Injury producing accidents occur throughout the Pittsburgh area regularly. While they happen in a variety of settings, some of the most serious take place in industrial settings. This past weekend one such incident occurred at the Edgar Thomson Plant.

Though it is not clear what exactly happened, the plant's owner, U.S. Steel indicated a fire broke out one night, shortly after midnight. As a result of the incident a man who was working there was apparently hurt. Accordingly, he was taken to a hospital via a helicopter. Though the nature of his injury is not known, he was reportedly allowed to go home after being checked out.

When workers are hurt in an industrial setting, as is the case in other workplaces, they may be able to obtain workers' compensation benefits. The benefits can be extremely helpful to cover things such as medical bills and lost wages that accumulate while a worker is recovering from an injury.

The procedure used to secure these benefits is different than what is followed in a lawsuit. Instead of filing a complaint, a claim for benefits is filed. Depending on the severity of the injuries the amount and length of period of time over which the benefits will be provided varies.

Benefits are not always immediately granted. In other occasions the amount provided is not sufficient to cover the expenses. For this reason many injured workers find that it is beneficial to work with a lawyer who is familiar with the workers' compensation system.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "One hurt in industrial accident at Braddock steel works," Dec. 16, 2012