DEL NORTE— Due to a recent incident involving a CDOT employee, Director of the Department of Road and Bridge Patrick Sullivan spoke with commissioners about department policies during the mid-month meeting on Feb. 14.

Sullivan gave a report on the progress of the County Road 13 project that he and his crew have been working on for several weeks, opening a conversation on how the department is going to handle employees that may be injured on the job. “What we do is dangerous and I want to be sure that my employees are covered in the event of an accident,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan continued, stating that due to the recent death of a CDOT employee that was working on Highway 160 near Pagosa Springs, he wanted to know what the county’s policy is for insuring employees and their families in the event of an accident or death. “We have had an issue with people driving down County Road 13 way too fast and not paying attention to the people out there working on the road. We have had some close calls,” explained Sullivan.

“From what I understand, the employee that was killed while working, his family will only have health insurance for a month after his passing and I am not sure what our insurance policy is in regard to our employees. I want to make sure that my crew is taken care of.”

County Administrator Roni Wisdom stated that she thought their policy through CTSI was similar. “I am pretty sure that it is similar or the same with our policy through CTSI, but it would be worth looking into and asking what exactly the policy states and if we can change it in any way,” said Wisdom. Commissioners agreed that it is important to be sure of the insurance policy and to know what it entails in case something ever occurred and directed Wisdom to do some research to find out.

Sullivan then asked what the policy is for employees to stop and help in the event of an accident while out on the road. “There was an employee in another county that was on his way to work when he encountered an accident on the road and he stopped to help. Long story short, the accident was so bad that he required counseling after the fact and when his supervisor submitted the case to workman’s comp, it was denied. I tell my crew to always stop and help people if they need it. It is part of my policy, but I am not sure what the county’s is,” said Sullivan.

Commissioner Karla Shriver suggested pulling the job descriptions and revising them to say that it is required of employees to stop and aid in an accident should they encounter one while on the job, so that they have something to fall back on and to look into the policy with CTSI for that stipulation as well.

Sullivan asked if commissioners would support the employee’s side of the situation if it were to ever occur to which commissioners all agreed that they would do what is necessary to help the employee. “What we do is dangerous. We put our lives at risk everyday that we are out there on the road and the recent accident in Pagosa Springs confirms that. We need drivers to slow down and be aware of the crews on the road,” finished Sullivan.

Commissioners finished by stating that they would look into the insurance policy for both issues and get back with Sullivan in a timely manner.