Car racing fans in New Jersey might be interested to learn about a crash that occurred on May 30 at the Tudor United SportsCar Championship race in Detroit. The International Motor Sports Association race ended with a multi-car accident that seriously injured a safety worker. The unidentified victim’s injuries included those to his kidney and spleen, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
According to reports, there was dry weather at the race until the very end when it started to rain. Rather than letting pit crews change their cars’ tires, the teams that were competing in the race tried to finish out the last leg using slick tires that weren’t designed for wet weather. Right at the finish line, a driver lost control and hit the wall and a safety truck. Afterwards, at least three more cars hit the tire barriers.
There were reports that the accident involved factors that would have been dangerous even without the rain. The safety truck that was struck by the first driver was parked near the finish line in turn one. Drivers approaching the finish line were trying to avoid hitting the truck while struggling to maintain control of their vehicles in the rain.
A person who has been injured in this type of workplace accident may face significant medical expenses, and the financial blow may be worsened by an inability to return to work. In many cases, an injured victim may be eligible to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits that can help ease those burdens, and an attorney might be of assistance throughout the process.
Source: Yahoo! Sports, “IMSA safety worker injured in end of race crash at Detroit,” Nick Bromberg, May 31, 2015