Chicago Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee listened to retired NFL football players talk about how years of getting hit on the head while playing the game has caused them to struggle with depression, homelessness, memory problems, and the ability to complete simple tasks. Some researchers are even drawing a link between professional football and memory-related diseases, including dementia. According to a study conducted at the University of Michigan, retired pro football players may have a six times greater incidence rate when it comes to suffering from dementia compared to the rest of the population.

Boston University School of Medicine Chris Nowinski says striking one’s head thousands of time while playing football can cause a disease that kills brain cells. Neuropathologist Dr. Anne McKee, who had had examined the brains of numerous professional and college football players, said 11 of her subjects exhibited brain degradation, memory loss, and emotional issues prior to their deaths.

Also attending the hearing was NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. He pointed out the improvements the NFL has made, including better helmet technology and banning certain kinds of physical hits. He refused to acknowledge a direct connection between playing football and brain disorders.

Regardless, hitting your head or having your head struck can result in serious head injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Depending on the seriousness of the head injury or TBI, it can also lead to long-term disabilities, impairment of the senses, language difficulties, problems being able to reason, emotional problems, social inappropriateness, epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s disease, coma, and death.

In this state, NFL players are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

NFL head injuries a hot topic in Congress, Los Angeles Times, October 29, 2009

House Judiciary Committee Hearing Calls Attention to Long-Term Effects of Head Injury Among NFL Players, Reuters, October 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Football League

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

Continue reading " Does Playing NFL Football Cause Long-Term Head Injuries? " »

Six Harvard University researchers were hospitalized in August after drinking coffee that was poisoned. The coffee, which came from a coffee machine in a campus building, had sodium azide in it.

The poisoned researchers, consisting of Harvard Medical School students and scientists, experienced various side effects after drinking the coffee, including low blood pressure, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and fainting. All six victims were treated at Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center.

Sodium azide, commonly used in labs as a preservative, is listed as a “potentially deadly chemical" by the federal government. All of the victims work in the medical school’s pathology department where they test mice to determine the way the immune system and diseases interact.

Harvard University is installing more security cameras and adding additional security to prevent this kind of incident from happening again. Police and health officials are trying to figure out how the coffee was poisoned. Was it a work accident or attempted murder?

Sodium Azide
According to Mallinckrodt Baker, a chemical company, sodium azide is highly toxic. Ingesting it can lead to abnormal breathing, low blood pressure, rapid heart beat, pulmonary edema, breathlessness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, restlessness, reduced body temperature, red eyes, skin burns, lung injury, convulsions, reduced body pH, respiratory failure, collapse, brain damage, heart damage, and death.

Poisoning at Harvard, Boston Herald, October 25, 2009
Sodium Azide, Mallinckrodt Baker

Related Web Resources:
Facts About Sodium Azide, CDC

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

Continue reading " Work Injury: Harvard Researchers Hospitalized Due to Poisoned Coffee " »

The last few days have been rough for at least three workers who sustained catastrophic injuries on the job. On Saturday, Seth Golbitz severed four fingers on his right hand during an industrial accident.

Doctors were able to reattach his index finger. However, they could not save his ring finger and middle finger. His pinkie now only extends up to his first knuckle.

Golbitz, 32, and another worker were using a computer-controlled overhead router when the work accident happened. OSHA is investigating the incident.

On Monday, a worker fell to his death at a CPS Energy coal plant. According to another worker, Toby Shane Berry was on an unsecured portion of a walkway that tipped. Berry lost his balance and fell approximately 30 feet. He died from fatal head injuries.

Even though the 27-year-old was wearing a safety harness, he did not secure it to anything.

Berry is the second person killed this year during a fall accident at the construction site. In January, Horatio Sepulveda was working on scaffolding when he fell.

Calaveras Power Partners, Berry’s employer, says the company requires that all workers be secured by two harnesses when working at elevated heights.

Also on Monday, another worker was sent to the hospital when he was buried alive during a construction accident. Cory A. Rogers was working in a 7-foot trench when he was covered by dirt and rocks. It took rescuers over an hour to dig him out.

Worker falls to death at power plant, My San Antonio, October 27, 2009

1 of Cranston worker's 4 fingers reattached, The Providence Journal, October 26, 2009

Bristol man remains in guarded condition following construction accident, MPN Now, October 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Construction Safety, CDC

Workers' Compensation Overview, Justia

Continue reading " Recent Industrial and Construction Accidents Result in Catastrophic Injuries " »

In Chicago, the First District Appellate Court says that an Elmhurst Park District employee who got hurt in 2002 while playing Wallyball is indeed entitled to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits for his injury. Sean Murphy sought work injury benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act after he injured his right leg. His employer countered by citing section 11, which prevents workers from recovering benefits from work accidents that occurred during voluntary recreational programs (unless participation was mandatory).

Murphy, however, says on the day he was injured, an off-duty co-worker asked him to play the game. He refused but the co-worker pushed him into participating by saying the game wouldn’t take place otherwise due to a shortage of players. Murphy, a fitness supervisor, says his job included promoting and implementing programs and classes for patrons.

An arbitrator found that section 11 wasn’t applicable to this DuPage County workers’ compensation case because Murphy was doing his job. He was awarded temporary total disability benefits for seven weeks and two days. The arbitrator also awarded him, for the 25% loss of use of his leg, 50 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, a Cook County Circuit Judge, and the state appellate panel affirmed the arbitrator’s findings.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Injuries on the job can be very painful and costly. Because you cannot sue your employer for Chicago personal injury, it is important that you receive all of the workers’ compensation benefits you are owed. Sometimes, an employer will try to delay or deny benefits.

Man's Wallyball Injury Leads to Workers' Comp, Courthouse News, October 26, 2009

Panel: Playing wallyball part of the job for injured worker, All Business/Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, October 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Elmhurst Park District

American WallyBall Association

Continue reading " Illinois Workers' Compensation: Appeals Court in Chicago Affirms that Worker Injured While Playing Wallyball is Entitled to Benefits " »

An Illinois worker who was injured during a Park Ridge construction accident on October 17 died. Joseph C. Patyk, 32, is from Skokie.

According to police, the construction worker was using a power rodder to clean a drain located outside a residence when the catastrophic Chicago-area work accident happened. A neighbor found Patyk unconscious at around 7:30am. Patyk’s sweatshirt appears to have become entangled in the sewer equipment equipment he was using.

Today, in another construction accident, two workers got hurt while installing a tire on a piece of equipment. Geoff Beaudry, who was injured on the head, was also treated for facial injuries. Construction worker Brandon Erme received medical care for possible eyes injuries.

Illinois Construction Accidents
The construction industry is a high-risk field that can lead to catastrophic injuries for workers. Fortunately, most workers are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits that can cover medical costs and lost wages. An experienced Chicago workers' compensation law firm can ensure that you receive all work injury benefits that you are owed.

Examples of Construction Accidents:
• Construction machinery accidents
• Crane accidents
• Scaffolding accidents
• Fall accidents
• Motor vehicle-related construction accidents
• Electrocution accidents
• Fire accidents
• Trench collapses
• Exposure to hazardous substances
• Explosions
• Defective construction devices
• Structural collapses
• Falling objects

An injured construction worker and his or her family may also be entitled to third-party Chicago personal injury recovery.

Two hurt at Maumee Tire Man, ToledoontheMove, October 24, 2009

Contractor dead after accident with sewer equipment, Chicago Sun-Times, October 21, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Construction Accidents, Justia

OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says the probe into the death of a 63-year-old janitor could take up to half a year. Dennis Woods, a Chicago resident, died following an Illinois work accident at Material Sciences Corp., an Elk Grove Village industrial company, on Wednesday.

According to Elk Grove Village Fire Battalion Chief William Sellers, Woods was attempting to place an 18,500 pound, 5,800 feet long steel coil onto a machine so it could get a paint finish when the heavy object fell on him.

He became trapped under the heavy object and died before rescuers arrived. It took firefighters several hours to extricate his body from under the coil.

Woods had been working for the industrial company for over 30 years.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
If someone you love was killed during a work accident, you may be entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits for your loved one’s death. Losing someone you love is always a tragedy. It can also take a huge financial toll, which is one of the reasons it is important that you receive your survivors’ benefits.

The spouse and children of a worker who had workers’ compensation are entitled to full benefits in the event of the employee's death. If there is no eligible husband, wife, son, or daughter, then the worker's totally dependent parents can receive the benefits.

Investigation into worker's death could take half a year: OSHA, Daily Herald, October 15, 2009

Man killed in Elk Grove Village workplace accident, Chicago Breaking News, October 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Workers' Compensation Benefits

ndustrial Accidents, Chicago Tribune

Continue reading " Chicago Worker Dies in Crush Accident at Industrial Company " »

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing fines totaling $518,520 against All-Feed Processing and Packaging Inc. OSHA is accusing the Galva pet food research and packaging company of committing serious, willful, failure to abate, and repeat violations of federal workplace health and safety standards.

Alleged violations include:

• Inadequate housekeeping, making it possible for combustible dust to accumulate.
• No explosion prevention systems.
• Insufficient protection gear for workers.
• Inadequate warning signs during the processing of combustible dust.
• Failure to lockout energy sources when maintenance occurs.
• Deficiencies in training.
• Fall hazards.
• Failure to put together a hazardous chemicals list.
• Using flexible cords in place of fixed equipment and wiring.
• Using wiring not approved for danger spots.

Last April, three workers were treated at a hospital when a fire broke out at the facility. One worker, Dustin Williams, sustained burn injuries on his hands, face, and legs. Workers say the flames broke out in the pellet mill, resulting in a chain reaction that set the bagging plant on fire.

In the last decade, OSHA has inspected the company at least seven times and issued 7 other-than-serious, 31 serious, 4 repeat, and 9 willful citations for alleged violations. Just last January, OSHA issued 28 citations against All-Feed. Eight of them were for explosion and fire hazards.

Fortunately, most workers can avail of Illinois workers’ compensation benefits if they are injured during work accidents. Unfortunately, there are times when an employer’s insurer might find reason to turn down or delay payment of those work injury benefits. An experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer can make sure you receive all of your work injury benefits.

Illinois Company Cited by OSHA, Fined More than $500K, Claims Journal, October 16, 2009

Explosion rocks Galva All Feed processing and packaging plant, Wqad.com, April 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
All-Feed Processing and Packaging Inc.

OSHA, US Department of Labor

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission held and adopted an arbitrator’s decision that dealing at a stand-up card game aggravated a casino dealer’s back injury. The worker was awarded workers' compensation benefits, which included temporary total disability, medical costs, legal fees, and penalties.

The casino dealer said that she sustained a compensable back injury while doing her job. She claimed that she had to twist her upper torso so she could use her left hand to draw the cards from a dispenser that was placed on her right side.

Her doctor said that the repetitive twisting and bending she was required to do as a card dealer aggravated an old back injury. An expert testifying for the casino disagreed and said that the dealer’s work duties were only a minor contributing factor.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, however, found that the testimonies of the employee and the orthopedic specialist were enough evidence to prove that the casino dealer had suffered a repetitive stress injury that was work-related.

Employees must protect workers from injuries on the job. However, regardless of who caused the injury or neglected to do enough to prevent the injury from happening, Illinois workers’ compensation law provides injury benefits to most workers.

In the event that a dispute arises between an employee who says an injury was caused by work and the employer who is disputing the claim, an experienced Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer can help you resolve your claim and protect your right to receive your work injury benefits. In some instances, a case will have to go through arbitration or be heard by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Casino dealer wins benefits for back condition, Risk and Insurance, October 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

A construction worker died today in a trench collapse accident. The man was buried under five feet of dirt for nearly four hours before rescuers were able to retrieve his body.

The sewer trench that collapsed was being constructed for a Habitat for Humanity home that was under construction. Batallion chief Dave Rhodes says that heavy rains increased the chances of a spoil pile, which involves dirt that was dug up collapsing back into a hole. Rhodes says the dirt’s weight was approximately 3,000 lbs/cubic yards and that 32 cubic yards had been removed. He noted that steel plants or wooden blanks hadn’t been used at the construction site to hold back the dirt during digging.

Some 45 people worked to free the construction worker, who fell into the foot trench. Another man also fell into the trench but was rescued before emergency workers arrived.

Another construction worker died on Monday when he fell 125 feet during a crane collapse accident. The tall construction lift reportedly toppled over while it was on a sidewalk grate, striking an apartment building as it fell.

There are some reports that the gate gave way. Investigators are trying to determine why 40-year-old James Wilson wasn’t properly secured to the boom lift’s bucket.

Falling debris caused minor injuries to three others. One victim, a woman in her 70’s, sustained a broken arm.

Our Chicago construction accident lawyers and Illinois workers’ compensation attorneys represent the families of clients who were injured in construction accidents. Construction work can be dangerous work, and an experienced Chicago injury law firm can determine who is liable for your Illinois work injuries. Workers’ compensation and third party recovery is very important—especially if the construction injuries are catastrophic or fatal.

Also on Monday, a 19-year-old construction worker’s right arm was mangled when it got stuck in a portable mortar mixer. Isaac Lee was partially pulled into the machinery. The top of his head and his cheek were impaled, and he also sustained facial lacerations that were almost a half-inch deep.

onstruction worker killed in trench collapse, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 15, 2009

Worker’s arm mangled in mortar mixer accident, Justice News Flash, October 14, 2009

Worker dies in Philly after 125-foot fall, Boston.com, Octobe 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Bureau of Labor

Fatal Facts, OSHA

A truck driver has filed a lawsuit against Gordon Trucking accusing the trucking company of firing him because he filed an Illinois workers’ compensation claim for a work-related injury he sustained on September 1. Helmut Drake is seeking over $50,000, in addition to punitive damages and costs.

Drake says his doctor told him to stop working because of his work injury. He intended to go back to work a few weeks later but he says the trucking company told him he was fired. As a result, Drake says he suffered reputation loss, emotional trauma, humiliation, and embarrassment.

Illinois Workers' Compensation
In Illinois, an employer cannot fire a worker because he or she has has availed of workers’ compensation benefits. Most workers are legally entitled to work injury compensation to cover medical costs, wages, time off from work, and any permanent disabilities or injuries.

Truck drivers can get injured while working, whether during a truck crash, while loading or unloading a truck, during a slip and fall accident, from exposure to hazardous substances, or due to another kind of work accident.

In addition to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, a trucker may be entitled to third party compensation.

Recently, trucker James Owens and his wife Melissa sued Fleet Car Carriers, Fleet Car Lease, CCJ Auto Tranport, Cotrell, and others for his work injuries.

Owens got hurt in a slip and fall accident while operating a rig on October 2, 2007. He had to undergo medical treatment and take time off from work. He also experienced mental trauma and serious pain and was disfigured and scarred. He is accusing the defendants of neglecting to warn about the dangers related to operating the rig and making a truck that did not have the adequate walkway and footing traction surfaces and handholds necessary to prevent his work accident from happening. His wife is suing for loss of her husband’s services and support.

The couple is seeking over $500,000 plus punitive and exemplary damages and costs.

Trucker claims work comp claim led to his termination, Madison Record, October 13, 2009

Man falls from top of his rig, sues, Madison Record, October 13, 2009

Related Web Resources:
American Trucking Associations

Truck Drivers United

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Police are looking into a fatal work accident involving a worker who was crushed in a molding press at Buckhorn LLC on Wednesday night. The machine reportedly was malfunctioning.

31-year-old Toby Hall was in the machine when it was activated. The worker who was operating the machine thought Hall had left to get a tool so he activated the machine.

According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records, the plant has received nine citations this year. Three of them were “serious” violations.

On Thursday, one worker was critically injured when he fell 130 feet. Jason Redke was on a platform helping secure a spout to the petal “leg” structure used for distributing grain to bins when the weld that held the spout to a crane came loose. The leg collapsed and along with Redke fell into a pile of rubble. During the collapse, another worker, 27-year-old Shawn Babbitt, fell some 30 feet from a bin top. Redke was hospitalized in critical condition while Babbitt was hospitalized in fair condition.

In another fatal work accident, Darrell T. Seiber died today when his coal truck drove off a mountain road. He may have been operating the truck at a vehicle faster than what was acceptable considering the road conditions. Seiber, 48, was a contract driver working for Cox Trucking.

A US Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesperson said that Seiber sustained fatal head injuries when he tried to jump out of the truck. The truck crash is considered a mining accident.

Our Chicago construction accident lawyers represent workers injured in Illinois construction accidents and other industrial accidents. We are also experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys. This means that not only will we work to maximize the recovery you are owed from all liable third parties, but we can make sure your employer fully compensates you for your work injuries.

Workers say unusual break in weld caused man to be critically injured in 130-foot fall at Lake Odessa grain elevator, Mlive.com, October 8, 2009

Worker dies in crash on mine land, Knox News, October 9, 2009

Worker at plant crushed to death, News-Leader.com, October 9, 2009

Unlike most workers who are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, Injured railroad workers can sue their employer for work injuries under the Federal Employers Liability Act. It is important that you retain the services of an experienced Illinois railroad injury law firm that knows how to successfully represent clients with FELA cases.

Recently, railroad worker David Brinkley filed his FELA lawsuit. Brinkley was employed by Union Pacific from May 1974 through December 2008. Due to the nature of his job, Brinkley had to walk on uneven ballast surfaces, carry awkwardly shaped, heavy objects, operate poorly maintained switches, and dismount railroad cars and locomotives. He says that the conditions of his job caused him to sustain a degenerative spine condition.

Brinkley is accusing Union Pacific of failing to provide him with a safe work place and the proper work equipment while making him do tasks that caused his degenerative condition. He is seeking $250,000 plus costs.

In his railroad worker lawsuit against BNSF Railway Company, Bobby Dale Goates is also claming spinal injuries. Goates says he worked as a conductor, brakeman, engineer, and switchman for the defendant beginning in 1969. His FELA lawsuit accuses BNSF of neglecting to provide him with safe working conditions, a safe environment, the proper working methods, and safe working tools. He also blames the railroad company for failing to implement adequate protective and safety measures so that he wouldn’t be exposed to cumulative trauma. He is seeking over $15,000 plus costs.

In another FELA lawsuit, Marco A. Rodriguez is suing Illinois Central Railroad Company. Rodriguez, who worked for the railroad company as a welder carman and carman from 1958 to 1996, says he has a respiratory illness because he worked around diesel exhaust, asbestos, toxic dusts, environmental tobacco smoke, fumes, and gases.

Rodriguez is seeking over $100,000 plus costs from his former employer for failing to provide him with safe equipment and a safe workplace and neglecting to warn him about the dangers of his job.

BNSF worker claims spinal injuries in FELA suit, The Record, October 7, 2009

Illinois Central Railroad sued by welder, carman, The Record, October 7, 2009

Union Pacific named in new FELA complaint in St. Clair County, The Record, October 7, 2009

In a record-setting consent degree, Sears, Roebuck, & Co. will pay $6.2 million to settle a class action lawsuit over disability bias as it related to the company’s workers' compensation leave exhaustion policy. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit accused Sears of firing employees who became disabled after getting injured during work injury accidents rather than taking steps to reasonably accommodate their disabilities so that they could go back to work.

The American with Disabilities Act case stems from a discrimination charged filed by John Bava, a former Sears service technician. Bava, who became disabled when he injured his knees, back, and wrist during a fall accident down a flight of stairs while working at the home of a customer, took workers’ compensation leave. He then made a number of attempts to go back to work. However, according to EEOC Chicago District Director John Rowe, Sears was never able to make accommodations that would allow him to return to his job. When Bava's workers’ compensation leave expired, he was fired.

The EEOC Chicago District Office is accusing Sears of not attempting to make reasonable accommodations that would allow disabled workers to go back to work or take an extended leave. Instead, the EEOC says contends that Sears fired hundreds of workers who had gone on workers’ compensation leave. Some of the terminated employees didn’t know they had been fired until their discount cards were turned down when they went shopping at Sears.

Per the three-year consent degree, Sears must amend its workers’ compensation leave policy, provide training about the ADA to workers, submit written reports to the EEOC demonstrating how its workers’ compensation practices are in compliance, and post decree notices at all Sears.

A final hearing will take place early next year to determine the fairness of individual distributions from the settlement fund. Sears, however, continues to maintain that despite agreeing to the settlement, the company reasonably accommodates workers who go on leave for work injuries or illnesses.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Most Illinois workers are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation. It is against the law to fire a worker for availing of their work injury benefits. Specific injury compensation is provided for those who sustain some type of disability during an Illinois work accident.

Sears settles lawsuit with disabled former worker for $6.2M, Chicago Sun-Times, September 29, 2009

Sears Settles Discrimination Lawsuit for $6.2 Million, Workforce Management, September 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Titles I and V

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission