were to be injured in this type of accident would probably be entitled to file both a workers’ compensation claim and a third-party civil claim. Workers’ compensation benefits can be claimed regardless of who was at fault in a workplace accident, and a third-party civil claim can be filed against a non-employer third party. Speaking with an attorney may be a good way for an injured worker to determine how to claim compensation after a workplace accident.
Source: NJ.com, “89-year-old man in ‘critical condition’ after car slams into Wendy’s in Bayonne”, Jonathan Lin, Feb. 20, 2015