Ironworker allegedly suffered fatal fall after bucket detached from lift truck

A wrongful death suit alleges an independent contractor suffered a fatal fall at a Motel 6 after the bucket on a lift truck he was using suddenly became detached.

Sharon Funk, as special administrator of the Estate of Timothy Funk, deceased, filed a complaint June 22 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Jenkins Displays Company, alleging negligence and wrongful death.

According to the plaintiff’s complaint, Timothy Funk was a member of the Ironworkers Local 392 in East St. Louis and was working as an independent contractor at Motel 6 in Pontoon Beach on May 28, 2021. The plaintiff alleges that while removing the hotel’s elevated sign and working from the basket of a manlift about 60 feet off the ground, the lift’s bucket suddenly became detached and caused Funk to suffer a fatal fall to the ground. The plaintiff claims Jenkins Displays failed to provide Funk with a safe place to work or to properly maintain its equipment.

The plaintiff seeks compensation of more than $50,000 and all other just relief.

This article was first published in Madison Record.

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