Chicago Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog

The cop that fatally shot Travis the chimp after he tore off the hands and face of Charla Nash last year says he was denied workers’ compensation for his post-traumatic stress because the assailant was an animal. The city later consented to pay for some of Officer Frank Chiafari’s medical bills, but he says that he continues to remain traumatized over the incident and suffers from terrible visions and anxiety.

Nash was brutally attacked by the 200-pound animal in February 2009. She nearly died and remains severely disfigured and nearly died. She lost her nose, eyes, and jaws and wears a vail so that people don’t get scared when they see her. In addition to her traumatic facial injuries, Nash lost both hands.

At a Labor and Public Employees Committee meeting last week, Chiafari recounted how the chimp nearly attacked him. The police officer was testifying in favor a bill that would let police officer receive workers compensation for post-traumatic stress caused by shooting an animal on the attack. Under the proposed legislation, the police officer can use deadly force against the animal if he/she reasonably believed that the threat of physical injury or death was imminent.

Chicago, Illinois Workers’ Compensation
If you are a Chicago cop, you are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation in the event that you are injured on the job. If your Chicago work injury claim was delayed or denied, do not hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Steven J. Malman & Associates, PC immediately.

Cop who shot marauding chimp says workers' comp law a 'farce', Theday.com, February 26, 2010

Charla Nash, Chimp Attack Victim, Shows Face On "Oprah" (PHOTOS), The Huffington Post, November 11, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chicago Police Department

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

Continue reading "Cop Says He Was Denied Workers’ Compensation Claim For Post-Traumatic Stress After He Shot Chimpanzee that Attacked Woman" »

A SeaWorld trainer died on Wednesday after a killer whale attacked her. The tragic work accident happened at SeaWorld’s Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Dawn Brancheau, 40, was in the whale holding area lecturing hundreds of visitors about the display, when, according to one witness, Tillikum the whale approached the side of the tank, jumped up, and grabbed her by the waist.

Paula Gillespie, who was at the Dine with Shamu show with her daughter, told CNN that the killer whale pulled the trainer into the tank where she struggled during the attack. Another woman that also saw the show said the trainers were having a hard time getting the whales to perform.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals claims that the tragic work accident could have been prevented if only SeaWorld didn’t keep oceangoing mammals confined in spaces that are the “size of a bathtub.” The group says that considering that such smart animals are repeatedly called on to “perform silly tricks,” it is no wonder that they might lash out.

Brancheau died from drowning and multiple traumatic injuries. Her death isn’t the first accident involving a killer whale at SeaWorld. A trainer was hospitalized in 2006 after a whale grabbed him and held him under. In 1999, a 27-year-old man who climbed into the tank after the park had closed died in what was called “horseplay” involving Tillikum.

Chicago, Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits
If your loved one died in a Chicago work accident, you may be entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation death benefits. It is important that you file your claim right away.

SeaWorld trainer killed by killer whale, CNN, February 24, 2010

Autopsy says SeaWorld trainer died of drowning, traumatic injuries, USA Today, February 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:
SeaWorld

Killer Whales, National Geographic

Continue reading "SeaWorld Trainer Dies in Fatal Killer Whale Attack" »

A state appeals court is ordering Wal-Mart stores Inc. to pay workers’ compensation benefits to a worker who was injured when he was exposed to carbon monoxide while on the job. Donald Greg Wells sustained his injuries in 2005 while in a freezer at a Wal-Mart distribution center.

Wells says that the carbon monoxide came from welding machinery and generators that were being used to renovate the freezer, which was nonventilated. Following the work accident, he filed a workers’ compensation claim to obtain work injury benefits from his employer and sued the two contractors involved in the renovation.

Wells received a $900,000 award from his third party claim. It was at this point that Wal-Mart contended that Wells should only recover from either the civil case or the workers’ compensation claim.

The state’s Workers’ Compensation Board and an administrative law judge disagreed with Wal-Mart. The judge awarded Wells almost $441,000 in medical costs and income. The appellate court agreed with the judge’s ruling and said because Wal-Mart should receive a $126,811 subrogation credit, the company should pay wells approximately $317,000.

Carbon Monoxide Exposure
Exposure to CO, a colorless, odorless, and toxic gas can kill you. A person may not even realize the gas has infiltrated the air before the damage is done. Exposure to lower levels of CO can cause flu-like symptoms, such as dizziness, headaches, nausea, disorientation, and fatigue.

Chicago, Illinois Workers’ Compensation
If you were injured at work, you are likely entitled to Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. This does not preclude you from filing a third party lawsuit against any other negligent party that is not your employer.

Kentucky court upholds workers comp for Wal-Mart employee, Business Insurance, February 22, 2010

Carbon Monoxide, US Environmental Protection Agency

Related Web Resources:
US Department of Labor

Wal-Mart

Every year, per American Family Physician, hundreds of thousands of workers become afflicted with occupational diseases. Tens of thousands of these workers will die as a result. It is important that you make sure that you receive all your work illness benefits that you are owed. Our Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation lawyers can help you explore your legal options.

Unfortunately, diagnosing occupational illnesses sometimes take awhile. A worker may not want to link his/her affliction to work for fear of not being able to make a living. Also, it can take years for some illnesses' symptoms to fully manifest.

Examples of some health conditions linked to occupational exposure:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Asthma
• Chronic encephalopathy
• Cervical strain
• Interstitial fibrosis
• Hearing loss
• Infections that are transmitted orally or fecally
• Lung cancer
• Contact dermatitis
• Spontaneous abortion
• Birth defects
• Liver cancer
• Coronary disease
• Upper air irritation

The kind of occupational disease a worker can suffer from will, of course, depend on the conditions and environment the worker is exposed to on the job.

You would be surprised at the kind of occupations that can lead to occupational injuries and illnesses. For example:

• Computer work
• Letter sorting
• Mining
• Baking
• Plating
• Farming
• Teaching
• Health care work
• Prison work
• Animal care
• Construction
• Forestry

Unfortunately, problems can arise when availing of your work injury benefits. This is where an experienced Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer can step in.

Recognizing Occupational Disease -- Taking an Effective Occupational History, American Family Physician

Related Web Resources:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

A refinery worker says he was fired after he filed a claim for workers’ compensation even though the company that he worked for is supposed to provide these benefits to workers injured on the job. Eduardo Perez, a refinery worker, filed his lawsuit against Starcon International Inc.

Pedraza says he sustained his work injury while lifting a heavy slap of sheet metal weighing at least 100 pounds at a BP Refinery. The injury required him to constantly be under doctor care. In his lawsuit, he claims that when he was finally able to go back to work, Oziel Gonzalez told him that he had lost his job.

Working in a refinery can be hard and dangerous work. Refinery workers are constantly working in and around hazardous situations that can cause serious and painful, life changing injuries in an event of an accident.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Most workers are not allowed to sue their employers for personal injury, which is one of the reasons Illinois workers’ compensation benefits exist. Workers’ compensation is supposed to cover medical costs while providing wages to the employee while he or she recovers. Depending on the seriousness of the injuries, other benefits may apply. Workers do not have to prove liability on their employers’ part and they should never be fired for seeking to avail of their work injury benefits. Unfortunately, some insurers and employers will try to get out of paying these benefits to an injured worker.

It is important that you know about your legal rights.

Refinery worker claims heavy lifting caused injury, SexTexasRecord, February 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Your right to workers' compensation

Illinois Industrial Commission

Continue reading "Refinery Worker Claims His Filing for Workers’ Compensation Led to His Dismissal" »

While spending hours on the computer at work may seem like a harmless, danger-free activity, people who sit in front of a monitor while their fingers press they keyboard or click the mouse can lead to cumulative, painful, debilitating injuries if they are not careful. Back pain, neck soreness, tingling up and down the arms, finger cramps, spinal disc injuries, shoulder soreness, tennis elbow, repetitive strain, and carpal tunnel syndrome are just some of the injuries that an office worker or anyone else who uses a computer can sustain.

Our Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation lawyers would like to remind you to submit your work injury claim immediately anytime that you are injured on the job. Even if the injury is one that developed cumulatively, it is best to file your claim right away to prevent delays or give your employer’s insurer a reason to deny your claim or give you fewer benefits than what you are entitled to receive.

A Few Steps to Prevent Injuries When Using a Computer:

• Make sure your monitor is high enough that it at eye level in front of you.
• Don’t have it more than 30 inches away from you.
• Place your mouse close enough to your body that you don’t have to overreach.
• Make sure that your elbows are properly supported.
• When typing make sure that your forearms and upper arms are positioned at a 90 degree angle.
• If you are going to type while talking on the phone, use a headset.
• Consider using a padded wrist rest for your hand that holds the mouse.
• Make sure you use a chair that provides enough lumbar support.
• Keep your thighs parallel to the floor, knees and hips at the same level, and feet flat on the ground.

5 steps to keep you comfortable at your computer, Gloucester Times, February 19, 2010

Computer Workstation Ergonomics, CDC

Related Web Resources:
Office Ergonomics-Common Office Injuries, Web MD

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "A Reminder from Our Chicago, Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyers To Take Preventive Steps to Prevent Overuse and Repetitive Strain Injuries" »

A jury has awarded David English $12.1 million for spinal cord injuries he sustained during a refinery accident that left him paralyzed. English, a master electrician, severed his spinal cord and broke his neck when a stack of electrical cabinets fell on him, causing the 49-year-old to fall against steps. He is now a quadriplegic, can only breathe with the help of a ventilator, and lives in a nursing home. The defendants in the case included refinery owner Alon USA, refinery contractor Bay Ltd, and Universal Construction.

Refinery Accidents
Working at a refinery comes with occupational hazards that can cause serious injuries. This is why it is so important that employers make sure that safety measures are in place at all times so that workers are protected from toxic pollutants, hazardous chemicals, and other dangers that commonly occur on the job.

Examples of injuries that a refinery worker might sustain during a work accident:

• Burn injuries
• Lead poisoning
• Heat exposure
• Fall injuries
• Slip and fall injuries
• Chemical burns
• Asbestos-related illnesses
• Exposure to Silica
• Exposure to Benzene

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
You should submit your Illinois workers’ compensation claim as soon as possible so that you can start receiving your work injury benefits. Unfortunately, not all employers will give you the workers’ compensation benefits that you are owed, which is why getting legal help from an experienced Chicago workers' compensation attorney will work to your advantage. You may be able to file Illinois refinery accident lawsuits against liable third parties.

Nueces County jury awards $12.1M man paralyzed in refinery accident, Caller.com, February 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Spinal Cord Injury, MayoClinic

According to the Workers Compensation Research Institute, Illinois’ workers’ compensation expenses per claim for medical care are on the higher end of the spectrum compared to the costs for the same kind of claims in other US states. WCRI’s study also found that after hitting growth rates in the double digits prior to 2005, the increase in medical costs per claim went down in ’07- ’08 and—just as it has in past years—indemnity benefits/claims involving workers that had to miss over seven days of work grew 7% in ’07- ’08.

The growth in indemnity benefits can be attributed to a 6% rise in the length of temporary disability “and a 5% increase in the average permanent partial disability (PPD)/lump-sum payment per PPD/lump-sum claim.” With total costs per all paid Illinois workers’ compensation claims at $11,224/claim in ’05 – ‘08, the WCRI says these paid for claims were among the highest compared to the other states that were included in the study. Also, more injured workers in Illinois missed over a week of work and/or missed work an average of 20 weeks in ’05 -‘08—4 weeks more than the injured workers missed in other non-wage-loss states. Illinois ranked in the middle when it came to average lump-sum workers’ compensation settlements per claim.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
If you are an injured worker, it is important that you are familiar with your right to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. In most cases involving work-related injuries, you cannot sue your employer for personal injury—although you may have grounds for filing a third party Chicago injury lawsuit. It will be very important for you to receive all of the work injury benefits that your employer owes you.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs Per Claim among Highest, but Growth Slowed, New WCRI Study Reports, Earth Times, February 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Workers Compensation Research Institute

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

Continue reading "WCRI Reports that Illinois Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs Per Claim are Higher than the Average " »

A new study published in Spine reports that patients who underwent surgery to treat sciatica benefited more from surgery than from non-surgical procedures. That is, unless the patient was getting paid workers’ compensation benefits for the work injury. The reason for this discrepancy is unclear.

As part of the main study, researchers analyzed data provided on 924 sciatica patients. A randomized trial was conducted. Some patients were treated with pain medication, physical therapy, exercises, and education. Other patients underwent surgery. Both approaches proved effective and the patients’ conditions improved. However, sciatica patients who underwent surgery improved faster and exhibited better recovery results for up to two years afterward.

Researchers also conducted a new analysis to see whether patients receiving workers’ compensation responded differently to treatment. 12% of the patients studied were on workers’ compensation. What researchers found was that at three months after surgery it was the patients who weren’t getting workers’ compensation benefits that exhibited significantly better results. The patients who weren't on workers' compensation also stayed better after 24 months, while surgery patients on workers’ compensation experienced pain and exhibited physical function similar to sciatica patients who had undergone non-surgical treatment.

Sciatica
Sciatica is a disabling condition that is commonly cited in workers’ compensation claims. Studies in the past have indicated that a sciatica patient’s workers’ compensation status can have an impact on the results of herniated disc treatments. Sciatica can be very painful and may lead to nerve damage that can radiate through the body and leg. If not treated correctly, Sciatica can become a permanent, crippling condition.

Back injuries can not only impede a worker’s ability to do the job, but they can cause severe pain and lead to the inability to live a normal life. It is important that you file your Illinois workers’ compensation claim immediately.

Study: Workers’ Comp Patients Get Less Benefit from Back Surgery, Spine, January 29, 2010

Sciatica, Mayo Clinic

Related Web Resources:
Spine

Herniated Disc, WebMD

Continue reading "Workers’ compensation patients who undergo back surgery for sciatica benefit less than patients that are not getting work injury benefits" »

A construction worker died today after he was run over by a forklift. The construction accident took place at a work site at a children’s hospital. The 30-year-old worker was pronounced dead at the accident scene.

Forklift Accidents
Forklifts are used at many work areas in the US on a daily basis. This heavy piece of machinery must be operated correctly and workers in the vicinity must be careful that they don’t get in its way. Unfortunately, forklift accidents are not uncommon and cause a number of US worker fatalities every year.

Some Common Kinds of Work Accidents Involving Forklifts:
• A worker gets hit by a forklift
• A forklift tips over to land on a worker
• A load that falls off a forklift lands on a worker
• The operator loses control of the forklift, which runs over another worker

Some Common Causes of Forklift Accidents:
• The operator does not know how to use a forklift correctly
• Improper safety procedures
• A forklift malfunction that was caused by poor maintenance or a part defect
• The operator loses control of the forklift
• Overloaded forklifts
• Inadequate operator training
• Lack of proper communication among workers and supervisors

Examples of Serious Injuries Caused by Forklift Accidents:
• Crush injuries
• Broken bones
• Spinal cord injuries
• Internal injuries

An experience Chicago construction accident law firm can help you determine who should be held liable for your for Illinois forklift accident case. In addition to filing third party lawsuits against the responsible parties that are not your employer, you will want your employers’ insurer to pay you your Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Construction Worker Run Over, Killed by Forklift, MyFoxPhoenix, January 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Illinois Department of Labor

If an employee gets hurt while working for a vendor under an Illinois-operated program and the state and the vendor both benefit from the work and oversee certain aspects of the employee’s work, then the vendor and the state of Illinois are liable for the worker’s injuries as joint employees under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission is affirming this finding, which was made by an arbitrator.

The case, Day v. Illinois, State of/Dept. of Human Services, involves an employee who got hurt while working as a replacement manager. The vendor had hired him under a program run by the Illinois Department of Human Services called the Business Enterprise Program for the Blind. The worker abided by the regulations and rules as outlined in the vendor’s licensing agreement.

As joint employers at the time of the work accident, the vendor oversaw and controlled the worker’s daily tasks at the facility, while the DHS trained the worker in the running of the facility and was entitled to monitor his work. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission agreed with the arbitrator that there was significant evidence in the licensing agreement that the DHS was entitled to control the employee’s work.

Do NOT give up hope if your employer has decided to deny paying you Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Most workers in the state are entitled to work injury benefits in the event of any kind of work-related illness or injury. Unfortunately, many workers are unaware of their legal options and end up settling for less than what they are entitled to get under state law. This is where an experienced Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer can step in.

Worker proves joint employment with vendor, State of Illinois, RIsk and Insurance, January 21, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Human Services

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

According to the Illinois Supreme Court, an employer has to keep paying workers’ compensation for temporary total disability benefits owed to an injured worker, even if he was fired from his job for misconduct. This obligation must continue until the former employee’s medical condition becomes stable and he achieves maximum medical improvement.

The former worker, carpenter Jeff Urban, sustained work-related neck, head, and back injuries in 2003 while working for Interstate Scaffolding Inc. In 2005, Urban was involved in a short, heated dispute with another worker. The company then fired him for the use of religious slogans to deface company property.

Interstate refused to pay Urban his Illinois workers’ compensation benefits after they let him go. A workers’ compensation arbitrator sided with Urban’s employer.

However, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission disagreed, finding that the former employee should receive $1,004.41/week in temporary disability benefits. The company appealed, but a circuit court affirmed the commission’s decision. An appeals court then reversed the ruling and that is when the workers’ compensation case was brought before the Illinois Supreme Court.

Amicus briefs were filed by the Illinois Assn. of Defense Trial Counsel, the Illinois AFL-CIO, and the Illinois Self-Insurers Assn. Those who supported Urban argued that continued payment of work injury benefits shouldn’t be determined by whether a worker has been fired. Rather, the determining factor should be whether the injury has stabilized.

The Illinois Supreme Court says that although employers can fire at-will workers regardless of whether or not they have cause, this should have no effect on an employee's workers’ compensation case.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
If you have been denied work injury benefits, do not despair. There may be other legal remedies available to you. Most workers injured on the job are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Fired worker owed comp benefits: Illinois high court, Business Insurance, January 22, 2010

Read the Illinois Supreme Court Opinion (PDF)

Related Web Resource:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "State Supreme Court Says Company Must Keep Paying Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits to Employee Who Was Fired " »

A former employee is suing Metro Truck and Trailer Repair for compensatory damages, punitive damages, unpaid overtime pay, liquidated damages, and other costs. Stephen Ryan says that his former employer fired him because he filed a workers’ compensation claim. He is also accusing the trucking company of not properly paying workers for all of their overtime hours.

Ryan says he got hurt on the job on December 5, 2008. He says he told the foreman he would need to take time off so he could undergo surgery. Ryan claims that the foreman then started treated him in a less favorable manner than the other employees. He also allegedly told one of Ryan’s coworkers that he was planning on firing him.

Ryan had to tell his boss in July 2009 that he needed more time off because of his work injury. In August, the truck company fired him.

Ryan claims that his rights under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act were not upheld and as a result, he suffered distress, mental suffering, and humiliation. He also says he lost wages.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act
Under state law, a worker cannot be fired for availing of his Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Employees are protected from personal injury lawsuits from workers injured on the job. They should, however, pay the workers’ compensation that an injured employee is entitled to under state law. Unfortunately, an employer/insurer may offer reasons for why you shouldn’t receive your work injury benefits. This is unfortunate for the worker, who must take time off work, resulting in reduced or no pay, and deal with costly medical expenses.

Metro Truck worker claims retaliatory discharge, unpaid overtime, Madison Record, January 21, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (PDF)

Workplace Injury, Illness, and Fatality Statistics

Continue reading "Truck Worker Says Company Fired Him for Filing for Workers’ Compensation Benefits" »

The family of a man who died after he fell in a melting vat while employed as a temporary worker is suing the owners of the chocolate plant where the fatal work accident happened for his wrongful death. Vincent Smith II was fatally injured on July 8, 2009.

He was placing raw cocoa into a giant melting tank when he fell into it and was hit on the head by a rotating panel. The hot liquid chocolate in the vat was 120 degrees.

According to the plaintiffs, there were no guardrails around the melting vat, which had slippery melted chocolate around it. They also say that there were no warning signs, an easily accessible shutoff valve, and or rescue gear. The family’s wrongful death lawyer said Smith was “invited into a death trap” and did not stand a chance of survival once he fell in. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Cocoa Services and Lyons for failing to install warning signs and railings over the tanks.

Lyons and Sons, Inc. and Cocoa Services are among the numerous defendants named in the wrongful death lawsuit.

Workers’ Compensation and Third Party Lawsuits
Most workers are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, which include payment of medical benefits, as well as pay for permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and temporary total disability. An experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer can make sure you receive all the work injury benefits that you are owed.

Although you cannot sue your employer for personal injury, you may be able to sue liable third parties that are not your employer. This is a matter that a Chicago injury attorney can help you figure out.

Suit filed in death at chocolate plant, Philly.com, January 12, 2010

Factory Worker Dies After Falling Into Vat of Chocolate, FoxNews, July 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Industrial Commission

OSHA

According to a new study by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the workers’ compensation indemnity expenses for workers over the age of 64 are usually lower than they are for younger workers, who are generally paid more. The NCCI has put together a detailed report on workers’ compensation injury claims by older workers. Among its findings:

• Since the ‘80’s, there has been a nearly 50% increase in the number of workers ages 65 and older.

• This worker age demographic is expected to increase in the wake of the current economic crisis.

• Better health is another reason why there are more older workers that have either opted to keep working or go back to work.

• This older worker age group makes up just under 5% of worker injury and illness cases.

• Trip and fall accidents, slip and fall accidents, and fall accidents on the job were the most common cause of injury to older workers. NCCI is recommending that employers provide better lighting, handrails, and slip-resistant flooring to decrease the number of work accidents.

• Medical severity tends to be higher for older employees.

If you were injured or got sick while doing job, you should file your Illinois workers’ compensation claim right away. It doesn’t matter whether you, another party, or your employer caused your work accident or illness. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act entitles most employees to work injury benefits for injuries and sicknesses.

Our Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation lawyers are committed to making sure that our clients receive all of the benefits that they are owed and that there are no unnecessary payment delays.

Workers Over 65 Have Lower Comp Indemnity Cost, NCCI Finds, Property-Casualty.com, January 18, 2010

Read the Full Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Workers' Compensation, Nolo

US Department of Labor

According to an appeals court, a master plumber who broke his legs and an arm when he was involved in a car crash is eligible to receive full workers’ compensation benefits. Jesse Cooper Sr., employed by Barnickel Enterprises Inc., went for a coffee run while waiting to meet with a union instructor, who was busy teaching a class, about a work project. During the five-mile drive to get coffee, Cooper was involved in a traffic crash.

Barnickel did not want to pay Cooper workers’ compensation benefits and argued that the work injury did not occur during and as a result of work. Rather, the company claimed that Cooper was injured while attending to a personal errand, for which, per the state’s Supreme Court, disallows work injury benefits.

However, Workers’ Compensation Judge Bradley Henson says that the foreman was taking part in the kind of activity that someone in his job would likely engage in. Henson also noted that because Cooper was participating in a “mission” for his employer by going to meet with the union instructor, his work accident thereby falls under the workers’ compensation act’s “going-and-coming rule.”

The appeals court’s ruling upholds Henson’s conclusion that Cooper was entitled to go on a coffee break while waiting to meet with the union instructor. Judge Edwin Stern also noted that considering the amount of time Cooper had to wait to meet with the instructor and the fact that the area he was in was a rural one, the five-mile distance that he drove to the coffee shop was reasonable.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
There are a variety of reasons a company and/or its insurance firm might give to an injured worker for why he/she is not entitled to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Do not take these claims at face value.

Employee Injured in Five-Mile Drive for Coffee Is Eligible for Workers' Comp, Law.com, January 14, 2010

Read the Opinion (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (PDF)

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Appeals Court Says Worker Injured During Coffee Run is Eligible for Workers’ Compensation Benefits " »

Every year, thousands workers are killed during accidents that occur on the job. Hopefully, their families were entitled to death benefits through employers’ workers’ compensation plans. An injured worker and his/her family cannot sue an employer for personal injury, but the employee is usually entitled to Illinois work injury benefits regardless of who or what was the cause of the work accident.

With help of data from the Department of Labor, Forbes.com compiled a list of the most dangerous jobs in America for 2008. Included in the list:

• Fishing-related jobs. 50 fishing workers died in 2008. Dangerous weather, rough seas, and logistical challenges that can make it impossible to get help during emergency situations contribute to the high death risk these workers face in their line of work.

• 82 Logging workers died from work injuries. Faulty cutting equipment and falling trees were two common causes of logging deaths.

• 90 pilots aircraft pilots died in plane crashes and other work accidents.

• There were 37 structural iron and steel worker death. Common causes of worker fatalities included welding accidents, working at elevated heights, and working with heavy materials.

• 317 rancher and farmer deaths occurred. Heavy machinery hazards is the number one work danger for farm workers and ranchers.

• Traffic, dangerous materials, and heavy equipment are common reasons for recyclable and refuse material collector injuries. 31 workers died in 2008.

• 69 roofer deaths. Hot weather and the hazards of working at elevated heights are two of the most common work dangers for employees in this profession.

• 35 electrical power-line repairer and installer deaths. Electricity and working at elevated heights are two of the most common dangers these workers face.

• 815 trucker deaths. Traffic and fatigue were the two most common causes.

• 69 taxi driver and chauffer deaths. Navigating through traffic is the drivers’ number one work hazard.

Overall, transportation accidents was the most common cause of worker death. 2,053 workers died in vehicle-related crashes. 923 workers died from equipment accidents and objects-related injuries.

Regardless of your profession or the risks involved with doing your job, work accidents and illnesses do happen. An experienced Chicago, Illinois workers’ compensation law firm can make sure you receive all of the benefits that your employer’s insurer owes you.

Fishermen, loggers have most dangerous jobs, MSNBC, September 8, 2009

In Pictures: America's Deadliest Jobs, Forbes, August 26, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Movie star Sylvester Stallone says he had to undergo serious surgery after he broke his neck while shooting a fight scene for his new film “The Expendables.” The 63-year-old action star says that doctors had to insert a metal plate in his neck to treat his work injury, which he sustained during a fight scene with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Contrary to how easy actors make their job look onstage and on film, acting is a lot of hard work and can be very physically demanding. It can also lead to injuries whether you are a stunt double, an action hero, a stage actor, a standup comedian, a dancer, or an extra. Slip and fall injuries, vocal injuries, injuries from falling or malfunctioning props, stunt-related injuries, sunburns, fatigue, back injuries, neck injuries, and even death can result during an actor-related accident.

Also, although it is just the actors that viewers see on camera and onstage, there are many behind the scene workers who work very hard to make any film or theaterical production happen. Production assistants, the director, producers, writers, stagehands, camera persons, lighting crew, and other workers can also get hurt while doing their job in a studio or at the theater. Fortunately, most film, TV, and theater professionals are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation in the event of work-related injury, illness, or death.

Unfortunately, there are employers and insurers who will attempt to deny an employee the work injury benefits that he/she is owed. This is unfortunate and can make recovery much more difficult and costly for the injured worker.

Stallone injured neck making 'Expendables', UPI.com, January 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

Screen Actors Guild

American Federation of Radio and Television Artists

Continue reading "Movie Actor Sylvester Stallone Says He Broke His Neck During Fight Scene " »

A nursing home worker says she was fired from her job at Calvin Johnson’s Nursing Home after she filed an Illinois workers’ compensation claim. She is suing Eldercare for over $100,000 plus costs.

Tracy Perkins says the nursing home company fired her after she was injured on the job and sought to avail of her work injury benefits. In her civil lawsuit, she accuses the defendant of acting wrongfully when she was deprived of her rights under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.

As a result of her firing, Perkins contends that she lost benefits and income, and her reputation was damaged. She also says she suffered mental anguish.

Nursing home workers can get hurt on the job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks the nursing and personal care industry high among the industries where workers have a high injury rate. Common injuries include:

• Musculoskeletal injuries
• Back injuries
• Shoulder injuries
• Needlestick-related injuries
• Injuries from patient violence
• Contagious illnesses

Most employers are obligated by law to provide Illinois workers’ compensation to employees. This means that if an employee is injured at work, he or she should receive work injury benefits, including medical benefits and lost income. Employers are not allowed to fire workers for filing an Illinois workers’ compensation claim.

While an assisted living facility may not seem to be as dangerous an environment as a construction site, nursing workers who work with sick or mentally ill patients that may be prone to violence risk getting illness and sustaining injuries when doing their jobs. Unsanitary conditions and hazards at a facility can also cause work injuries and health issues.

Eldercare worker says she was fired after filing work comp claim, The Record, January 5, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Staffing and Worker Injury in Nursing Homes, AJPH Publications

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (PDF)

Three construction workers were injured today when a wall collapsed on them. The workers were pouring foundation on a house being built when the construction accident happened. All three construction workers were transported to the hospital. Two of them reportedly sustained serious injuries.

On Wednesday, four people were hurt when the 20-foot aluminum plank they were standing on collapsed, causing them to fall to the ground. Their injuries are serious.

The workers were doing roof work when the construction accident happened. According to one police officer, the brackets used to attach the plank to the exterior of the building were not properly secured.

Also on Wednesday, a construction worker died when he was hit by a beam while working on a site at an air force base. The worker, Brian Lowry, was reportedly on an I-beam some 20 feet off the ground when another I-beam that a crane was lowering hit him.

In another construction accident, construction workers William Day, Jr. and Joshua Champney sustained injuries when an 18-foot wall collapsed, pinning them. Champney sustained minor back injuries while Day fractured his pelvis. Day will have to undergo surgery.

According to police, the braces that are supposed to hold the wood wall may have given way. The workers were putting up the preconstructed section of home under construction when the wall fell.

Falling construction materials, scaffolding and wall collapses, trench collapses, and fall accidents from significant heights can cause serious injuries to construction workers. As an injured construction worker, you should file your Illinois workers’ compensation claim immediately and speak with a Chicago construction accident lawyer about your legal options for obtaining financial recovery from third parties.

Two construction workers injured after wall collapse, Taunton Daily Gazette, December 31, 2009

3 Injured In Construction Accident, WFSB, December 31, 2009

Worker For Atlanta Company Killed In S.C., CBS Atlanta, December 31, 2009

Westbrook Scaffolding Collapse Injures Four, WMTW, December 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Construction Accidents, Justia

OSHA

A construction worker died on Christmas Day when part of a four-story stone column fell on the excavator that he was operating. The Illinois construction accident took place at Illinois State University.

The worker, 57-year-old Stephen White, worked for Stark Excavating Inc. According to authorities, the stone column that fell on the construction machinery weighed 18,000 pounds.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating the cause of the catastrophic accident.

Construction Accidents
OSHA and the Department of Labor say that the most dangerous job sites in Illinois are construction sites. Construction injuries are often catastrophic. Over 200 construction workers are killed every year in construction accidents. Crush injuries, spinal cord injuries, and brain injuries can take years to recover from and for many injured construction workers, the injuries are permanent, leaving him/her unable to earn a living, physically impaired, and emotionally damaged. Some examples of other serious construction accident injuries include chemical burns, burn injuries, amputated legs, arms, or limbs, and blindness.

You may not be able to sue an employer for Chicago personal injury or wrongful death, but there may be other parties affiliated with the construction job that should be held liable in civil court, such as negligent construction machinery manufacturers, contractors, sub-contractors, construction firms, engineers, architects, and entities that are not directly affiliated with the project but contributed to causing the Chicago construction accident. You also are very likely entitled to Illinois workers' compensation.

Worker dies at ISU while removing collapsed column, Chicago Tribune, December 26, 2009

Equipment operator killed while trying to remove column at Hovey Hall, Pantagraph.com, December 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Construction Accident News, New York Times

Illinois Department of Labor

Continue reading "Excavator Operator Killed During Construction Accident at Illinois State University Campus" »

In two recent workers’ compensation cases, decisions were issued in favor of obese workers who needed to undergo weight loss procedures after they were injured on the job. One work injury case, which went before the workers’ compensation board, involved an employer who was ordered to pay for the weight-loss surgery of a cook who sustained a back injury while on the job. The other workers’ compensation case, which also resulted in an employer being ordered to pay for an obese worker’s weigh-loss procedure (following a knee injury), went all the way up to the state Supreme Court.

According to Diane Stafford, the Kansas City Star’s workplace and career columnist, these rulings may be causing human resource consultants and employment law attorneys to warn employers about hiring people who suffer from obesity. Unfortunately, may prove to be another bias to toward overweight job applicants who are already worried that they might be discriminated against because of their appearance.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
It doesn’t matter who or what cause your work injury. If your work entitles you to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, your employer must pay them to you if you were injured on the job.

Common work-related injuries can include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Back injuries
• Knee injuries
• Fractures
• Internal injuries
• Organ damages
• Illnesses from exposure to toxic substances
• Shoulder injuries
• Arm injuries
• Hand injuries
• Knee injuries
• Burn injuries
• Electrical injuries
• Fall injuries

Workers' comp boards rule for obese workers wanting weight-loss surgery, Tampa Bay, December 22, 2009

Injury/Illness Incidence Rates, OSHA

Related Web Resources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

Continue reading "Obese Workers Obtain Workers’ Compensation for Weight-Loss Surgery" »

A court has affirmed the $70 million award plus interest that a jury awarded to Charles Tate in the workers’ compensation case he filed against Discovery Property Insurance Company, his employer’s insurer, and JI Specialty Services Inc., a claims adjuster.

Tate, a maintenance mechanic, sustained serious shoulder and neck injuries when he fell from a ladder while trimming trees at an apartment complex in 2003. Following the work accident, Tate was no longer able to engage in manual labor. He filed for workers’ compensation benefits from Discover. Six times the state Department of Insurance’s workers’ compensation unit agreed that the insurer needed to pay for Tate's retraining so he could become a real estate agent.

The insurer turned down two of his requests for supplemental income benefits. Tate succeeded in contesting the case, but the insurer appealed to the state’s workers’ compensation appeals panel, which affirmed that the maintenance worker was entitled to second and third quarter supplemental income benefits. In June, a District Court ordered the case back to trial court.

Earlier this month, a jury awarded Tate $70 million: $50 million in damages, $20 million in attorneys fees, $491,000 in prejudgment interest, and $2.5 million for court costs and legal fees if the case is appealed. The jury found that because the Discovery delayed paying Tate for rehabilitative job training, the maintenance mechanic suffered mental anguish. The jury also found that both defendants engaged in a deceptive and unfair act.

Texas Court Allows $70M Judgment in Workers' Comp Case to Stand, Insurance Journal, December 16, 2009

Hurt worker is awarded $70 million, My San Antonio News, December 2, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Your Right to Workers' Comp Benefits FAQ, Nolo

Illinois Workers Compensation Commission

A construction fall from the roof of a two-story house has left one worker dead and another with injuries. The roofer that died is 43-year-old John Nadeau. 36-year-old Michael Larochelle was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state and local officers are investigating the tragic construction accident. OSHA wants to find out whether the workers’ employer complied with safety standards when setting up the construction site.

The building that the workers fell from is described as a two-family residence. It was under renovation. Replacing the roof was one of the construction modifications that needed to be made.

As our Chicago, Illinois construction accident lawyers have written about in the past, fall accidents continue to be a leading cause of construction deaths. Fall accidents are often catastrophic, resulting in traumatic brain injuries, organ damage, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and death.

Some common hazards at a construction site that can contribute to fall accidents:

• Unprotected wall openings, holes in the floor, and sides
• Improperly set up scaffolding
• Defective or unstable cranes
• Improperly secured or wrongly positioned ladders
• Lack of safety equipment
• Defective construction machinery

Even if all proper safety precautions were put in place, your employer can still owe you workers’ compensation benefits if you were injured in a Chicago, Illinois construction accident. Our Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers want to remind you and your family to file your work injury claim as soon as possible. Unfortunately, an employer's insurer can attempt to deny your claim for work injury benefits.

Contact our Cook County workers’ compensation attorneys and ask for your free case evaluation. We also represent workers’ compensation clients in DuPage County, Will County, and Lake County, Illinois.

One worker dies, other injured in fall from roof, The Eagle Tribune, December 23, 2009

Roofer dies in fall from Methuen home, MyFoxBoston, December 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Falls, OSHA

Construction Accident News, NY Times

A lumber worker has filed a civil lawsuit accusing RP Lumber of firing him because he sought to obtain his Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Jefferey Harbison says he lost benefits, wages, and promotions, experienced mental trauma and humiliation, incurred expenses while looking for a job, and experienced a decrease in wages because he was wrongfully fired.

Harbison says he was employed at RP Lumber Company for about 10 years before he got hurt on May 21. He is seeking over $50,000 plus costs.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
If you are an injured employee, you are entitled to receive Illinois workers’ compensation for all necessary medical expenses, including emergency medical services, first aid, surgeries, tests, and other hospital services. When applicable, you also are entitled to vocational, mental, or physical rehabilitation. You also have a right to disability benefits for time that you have to take off from work because of your work injury, illness, or disease. If you will no longer be able to work, you can receive permanent total disability benefits. The spouse and children of an employee who died because of a worker-related illness or injury should be able to obtain survivor benefits.

As an employee working for an employer, you are not asking for anything out of the ordinary by wanting to receive your workers’ compensation benefits. It doesn’t matter who or what cause the work accident. Employers are not allowed to fire a worker for requesting workers’ compensation.

Workers’ compensation disputes can be very frustrating for the worker and his/her family who now must worry about finances, in addition to job worries, as well as deal with the injury or death.

RP Lumber worker claims wrongful termination , The Recorder, December 16, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Your Right to Workers' Comp Benefits FAQ, Nolo

A 56-year-old bank teller is seeking workers’ compensation benefits for the post-traumatic stress disorder she suffers from a robbery at her bank on May 26. Edith Johnson was held at gunpoint, handcuffed, and ordered to the ground.

Police say that one of the robbers pointed a sawed-off shotgun at Johnson while the other robber grabbed money from the teller drawer and the vault. The robbery was the third one to take place at the bank while she was employed there and the second one that occurred while she was on duty.

Following this latest robbery, Johnson was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. According to Johnson’s workers’ compensation lawyer, the incident left her frightened and she can no longer do her job.

Yet the state has denied her claim by noting that state law doesn’t cover mental injury inflicted by “mental stimulus.” Johnson’s workers’ compensation attorney, however, points out that the stress suffered from becoming the victim of a bank robbery is not the same as “everyday stress” that one experiences on the job. He also says his client failed to meet the deadline for filing an appeal because she never received the letter of denial.

A hearing date has been set following a judge’s order that the state reconsider Johnson’s workers’ compensation claim.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Although it shouldn’t be this way, some injured workers may find it hard to receive the Illinois workers’ compensation benefits that they are owed. These disputes can be stressful for the worker, who now must worry about medical costs, lost wages, recovery expenses, and providing financial support to family members while attempting to recover from injury or illness.

Lawyer says teller deserves workers comp, WDAY News, December 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Workers' Compensation, Justia

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (PDF)

A math teacher has a right to receive workers’ compensation for shoulder injuries she sustained during a high school ski trip. Karen Sikorski was a chaperone on the trip when she got hurt.

Sikorski filed a claim to obtain work injury benefits but the city maintained that the injuries occurred during a recreational activity that she had volunteered to take part in. Workers’ compensation law in this particular state exempts employers from covering workers for injuries sustained in certain settings, such as picnics. Sikorski, however, argued that she was acting in her role as a teacher on the trip even though she volunteered to go.

By finding in favor of the math teacher, the highest court in the state noted that the school administration had asked members of the faculty to volunteer to chaperone and wanted teachers to take part in extracurricular activities.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Do not give up if your employer or its insurance company has chosen to deny your benefits. Many workers agree to receive less than what they can get. This is unfortunate. Each state has their workers’ compensation laws, which is why if you’ve been injured in an Illinois work accident, it is a good idea to consult with an experienced Chicago workers’ compensation law firm.

Not obtaining the work injury benefits you are owed can affect your finances and recovery. Retaining the right legal representation increases the chances that what you get back will be greater than if you chose to pursue your claim alone.

SJC rules on teacher workers-comp suit, Boston Business Journal, December 11, 2009

Teachers covered for injuries as chaperones, Boston.com, December 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Your Right to Workers' Comp Benefits FAQ

IWCC WC Act

At an American Public Health Association meeting, University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health’s Susan Buchanan, MD, reported that hotel workers risk injury and becoming ill on the job:

• Female hotel workers had a 1.5 times greater rate of getting hurt than their male counterparts.

• Hispanic female workers were almost two times more likely to sustain work injuries than white female hotel workers.

• Hispanic and Asian male hotel workers had a 1.5 greater injury rate risk than white male workers.

Buchanan and the other researchers she worked with say they don’t know why women and minority hotel workers have a higher injury rate than Caucasian hotel workers. They gathered their information from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Researchers took a look at information from 3,000 worker injuries between 2003 and 2005 in five hotel job categories. The injuries occurred on 50 unionized properties run by major hotel chains. 80% of the hotel workers that were looked at for the study were minorities. Upper extremity injuries appeared to be the most common kind of work injury.

A spokesperson for Hyatt says that the study’s findings do not reflect its hotels workplace environments.

Hotel room cleaners, front desk clerks, bellhops, hospitality workers, maintenance employees, waiters, and other hotel workers can get hurt on the job. Ergonomic injuries, back injuries, slip and fall injuries, injuries caused by lifting heavy objects, and other work-related injuries can result.

Chicago Workers’ Compensation
Chicago is one of the most visited cities in the United States and hotel workers are employed to help the hospitality industry of our beautiful city run smoothly. This 24-hour/seven days a week business can be stressful and physically challenging for its employees and unfortunately, work injuries do happen. Most Chicago workers are entitled to Illinois workers' compensation benefits in the event of injury.

Women Hotel Workers Suffer High Injury Rates, New American Media, December 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:
OSHA

Unite Here!

AFL-CIO

Continue reading "Illinois Workers' Compensation: Woman and Ethnic Hotel Workers Have High Injury Rate " »

An appeals court says that Cargill Meat Solutions must provide workers’ compensation benefits to an illegal immigrant who was injured on the job. Odilon Visoso got hurt in May 2006 when he was hit on the neck, head, and shoulder by a 100-pound meat slab that fell from a hook.

Visoso is an illegal alien. Following his work accident, he kept working at Cargill doing light duty until he underwent surgery on October 2008. Later that month, he was fired because of his illegal immigrant status.

Cargill Meat Solutions did not want to pay for Visoso workers’ compensation benefits because he is an immigrant and therefore is not legally allowed to work in the US. However, the appeals court upheld the ruling of the Worker Compensation Court, which found that all employees who are injured or get sick from doing their job—even illegal aliens—are covered under the state’s workers’ compensation law.

Judge Richard Sievers said that even though Visoso is not legally allowed to work in this country, he was still an ‘employee’ for Cargill and therefore entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Visoso’s workers’ compensation lawyer says not allowing illegal immigrants to obtain work injury benefits might encourage companies to hire illegal workers, which they are not allowed to do.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Many illegal workers are scared to come forward to report an injury or disease they sustained on the job because they are scared of being deported or of other legal repercussions. Regardless of your resident status, you may still be entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Obtaining work injury benefits can alleviate your worries about covering your medical bills and lost wages.

Court Grants Benefits to Illegal Immigrant, New American, December 15, 2009

Court: Illegal immigrant entitled to benefits, JournalStar, December 8, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Illegal Immigrant Has Right to Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Says Court" »

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health are reporting that it is the degree of impairment and seriousness of injury and not the workers’ compensation attorney fees that most impact an injured Illinois construction worker’s compensation payout.

The researchers came up with their findings based on a study of 19,734 workers’ compensation claims submitted to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission between 2000 and 2005. Claims are submitted to the commission when an employee and employer are unable to resolve a work injury claim without its intervention. Among the findings:

• 1.21 construction accident claims for every 100 Illinois construction workers.
• Injured construction workers that were represented by an Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer obtained $1,210 more than workers who did not have legal representation.
• Back injuries, spinal injuries, and extremity injuries were the most common work injuries.
• Workers who sustained spinal injuries and back injuries obtained higher compensation than Illinois workers who had injured other body parts.

In an ideal world, a worker who was injured on the job should be able to easily obtain the Illinois workers’ compensation that he is entitled to receive under state law. However, disagreements and delays can happen, which can seriously affect an injured worker’s ability to recover and provide financial support to family members.

Our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm has over 15 years experience obtaining the work injury benefits our clients are owed from employers, bad faith insurance companies, and other parties. Retaining an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer can increase the amount you would otherwise receive by two or three times.

Severity Of Injury, Not Legal Fees, Drives Cost Of Workers’ Compensation, UIC School of Public Health

Related Web Resources:
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (PDF)

A man who says his employer fired him after he filed a claim to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits and was placed on restricted duty by his doctor is suing Global Brass and Copper Inc. Troy Pizzo says he was working at Olin Brass on September 12, 2008 when he got hurt.

He then filed an Illinois workers’ compensation claim. Pizzo says that after his doctor said he could only perform on restricted duty, the company fired him. Pizzo’s lawsuit claims the defendant purposely disregarded his welfare and rights and fired him to punish him for seeking to avail of his work injury benefits, which he is entitled to receive under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. He is accusing his former employer of committing these actions even while having full knowledge of Illinois’ workers’ compensation laws.

Pizzo is seeking over $100,000 plus costs.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claims
Employers are not allowed to fire workers for filing for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Injured workers are entitled to their work injury benefits, which can include medical care, rehabilitation, lost wages, temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, and, in the event of the worker’s death, the family is entitled to survivors benefits.

In certain instances, an employer’s insurer may seek to settle the case with a lump sum amount. While this guarantees a specific amount to the injured worker, this also usually does not allow for the employee to receive more compensation even if more treatment is required beyond what was initially estimated. However, in some work injury cases, this may be the best option.

Olin Brass worker claims retaliatory discharge, The Record, December 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Your Right to Workers' Comp Benefits FAQ, NOLO

Continue reading "Worker Says He Was Fired After Filing Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claim" »

A boilermaker who says he was injured in a work accident is suing two companies for Illinois personal injury. Ronald McMillan was working at Conoco Phillips refinery on November 20, 2008 when a welding machine with a jack stand that he was moving collapsed, crushing his left foot.

McMillan is suing Miller Welding and Iron Works and DJ Miller Enterprises. He is alleging negligent design of a machine that had a jack stand that wasn’t strong enough to support it and the failure to warn of possible hazards. McMillan is seeking over $200,000 plus costs.

McMillan says the Illinois work accident caused him to suffer permanent and serious disabilities, experience great mental and physical pain and incur medical expenses. Because of his inability to work he contends that he lost significant income.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
As an injured worker, you are likely entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits from your employer. You may even be able to sue third parties that were responsible for your work injuries for personal injury compensation.

Illinois workers’ compensation usually entitles injured workers to compensation for all necessary medical services, including first aid, surgeries, hospital services, and doctors visits to heal or relieve the injury or illness. Benefits for disabilities and time taken off work are also provided. While you cannot sue your employer for personal injury, liable third parties are not exempt from being sued for personal injury or wrongful death. Obtaining injury compensation from these responsible parties may be critical--especially if your injuries are catastrophic.

Jack stand collapses, boilermaker claims in suit, The Record, November 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Benefits, Malman Law

Risk and Insurance Online

A worker was killed on Friday when the semi-trailer he was driving made contact with power lines at a demolition site. Gary D. Colvin was 48. According to police, Colvin suffered electric shock as he was exiting the truck, which was dumping a load of metal at a demolition site.

Unfortunately, Colvin was not the only worker to die from electric shock last week. On Wednesday, 59-year-old James Bea was pronounced dead when he was electrocuted while removing temporary lighting. Another worker, age 24, sustained critical electrical burn injuries.

The catastrophic work accident occurred when workers came into contact with a power line.

Electrocution Accidents
Electrical shock accidents can be very dangerous for workers. Electrical burns, kidney failure, neurological problems, blood clots, muscle tissue damage, eye injuries, and instant death are some of the more serious injuries that can result.

Most workers are entitled to obtain Illinois workers’ compensation whenever they are injured at work. It doesn’t matter who or what caused the work accident. This should make it easier for everyone involved. The worker gets paid work injury benefits (or the family of a deceased worker receives death benefits) and the employer doesn’t have to contend with an Illinois personal injury complaint or wrongful death lawsuit.

Unfortunately, there are instances when an employer and/or the insurer will attempt to deny or delay a work injury or death claim.

Arlington County employee electrocuted, Washington Post, November 26, 2009

Ohio man fatally shocked at Ind. demolition site, Chicago Tribune, November 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Workers' Compensation, Justia

OSHA

Continue reading "Electrical Shock Accidents on the Job Result in Two Worker Deaths and One Injury" »

According to the General Accounting Office, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration can’t accurately verify all illness and injury cases requiring time off work that have been reported by employers. While OSHA audits illness and injury records of some 250 out of about 130,000 worksites, OSHA cannot verify all of the injury reports’ details.

The GAO says this is because OSHA doesn’t gather all of the information it can get about work illnesses and injuries from workers. The GAO discusses these concerns in its report Enhancing OSHA’s Records Audit Process Could Improve the Accuracy of Worker Injury and Illness Data.

While OSHA isn’t obligated by regulation or law to verify data during records audits, the GAO says asking workers about their work injuries and illnesses during these audits may give OSHA valuable data. Right now, OSHA doesn’t audit employer records for approximately two calendar years. By that point, a worker who was sick or injured and had to take time off work may not longer be with the company or may have forgotten the specifics of the work accident or incident that led to the injury or illness.The GAO says OSHA should add eight more industries, including amusement parks, rental centers,and industrial launderers, to to its high-hazard industry list.

Employers that have under 11 employees and those in low-hazard industries do not have to report or record an incident to OSHA unless someone dies or at least three worekrs are hospitalized. This means that some 83% of all workers are exempt.

GAO says some employers can pressure their injured or sick workers to underreport work incidents in an attempt to avoid having to pay work injury benefits. Bonuses can be based on safety records and a worker may be afraid of getting fired if he or she files a workers' compensation claim.

Also, a 2006 study by two researchers from University of Illinois-Chicago say that OSHA’s changes redefining illnesses and injuries have allowed employers to interpret incidents in a more narrow manner. The researchers say the decline in illness and injury rates is linked to this.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says there were 3.7 million work injury and illnesses and 5,071 work-related deaths in 2008.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm are committed to obtaining for our clients all of the Illinois workers’ compenstion benefits they are owed. Employers are not allowed to deny a worker his or her compensation for work-related injuries or illness. Workers can’t sue their employer for personal injury or wrongful death and they need to obtain their work injury benefits. Proving fault is not a requirement of being able to obtain Illinois workers' compensation benefits.

OSHA Misses Injuries and Illnesses, GAO Says, OMB Watch, November 24, 2009

The Report Summary

Related Web Resources:
General Accounting Office

OSHA

A 27-year-old construction worker died on Tuesday after an embankment at the site he was working at collapsed on him. According to police Gabe Koenigsfeld was unloading wall forms when he was buried in dirt and sand.

The other workers dug him out in about four minutes but he was not breathing or responsive. Koenigsfeld was later pronounced dead. He and his wife were expecting their first child.

The following day, Jerry Pell, a 51-year-old worker, sustained fatal injuries when the Sky Trak that he was riding tipped over. Pell was in the forklift vehicle’s cage when the construction accident happened. He fell at least 20 feet, sustaining heavy neck and head trauma during his fall accident. He was working for David C. Bos Homes when the deadly work incident happened.

Last Friday, 27-year-old Matt Megginson died from injuries he sustained during a forklift accident. The construction worker reportedly lost control of the vehicle, which overturned and pinned him.

That same day, construction worker John Borovicka died in another forklift accident at a construction site on the Quinnipiac University campus. The 58-year-old was fatally injured when a forklift that was moving in reverse struck him.

On November 11, a 35-year-old construction worker died during an aerial lift accident. Ryan Goodman and Shane Wagener, 30, were riding a lift basket when the lift tipped over. The two men were some 50 feet off the ground when the work accident happened. Wagener was seriously injured.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
It is important that you submit your Illinois workers’ compensation claim as soon as possible.

SLT man dies after construction accident, GrandHaven Tribune, November 19, 2009

SD construction accident victim identified, Chicago Tribune, November 18, 2009

Forklift kills worker at Burris Logistics, Justice News Flash, November 18, 2009

Man Dies In Construction Accident At Quinnipiac University, Courant.com, November 14, 2009

O&G worker killed in freak accident, The Register Citizen, November 13, 2009

Fatal construction accident at arts center is under investigation, The Kansas Star, November 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Construction Accidents, Justia

US Department of Labor

Continue reading "At Least 5 Construction Accident Deaths Reported in the Last 10 Days" »

An Illinois roofing company manager has been ordered to serve 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to obstructing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s probe into a worker’s death. The charges that Moline resident Stephen Vynke agreed to plead guilty to are one count of making false statements related to the work accident probe and two felony counts of obstructing pending proceedings.

Vynke must also pay a $5,000 fine. He is to spend two years under supervised release.

A 36-year-old worker with Winter's Architectural Roofing Company died on October 10, 2007 after falling 16 feet from the roof of a building he was working on. Vynke admits that he set up safety fall protection after Walter L. "Boe" Whipple's fall accident and made false statements when speaking to OSHA.

Fall accidents, including falls from roofs, cranes, scaffolding, elevated heights, and slip and fall accidents, continue to be common causes of work injuries or deaths.

Companies are supposed to make sure that safety measures are in place so that workers are protected from hazardous conditions that could result in injury or death. However, in Illinois, it shouldn't matter whether the employee or the employer was at fault for causing the work accident if the employee is entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Filing your work injury claim as soon as possible is the first step to obtaining your benefits.

Manager at Illinois Firm Sentenced for Obstructing OSHA Investigation, Claims Journal, October 21, 2009

Vyncke pleads guilty to covering up safety violations, Quad Times, May 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
OSHA

Benefit Rates, Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Illinois Manager Obstructed OSHA Investigation into Worker’s Fall Accident Death" »

A work accident involving a forklift and a heavy crate has left one worker with a crushed leg. The construction accident happened on Thursday while ADI Marketing Inc. workers were unloading the wooden objects.

While workers were using a forklift to move the bigger boxes, one of the crates fell on a worker, pinning him to a truck. His leg was crushed during the construction accident.

Also on Thursday, a construction worker was killed when he was run over by a truck. Police declared 57-year-old flagger Carroll Michael Rehmert dead a the work accident site. Rehmert was stopping traffic when the construction truck, driven by Anthony Wayner Lamburn, 37, backed over him. The flagger was pulled into the vehicle’s rear axle.

Lamburn panicked, and he attempted to put the vehicle in drive. This caused the truck to accidentally crush Rehmert.

Crush injuries are often catastrophic and can cause permanent if not fatal damage to the victim. While employees generally cannot sue their employers for personal injury, they are usually entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation and they can sue other responsible parties for damages.

The construction industry can be dangerous for workers and many injuries can render a victim unable to work for life. This is one reason it is so important that you consult with a Chicago construction accident lawyer about your case so that you are aware of all your legal options.

Multiple parties may even be liable for your construction accident injuries, such as the construction company, an engineering company, machinery manufacturers, building architects, project designers, insurers, and others.

Construction Worker Killed in Buckeystown, Your4State, November 6, 2009

Construction worker’s leg crushed by falling wooden crates!, New York Injury News, November 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Construction Accidents, Justia

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Continue reading "Construction Accidents Result in Serious Crush Injuries for Two Workers" »

A construction worker died on Saturday in a highway work zone. According to Chicago Ridge police, flagger Joseph Bartkowiaki was fatally injured when a gravel truck that was heading for Crowley-Sheppard Asphalt hit him. Joseph Bartkowiaki worked for the company. Stanislaw Wdowikowski, also 56, was driving the gravel truck.

Bartkowiaki was directing traffic in an area were the company was repaving the street. Wdowikowski says he thought that the flagger was directing him to go forward, but witnesses say that wasn’t the case.

The truck driver struck the construction worker. He stopped his large truck when he heard people yelling at him. Wdowikowski backed up too far, striking Bartkowiaki again.

Police cited the truck driver for failing to stop for a flagger.

The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse reports that there were 31 Illinois motor vehicle crashes in construction/maintenance zones in 2008. Workzonesafety.org is reporting 5 Illinois road construction site deaths for that year.

In some cases, the victim is a motor vehicle occupant. In other instances, the victim is a construction worker who was doing a job in the work zone.

The parties in charge of the construction/maintenance zone must implement that all safety precautions are in place to decrease the chances of a worker getting injured or a motor vehicle accident happening. Failure to exercise this duty of care can be grounds for a Chicago injury lawsuit. Construction workers injured on the job are likely entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Common causes of construction zone accidents:

• Distracted drivers
• Equipment and machinery defects
• Poor barricade placement
• Warning signs that are not easily visible
• Inadequate worker training
• Machinery accidents
• Motor vehicle accidents

Construction worker dies in accident, Southtown Star, November 1, 2009

Construction worker struck and killed by truck, Chicago Breaking News, October 31, 2009

Related Web Resources:
WorkZoneSafety.org (PDF)

Federal Highway Administration

Continue reading "Chicago Work Accident: Flagger Dies From Truck Accident Injuries Sustained in Highway Construction Zone" »

In Illinois, two gas plant workers were injured at a St. Elmo gas plant last Wednesday when a fire broke out. The Natural Gas Pipeline Company believes the fire started while welding was taking place on a ground storage tank that was holding natural gas. Witnesses say a number of blasts occurred as a result of the fire.

The two workers who got hurt were the ones engaged in the welding work. Investigators say the 10,000 gallon tank was supposed to only contain oil and waste water. They are trying to determine where a mistake was made.

Working with natural gas can be dangerous. Work injuries can occur during fires, chemical spills, fall accidents, refinery blasts, machinery accidents, while toxic gas is being released, or during other kinds of work accidents.

Burns, broken bones, internal injuries, disfigurement, severed limbs, crushed body parts, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries are just some of the injuries that can result from a work accident at a gas plant.

Most workers are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits in the event that they are seriously injured and need to take time off. There also may be third parties that the worker can sue for Illinois personal injury. With so many factors possibly involved in causing a gas plant accident, a construction accident, or another kind of industrial accident that it can be hard to determine who is liable without consulting with a Chicago injury lawyer about your case.

Natural Gas Tank Explosion In St. Elmo, Illinois, Fox2Now, October 28, 2009

Fiery explosion injures 2 gas plant workers, Justice News Flash, November 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Department of Labor

OSHA

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Two Illinois Gas Plant Workers Injured in Fiery Blast" »

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued its list of the 10 most common workplace safety violations for the year:

• 9,093 Scaffolding violations: Most common causes of scaffolding accidents involve the support or planking giving way or the employee slipping or getting hit by a falling object.

• 6,771 Fall Protection violations: Workers in the general industry working at a height of four feet or greater must be adequately protected. In the construction arena workers must be protected when working at six feet or higher.

• 6,378 Hazard Communication violations: Chemical makers and importers must evaluate the hazards of their products and develop safety data sheets and labels so that downstream clients are made aware of these hazards.

• 3,803 Respiratory Protection violations: Workers must be protected against dangerous dusts, smokes, fogs, gases, mists, sprays, vapors, and inadequate oxygen environments. Failure to do so can result in lung impairment, cancer, and other diseases. It can also lead to deaths.

• 3,321 Lockout-Tag Out violations: Employees must be protected from hazardous energy released during maintenance or service. They also must be protected from the unexpected activation of equipment and machinery.

• 3,079 Electrical Wiring Violations: Electricians, engineers, sales people, office workers, and other employees must be protected from the hazards of working directly or indirectly with electricity.

• 3,072 Ladder violations: Falls from ladders can result in traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and death. Fall accidents cause 8% of all occupational-related fatalities involving trauma.

• 2,993 Powered-Industrial Trucks violations: Tens of thousands of people are injured each year because of forklift accidents.

• 2,556 Electrical violations

• 2,364 Machine Guarding violations: Protecting workers from any part, process, or function that can injure or kill a worker.

Compared to same time period last year, the number of top 10 violations has gone up nearly 30%.

Regardless of who or what caused a work accident, most workers are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

OSHA Reports on Top 10 Safety Violations for 2009, Reuters.PR Newswire, October 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Continue reading "OSHA’s 2009 Top 10 Safety Violations " »

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

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

A construction worker died on Monday after he fell into a water tank. Toby Lynn Gardner, a 35-year-old contract worker, was on a catwalk above the tank when he fell at an International Paper Co. mill.

The linerboard white water tank is three stories high and stores recycled water that the company uses to make paper. The water’s temperature is about 150-200 degrees.

Coworkers failed in their attempts to rescue Gardner and his body was recovered almost an hour and a half after the construction accident.

Gardner was employed by Zachry Construction Corporation.

Also on Monday, a 23-year-old construction workers was crushed to death by a compactor roller at a sewage treatment plant. Joshua Parks was driving the machinery over a pile of dirt when it rolled over him. He died at the construction crash site.

In another fatal construction accident involving machinery on the job, John Thomas Sparks, 51, died on Saturday when he was run over by a dump truck that backed over him. Sparks was working at the construction site as a flagger. He also was pronounced dead at the work accident site. Sparks worked for Mama Joe’s Flagging.

Our Chicago construction accident law firm represents injured construction workers and their families with claims against third parties involved in catastrophic work accidents. Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer Steve Malman can also represent construction accident clients during discussions with employers and their insurers to make sure injured workers receive all of the work benefits that they are owed.

Dump truck runs over Oregon construction worker, Justice News Flash, September 30, 2009

Construction worker killed in Roller Compactor accident, ARI, September 30, 2009

Victim in Monday paper mill accident identified, Enquirer-Herald, September 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Department of Labor

Construction Accidents News, New York Times

A plumber who smashed his hand while moving equipment says his company fired him for filing for Illinois workers’ compensation. Wes Amerson is seeking over $100,000 plus punitive damages over $50,000, in addition to other relief.

Amerson says that on May 8, Mark Eberhardt, doing business as B & W Heating and Cooling, called him while he was in an Alton emergency room after his work accident and tried to get him to report his injury under Eberhardt’s general medical insurance plan as a non-accidental injury.

Amerson says he refused and asked for workers’ compensation carrier information so he could notify his doctor. Amerson claims Eberhardt wouldn’t give him the information. He says that on May 12, Eberhardt called him and inferred that the information the injured worker had written on the accident form was inaccurate. Amerson claims that Eberhardt then fired him for, according to the lawsuit, “asserting his rights under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.”

Amerson says he suffered emotional trauma and lost income because he was fired.

Illinois Workers' Compensation
Your employer is not allowed to fire you because you filed a claim for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Most workers who get injured or sick because of their job are entitled to these benefits.

Unfortunately, disputes do arise. An employer may deny an employee's work injury claim or decrease/delay the amount of benefits owed. This is unacceptable, and there are ways to make sure that you receive all of your workers' compensation payments in a timely manner. In some instances, a workers' compensation claim may have to be argued before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. Because injured workers generally cannot sue their employer for personal injury it is very important that they receive their worker injury benefits.

Plumber says he was fired after filing work comp claim, The Record, September 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

In Illinois, most workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. State law mandates that employers provide workers with this coverage in the event of a work accident. It doesn’t matter who or what caused the injury accident.

Unfortunately, obtaining Illinois workers’ compensation isn’t always easy.

On September 15, Brian Elkins filed a lawsuit against Eagle Express Lines, Inc. The trucking company hired the truck driver on April 26, 2008.

Elkins hurt his back while on the job On October 25, 2008. Because of the work accident, he was unable to do his job. He filed an Illinois workers’ compensation claim to receive benefits.

Last June, the trucking company fired him because he failed to reveal certain information about his medical history. Elkins, however, says that he was fired because the company wanted to get back at him for filing a workers’ compensation claim. As a result, the truck driver has lost benefits and wages. He also suffered emotional trauma and has not been able to fully enjoy his life.

Illinois Workers' Compensation
An Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer can deal directly with your company’s insurance company for you and push for you to receive all of your benefits in a timely manner. In the event a dispute arises that requires arbitration, your workers’ compensation law firm can protect your rights and fight for your interests. In certain cases, an Illinois workers’ compensation case may end up in front of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and possibly even the Illinois court system. Having a work injury attorney who is on your side can only be to your benefit. It is important that you receive all of the work injury benefits that you are entitled to under state law.

Truck driver says he was terminated after work comp claim, The Record, September 21, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

State Employee Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Awards Act, Illinois General Assembly

A Chicago work accident left one demolition worker with minor injuries after he survived a roof collapse incident at a Menard’s store in Hoffman Estates on Tuesday afternoon. A demolition was taking place at the building.

The worker, 45, became trapped in a three-foot high pocket after the roof fell during the demolition. It took crew workers nearly an hour to stabilize part of the roof and cut out a space that the man could use to escape. He was transported to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries. According to Arlington Heights police, the fact that the man got caught in the “pocket” prevented him from sustaining more serious injuries.

Whether a work site is one designated for construction or demolition, it is important that the proper safety measure are implemented to protect construction workers and demolition workers. Structural collapses can cause serious injuries to workers and people passing by the site. Having a roof collapse is a serious matter, and victims have been known to sustain broken bones, back injuries, neck injuries, nerve damage, internal injuries, disfigurement, amputation, and traumatic brain injuries. In some cases, Chicago demolition accidents can prove fatal.

Common causes of demolition accidents include:

• Premature structure collapse
• Hazardous substances
• Someone accidentally knocking into the structure
• Falls from elevated areas
• Premature detonation

Demolition workers who are injured during work accidents need to file their Chicago workers’ compensation claim right away.

Demolition worker rescued after northwest suburban building collapse, Chicago Sun-Times, September 22, 2009

Worker rescued in Hoffman Estates roof collapse, Chicago Breaking News, September 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
National Demolition Association

Demolition Magazine

Continue reading "Chicago Demolition Worker Survives Roof Collapse Accident with Minor Injuries" »

The Illinois Department of Labor is getting a $1.5 million federal grant from the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The money will supplement IDOL’s safety and health programs that are there to provide protection to employees who work in the public sector. Government workers, state employees, police officers, school teachers, transportation workers, and firefighters are among the public employees that fall under this category.

It is very important that workers are protected while on the job. Illinois workers’ compensation is available for employees who are hurt or get sick as a result of work-related circumstances, but that doesn’t mean that employers shouldn’t exercise all necessary precautions and implement the steps required to protect workers from injuries and a hazardous health conditions.

The federal funding provided by OSHA will go toward:
• Reducing the number of Illinois work injuries and deaths, especially in high-risk fields such as law enforcement and transportation.
• Increasing the number of field inspectors and support employees so that more onsite inspections can take place.
• Providing more education and information about workplace safety and health challenges so that employees and employers are both more aware.
• Developing a consultation program to help workers create and maintain a safe work environment so that injuries are less likely to happen.

A worker injured on the job may have to take time off work, incur significant medical and recovery expenses, and may even have to give up working entirely if the injury or illness is serious enough that permanent damage or disability results.

You can’t sue your employer for personal injury so it is important that your receive all of the Illinois workers’ compensation benefits that you are owed.

llinois Receives $1.5 Million in Matching Grants from Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Illinois Gov, September 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
OSHA

IDOL

IWCC

Continue reading "OSHA to provide Illinois Department of Labor with $1.5 million grant to improve safety and health for public workers" »

A jury has awarded the family of Francisco Moreno Garcia $6.7 million for his Illinois wrongful death. Garcia was employed by ECF Inc. when he died from injuries he sustained during a work accident while insulating pipes at an ADM facility. The defendant in the third party lawsuit is Archer Daniels Midland Co.

A machine located close to where he was working malfunctioned, spraying him with steam and hot liquid. He was ushered into a safety shower, but even as his clothes were taken off him, his skin was coming off. According to the Sagamon County coroner, Garcia had burn injuries on more than nearly 90% of his body.

While state law prevents a worker from suing his or her employer for Illinois personal injury, an employee (and his or her family) is entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits in the event of injury or death. The victim and family members can, however, pursue personal injury or wrongful death recovery from a negligent third party. In this particular case, ECF was Garcia’s employer and ADM is the third party.

Garcia was 26 when he died.

Third Party Lawsuits
In Illinois, third party lawsuits are usually filed in Federal or Circuit court. Recovery from a third party claim can be significant if the injuries are serious. The statute of limitations for filing a third party lawsuit is two years from the date of the work accident.

If you were injured in a work accident, you should notify your employer as soon as possible that you are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. You should not, however, attempt to resolve your third party dispute without talking to a Chicago injury lawyer. Your Chicago workers’ compensation attorney can make sure that you receive all of the work injury benefits that you are owed.

Ill. jury awards $6.7 million to family of man killed in ADM accident, The Gaea Times, September 16, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Accident Report Forms, Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

According to the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, the Center for Urban Economic Development, and the National Employment Law Project, many low-wage employees are the victims of workplace abuse. One of these abuses is that many of them are denied workers’ compensation benefits even when they are injured on the job.

According to a survey conducted in 2008, of the nearly 4,400 low-wage workers surveyed in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, only 8% of the participants who sustained work injuries filed claims for workers’ compensation. Only 6% of the injured workers were given benefits to cover their medical bills.

Also, 2/3rds of survey participants say they had experienced some form of wage violation, including getting paid less than the minimum wage or not getting the correct overtime rate (or even any additional payment) for working beyond their shifts.

Immigrants, people of color, and women, as well as workers hired in private residences or in the garment industry, seemed at highest risk of becoming victims of workplace abuse. Examples of positions considered "low-wage" include dishwasher, busboys child care provider, security guard, and textile worker.

Many low-wage workers—especially “front-line” workers—are not natural born citizens. Many of them are in the US illegally. This can place them at the mercy of an employer knows the worker might be too scared to report the abuse.

Workers in the United States have certain rights. Even if you are an undocumented worker who was injured while doing your job, you may be entitled to work Illinois work injury benefits. An experienced Chicago workers’ compensation law firm can help you with your case.

Down and Out, The Washington Post, September 8, 2009

How the Lowest Paid Workers Get Ripped Off, US News, September 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Read the Report (PDF)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a $275,000 fine against a Lombard, Illinois company for numerous safety and health violations that could cause serious injury to workers. In this case, the company Metal Improvement Co. was doing business as E/M Coating Services.

Although a worker injured on the job generally cannot sue an employer for personal injury, he or she is usually entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits regardless of who was responsible for causing the work accident. This, however, does not mean that companies are allowed to become careless and violate standards of safety and health that are there to protect workers.

According to OSHA, E/M Coating Services committed 10 serious and six repeated violations. Safety hazards involved fire hazards in a spray booth, the absence of a sprinkler system in the booth, electrical and equipment concerns, incorrect oxygen cylindrical storage, fall protection deficiencies, inadequate personal protective equipment, no shower and emergency eyewash facilities, violations involving confined entry space, and respirator equipment fit issues.

Because of the nature of their jobs, many workers in the metal treatment industry and other industrial fields are exposed to working conditions that could cause injury or prove hazardous to their health unless the proper safety and health precautions are in place.

If you are a worker injured on the job or you believe that your illness was caused by conditions in your place of work, a good Illinois workers' compensation lawyer can help you consider your options.

Illinois Company Fined $275K for Workplace Safety Violations, September 11, 2009

Lombard metal coating company cited for workplace safety issues by OSHA, WQAD, September 5, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Continue reading "OSHA Fines Illinois Company $275,000 for Workplace Safety Violations that Could Cause Worker Injuries" »

According to the National Council of La Raza, Hispanic workers have the highest death rate from injuries sustained while on the job. The group’s report, called “Fractures in the Foundation: The Latino Worker’s Experience in an Era of Declining Job Quality” notes that the Latino worker death rate—at 4.6% for every 100,000 workers—is higher than the fatality rate in the US and in many developing countries.

The report also stated that Hispanic workers are the lowest paid, have a greater chance of becoming the victims of wage theft, and are likely to deal with more dangerous conditions on the job than any other group of workers.

Some of the other findings in the report:
• Per the US Census Bureau, nearly 400,000 Hispanics became part of the country’s workforce last year.
• Since 2003, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration has reported a 6.4% increase in violations of regulations and standards.
• 426,000 Hispanic workers are employed in the agriculture industry.
• In 2007, 937 Latinos, most of them immigrants, died from work-related injuries.
• Many employers try to get out of being in compliance with labor laws because they know the chances they will get caught are low. Lack of compliance can expose workers to dangerous working situations that can lead to injury or death in the event of a work accident.

Ted Smucker, of the Interfaith Worker Justice in Chicago, notes that immigrants are especially vulnerable to issues affecting the US workforce.

The report wants the Department of Labor and Congress to increase the number of investigators tasked with enforcing labor law in high-risk work industries, including those involving farming, construction, factories, meat packing plants, and poultry packing plants.

Our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm is committed to making sure that our injured worker clients receive all of the work injury benefits that they are owed following an accident on the job. Unfortunately, some insurers will try to get out of paying work benefits if they can.

Workers have rights and one of those rights is the right to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits in the event or injury or death.

Read the NCLR Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
National Council of La Raza

OSHA

US Department of Labor

Interfaith Worker Justice

Rehkemper and Sons is suing its insurance provider for refusing to provide an employee with Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. The worker, Michael Gray, was hurt during a work accident on August 8, 2005.

Gray claims that the work accident caused him to injure his back, neck, and arms. He filed a work injury claim to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Rehkemper submitted the claim to its insurer, Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company. Rehkemper, a roof and floor trussing company, says that per its policy with Indiana Lumbermens, bodily injury per work accident is covered up to $500,000.

Indiana Lumbermens, however, has said it will not cover Gray’s claim.

Now, Rehkemper’s lawsuit wants an Illinois court to find the insurer in breach of its insurance policy. It is also asking that the defendant be made to defend and indemnify the plaintiff from the workers’ compensation claim that Gray has filed.

Rehkemper says that its policy with Indiana Lumbermens gives the roof and floor trussing company the right to secure the insurer’s defense if Rehkemper is targeted by work injury claims that are covered under the policy. Gray’s workers’ compensation complaint is currently pending before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Unfortunately, time and again, there are workers who are denied their Chicago workers’ compensation benefits by an employer and/or its insurance company. Workers need their workers’ compensation benefits in order to pay for the medical and recovery costs, as well as living expenses, incurred from injuries sustained on the job.

Rehkemper and Sons sues over denied work comp case, St. Clair Record, September 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company

Rehkemper and Sons

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Company Sues Insurance Company for Denying Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits to Employee" »

A state Supreme Court says that SAIF Corp, which handles workers’ compensation benefits, must cover a gastric bypass procedure that an injured worker had to undergo so that he could then get his knee replaced. The worker, Edward G. Sprague, hurt his knee in 1976 while working as a mechanic.

Sprague underwent surgery following the work accident and SAIF compensated him for his medical expenses. Sprague weighed 225 pounds at the time of the accident.

In the last three decades, Sprague’s weight has grown to 320 pounds. He also has arthritis in the knee that he injured. He hurt his knee again in 1999 in a work accident at a bakery.

His physician recommended knee replacement surgery. However, in order to obtain the best results possible, he said that Sprague would have to undergo gastric bypass surgery to get rid of his excess weight.

Sprague’s employer at the time rejected his workers’ compensation claim, citing that the arthritis he experienced was a result of the work injury in 1976. Sprague filed a claim against SAIF. The company had said that the worker’s weight issue was a preexisting condition and it therefore should not have to pay for the gastric bypass procedure.

An appeals court and now the Oregon Supreme Court disagreed with SAIF. The court found that the bypass procedure was related to the worker’s knee condition, which resulted from the 1976 work accident.

If you were injured in an Illinois work accident and your employer’s insurer is refusing to cover the expenses for services and procedures that you need to recover from your injuries, please do not despair. It may be a good idea, however, to retain the services of an experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer who will know how to make sure that you get the work benefits that you are owed.

Gastric bypass to ensure success of second surgery compensable: Court, Business Insurance, August 28, 2009

Oregon Says Workers' Comp Must Pay for Weight Loss, Claims Journal, August 31, 2009

Related Web Resources:
SAIF

Corporation v. Edward G. Sprague, Entry Form, May 18, 2009

A Chicago construction accident has claimed the life of worker Carlos Mayroja. Mayroja, in his late 30’s, was riding a Bobcat that a crane was lifting up seven stories when the heavy machinery fell to the ground, pinning him in the machine. The deadly Chicago work accident took place at the Chicago Housing Authority demolition project located on South State Street.

A crane was required to extricate Mayroja from the Bobcat. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and later pronounced dead.

Bobcat Accidents
Bobcats are commonly used at Chicago, Illinois construction sites to move materials and large objects. It is important that a Bobcat operator know how to properly run this piece of heavy equipment to decrease the chances of injury or death.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has specific regulations and rules about how to safely operate Bobcats that are used on the job. That said, Chicago construction accidents can happen because of the negligence of the construction company, the construction worker, the machinery manufacturer, or merely by accident and through no one else’s fault.

While an injured construction worker cannot sue his or her employer for personal injury, he or she will likely be entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Also, because construction projects tend to involve more than one company participant, there may be parties that can be held liable for personal injury via third party lawsuits. An experienced Chicago construction accident law firm will have the resources, the manpower, and the experience to properly investigate the accident site and evidence so that they can prove liability.

1 dead in S. Loop construction accident, ABC Local, August 18, 2009

Construction Worker Dies After 7-Story Fall, NBC Chicago, July 7, 2009

Injuries Involving Heavy Machinery, Ezine Articles,

Related Web Resources:
Bobcat Safety

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has awarded workers’ compensation benefits to a mechanic who sustained burn injuries during a work accident. The worker, who was a diabetic, sustained burn injuries to both arms and his abdomen while on the job.

Over six months after the work accident, the mechanic developed a staph infection in his elbow. His infection was treated with antibiotics and he was admitted to the hospital.

The worker claimed that there was a causal connection between his work accident and his staph infection. The doctor of his employer denied that there was a relationship between the two. The physician, however, did acknowledge that because the mechanic had diabetes, he was more likely to sustain a staph infection.

The IWCC adopted the findings of the arbitrator that the Illinois work accident might have or could have been a cause of the staph infection. The commission said that just because the staph infection occurred over six months after the work accident doesn’t mean the two aren’t linked—especially when the worker had open wounds and was suffering from a condition that increased the chances that a staph infection might arise.

Staph Infections
This type of bacteria can be harmless, unless it enters the body, such as through a wound or broken skin. While many types of staph infections are easily treatable, they can prove harmful should the bacteria enter the bloodstream. The heart, lungs, bones, blood, central nervous system, and other parts of the body may become infected.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Illinois law requires employers to provide employees with injury benefits. This should, ideally, be a done deal anytime that a worker is injured while doing their job. Unfortunately, incidents will arise when an employer and/or the insurer might try to get out of paying these benefits.

It’s hard enough getting hurt and having to take time off from work so you can deal with recovering without having to worry about how you are going to pay for your medical costs and living expenses, as well as support your family.

There are ways to fight for your right to receive all of the work injury benefits that you are owed.

Mechanic links staph infection to work injury despite diabetes, Risk and Insurance, August 20, 2009

Staff Infections, Mayo Clinic

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits Awarded to Mechanic Who Sustained Burn Injuries that Developed Staph Infection" »

A worker who was installing a new air compressor wiring died yesterday when he was electrocuted. A subcontractor who worked for the DC metro hired the man. This is not the first electrical accident to cause injury to a worker in the last couple of months.

Last week, a worker sustained burn injuries while working on power lines. The work accident happened while the worker was in a bucket truck and he received an electrical shock.

Also last week, a worker employed by an electrical subcontractor was shocked while working on electrical systems at a construction site. He was shocked unconscious.

In July, two National Guardsmen suffered electrical shock injuries at a Tennessee county fair. According to witnesses, a man was using a control box to elevate a climbing wall, which was part of the National Guard recruiting station, when the control box fell on top of him. Another man who tried to help suffered electrical shock injuries, as did a second person who rushed to help. The two men were transported by air to a hospital.

Our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm knows that it can be hard to regroup after getting injured in an Illinois work accident. It is important that you file your work injury claim with your employer as soon as possible.

Electrical Shock
A person can suffer from shock after coming into contact with an electrical source. If the electrical energy enters the person’s body, he or she could suffer from electrical shock. Burns is the most common kind of electric shock injury. A person might also sustain a spinal cord injury, internal injuries, pain in the foot or hand, broken bones, and electrical mouth burn.

While in some cases, it is obvious that someone has sustained an electrical shock injury, some signs indicating that a person may be suffering from electrical shock include:

• Burns to the skin
• Tingling
• Numbness
• Hearing problems
• Paralysis
• Speech problems
• Unconsciousness

Electrical Worker Killed at Bus Garage, The Washington Post, August 19, 2009

Nixa employee injured in electrical accident, city administrator says, News-Leader, August 12, 2009

Nixa Lineman Shocked, KSPR, August 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Electric Shock, EmedicineHealth

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and five construction companies in the Chicago area have reached an agreement settling claims she made against them. The defendants, Jerry Ryce Masonry, Inc. Jerry Ryce Builders, Inc., JS Masonry & Stone, Inc., JS Masonary Inc., and JS Masonry & Tuckpointing, Inc., are accused of falsely claiming that their employees were independent contractors when they should have been categorized as full-time workers.

Under the terms of the settlement, the construction firms will no longer employ this practice, which allows companies to get around state labor laws and can deprive workers of unemployment aid, workers’ compensation, and the proper wages.

Each defendant will pay over $79,000, and over the next four years, all five of the construction companies are barred from taking part in construction projects with public companies. Over the next five years, the Attorney General will be allowed to inspect all of the firms to make sure they are in compliance with state labor laws.

Per Illinois law, workers have to be treated as employees unless they fulfill certain requirements that allow them to fall under the category of independent contractor. Misclassifying workers violates the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act, the Employee Classification Act, and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

Construction Workers and Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Construction workers often place themselves in dangerous situations on a regular basis just to do their job. It is important that they receive the work benefits that they are entitled to, especially their Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, because they could get hurt, become permanently disabled, or die in an Illinois construction accident. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, burn injuries, electrical injuries, and other catastrophic injuries can happen, and construction workers need all the worker protection and assistance that state law allows.

Illinois AG Settles With Construction Firms Over Worker Classifications, Insurance Journal, August 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Employee Classification Act

Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act

Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act

Continue reading "Five Chicago-Area Construction Companies Reach Agreement with Attorney General Madigan that Ensures Employees Illinois Workers’ Compensation and Other Benefits" »

The Illinois Appellate Court says that a Circuit City employee who got hurt when helping a co-worker get a stuck bag of chips from a vending machine should receive workers’ compensation benefits. The decision reverses a Circuit Court judge’s ruling that Clinton Dwyer shouldn’t receive work injury benefits.

Dwyer sustained a fracture when, after failing to dislodge the bag of chips by shaking the machine, he pushed into it using his hip and shoulder. He fell.

X-rays show that Dwyer sustained a fractured hip. He went to a Chicago hospital to undergo surgery. Dwyer filed for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits but Circuit City denied his claim.

Citing the “personal comfort doctrine,” the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded the work injury compensation to Dwyer. Under the doctrine, certain personal activities designed for a worker’s comfort, such as eating, are covered under Illinois workers’ compensation law.

Circuit City appealed and the McHenry County Circuit Court sided with the company.

The appeals court, however, reversed the circuit court’s ruling. Rather than citing the personal comfort doctrine, the court noted the Good Samaritan Doctrine, which lets a worker step away from his work responsibilities to help another worker. The court also noted that others had experienced problems with the vending machine and said that Dwyer wasn’t in violation of any company policy when he shook the machine.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits
You generally cannot sue your employer for Chicago personal injury, which is why you are supposed to receive Illinois workers’ compensation benefits if you get hurt on the job. However, there are cases when an Illinois company might decide to deny a worker his or her injury benefits. The best way to make sure that you receive the work injury benefits that you are owed is to have an experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer representing you.

Worker attacked by snack machine sues for comp, Safety News Alert, June 12, 2009

Circuit City Stores Inc. v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

A number of workers got hurt this week in construction accidents that occurred throughout the US.

John Grizo, 36, had to be airlifted to a burn center after he experienced electrical shock at a wastewater treatment plant on Thursday morning. Grizo works for an electrical subcontractor. He was knocked unconscious while working at a construction site and was struck in the head when electricity in a 480-volt panel arced.

Also on Thursday, two other construction workers got hurt when the hydraulic lift they were using tipped over. The workers broke limbs and were transported to a hospital.

On Wednesday afternoon, three construction workers got hurt when a mobile construction machine crashed into temporary steelwork. Three men were thrown to the ground. They were taken to the hospital for what appeared to be minor injuries.

Construction accidents continue to be a major cause of work-related injuries and deaths. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, some of the most common causes of construction citations include:

• Electrical-related issues
• Fall protection and training
• Scaffolding
• Head protection
• Excavations
• Ladders
• General construction safety
• Issues with health provisions

Injured construction workers and their families will likely have Illinois workers’ compensation benefits to cover the costs incurred from Chicago construction accidents. Who is at fault should not be an issue.

It is important, however, that your employer pays you the work injury benefits that you are owed and that you receive them on time. Should a dispute arise, you should speak with our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm about your case.

3 workers hurt in Bay Bridge accident, SF Gate, August 14, 2009

2 construction workers injured at NJ university, Philly.com, August 13, 2009

Man shocked in Holly Springs construction accident, WRAL, August 14, 2009

Related Web Resources:
OSHA

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

While we commonly associate work injuries with jobs that require workers to engage in challenging physical labor or in dangerous environments, working in an office can also be a place rife with hazards that can lead to work injuries, including slip and fall injuries and electrical injuries.

If you were injured on the job, you need to contact your employer right away so that you can receive your Illinois workers’ compensation benefits as soon as possible. By speaking with an experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorney, you can figure out the steps you need to take to make sure that you receive all of the work benefits owed to you.

Most Illinois employers are required to provide workers with workers’ compensation—it doesn’t matter who was at fault.

In the meantime, however, there are preventive measures that can be taken to minimize the chances of slip and fall or trip and fall accidents in the workplace which, according to OSHA, cause 15% of work-related fatalities:

• Make sure that any computer cables are shielded or placed in a location where no one can slip or trip over them.

• If necessary, lift cables, power strips, modems, and other devices off the ground.

• Not only can cable clutter on the ground prove to be a slip and trip hazard, but also it can cause electrical injuries if liquid spills are involved along with human contact.

• Make sure there are fire extinguishers and other safety measures in place. With so many electronic products running at the same time, you never know when a computer may overheat or a fire may break out.

• Consider installing traction floor mats to minimize slip and fall accidents.

• Wrap sharp edges and corners in duct tape or corrugated cardboard to prevent accidental cuts from happening.

In addition to fall injuries, examples of other common office injuries include:
• Injuries from lifting heavy loads or incorrectly lifting a heavy item.
• Injuries caused by bumping into objects or getting hit by falling objects.
• Injuries related to poor ergonomics.

Simple Solutions for Office Hazards, EHSToday.com, March 3, 2008

What are the Top Injuries in a Typical Office (and How Can You Avoid Them)?, SixWise.com

Related Web Resources:
Ergonomics Makes Your Office Work for You, AAPM & R

OSHA

A painter says she sustained serious injuries to her head, shoulders, neck, spine, arms, legs, back, and feet when she fell off a stairwell that did not have railing. Laurie Hilliard was employed by Touched by an Angel when the Illinois construction accident happened on July 30, 2007. The company had been hired to provide trim and paint work at the home.

Injured Illinois workers usually are entitled to obtain workers’ compensation benefits from their employers. However, there also may be third parties that can be sued for personal injury because they are liable for the work accident.

Hilliard’s Illinois personal injury complaint, file last month, names Dan and Elaine Whys, Brandon Wyhs, Wyhsco Construction, Don Waddles, Archway Construction, Don Waddles, and Matt Mallinex as defendants.

The injured worker says the work accident caused her to experience great physical and emotional pain and suffering, loss of normal life, disability, and lost wages. She also has medical expenses stemming from her work injuries.

The plaintiff’s 16-count lawsuit is seeking over $700,000 plus costs and other relief. Hilliard blames Elaine and Dan Wyhs of neglecting to reasonably inspect the premises, failing to note that there was a fall hazard, not exercising enough care to make sure she didn’t get hurt, neglecting to remedy the fall hazard, and failing to properly supervise the work site.

Hilliard says that all of the defendants created a fall hazard when they took off the railing that served as a barricade to the unfinished stairwell.

In June, another Illinois painter was awarded over $2.84 million for a heel injury he sustained during a fall accident at a school construction site. In 2003, William Theiss fell 15-feet while working on a lift that didn’t have a guardrail.

He had to undergo a number of surgeries to treat his injuries and was unable to properly do his job after the Illinois construction accident. After taking into account the issue of comparative negligence, Theiss’s award was reduced to $1.98 million.

Painter sues after falling from unfinished stairwell, The Record, August 5, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Construction Accidents Overview, Justia

A 32-year-old construction worker is dead after he was struck by a utility pole during a construction accident. The pole was knocked over by construction equipment that a co-worker was operating.

The worker that died is Andrew Russell Clarke. The man that was operating the Bobcat is Paul Maple, who is the father of Clarke’s girlfriend.

According to officials, Maple was backing up the Bobcat when he struck the pole, which fell onto a parked truck. They think that Clarke was reaching inside the truck when he got hit. They are calling his death a tragic work accident.

In other recent construction accident news:

• On Thursday, a construction worker was treated at a hospital for minor injuries after the wall of a garage under construction fell on him.

• A man who was operating heavy equipment for a highway improvement project died when the machinery ran him over. Steve Vigil was using a chip spreader to spread gravel when he fell in front of the machine. He died at the construction accident site.

• A flagwoman died while working on a bridge interchange project.

• 23-year-old construction worker Donald Flood III died after falling from an Ingersoll-Rand asphalt roller. The machine struck him and he sustained fatal injuries as a result.

• On Wednesday, a 21-year-old worker died in a construction accident after the square bucket on the top of a front end loader struck him on the chest. John Bradley IV was one of a group of construction workers who were making street repairs.

Amenia man killed in construction accident, Poughkeepsie Journal.com, July 30, 2009

2 killed in NM industrial accidents, AP/Newswest9.com, July 30, 2009

Man Hurt In Construction Accident, News Talk 650, July 30, 2009

Norco man killed in construction accident in eastern New Orleans, Nola.com, July 29, 2009

Update: Construction worker in fatal Des Moines accident is identified, DesMoinesRegister.com, July 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Constructions Accidents, Justia

US Department of Labor

Continue reading "Construction Worker Dies After He is Struck by Utility Pole" »

The owner of a roofing company has pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud charges. Robert McDonald owns Gulfstream Roofing. He has been found guilty of using bogus construction companies so he wouldn’t have to pay $400,000 in premiums.

According to investigators, Gulfstream Roofing transferred nearly $3 million in payroll using “fake construction companies” under the pretense that it was paid to insure subcontractors. The company reportedly did this between 2002 and 2006.

McDonald has been ordered to pay Bridgefield Insurance Co. $400,000 in restitution, over $6,000 in investigative expenses, and nearly $500 in court costs. He also has to serve 300 hours of community service.

Alex Sink, Florida’s chief financial officer, noted that actions like the one attributed to McDonald and others place workers at risk and leave them without protection.

Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Workers’ compensation fraud may involve someone withholding information or making bogus statements to receive workers’ compensation benefits or a party preventing someone else from receiving the Illinois workers’ compensation benefits that they are owed.

Considering that workers’ compensation exists to provide injured workers and their families with benefits in the event of a work accident, workers’ compensation fraud can be a serious matter.

Under Illinois state law, injured employees receive 2/3rds of their regular wages, tax-free, during the time they cannot work because they are busy recovering. The employers’ insurer pays for medical bills.

In the event of delays or disputes, our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm knows what to do to make sure that your payments come to you on time and in the full amounts that you are owed.

Roofer pleads guilty to workers’ comp fraud, Bizjournals, July 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Workers’ Compensation Fraud: Roofing Company Owner Pleads Guilty" »

A 33-year-old worker died on Monday after he was struck by stone slabs at a marble warehouse for injuries he sustained during an Chicago industrial accident on Wednesday. Gilbert Sandoval Ramirez was pronounced dead at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital. According to police, Ramirez sustained blunt trauma and multiple fractures during the Chicago work accident.

Just the day before, in East Chicago, a female worker, 37, died at the ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor Plant East during a work accident. Angela Smith also had sustained a blunt force trauma injury.

Blunt Force Trauma Injuries
Blunt force trauma usually involves injury to a certain area of the body caused by a sudden or heavy force that leads to trauma to that body part. A blunt force trauma injury can occur during fall accidents, when a swinging or falling object that is heavy strikes the worker, or during a machinery accident. Blunt force trauma injuries are frequently serious injuries that can prove fatal—especially if it affects the head or a major organ of the body.

Sometimes, there may not be any visual symptoms to indicate that a worker sustained a blunt trauma injury during a work accident. Common signs of blunt force trauma, however, can include:

• Bruising, which may be a sign of broken blood vessels
• Lacerations, which may indicate that there is tissue tearing or organ damage
• Abrasions

It is important to file your Chicago workers’ compensation paperwork with your employer as soon as possible after your work injury accident.

OSHA investigates death of warehouse employee on West Side, Chicago Sun-Times, July 27, 2009

Mittal worker, 37, dies of blunt force trauma at E.C. steel mill, NWI Times, July 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Blunt Force Trauma, ExploreForensics.Co.UK

OSHA

Continue reading "OSHA Investigates Fatal Chicago Work Accident in Humboldt Park" »

This week, a construction worker sued the New York Yankees and Turner Construction for injuries he sustained in a construction accident last year. Marc Kemprowski severed his wrist when the portable, power driven handsaw he was using kicked back at him. Kemprowski, 28, says the saw cut his arm to the bone. While doctors were able to reattach his hand, he has lost full use of it and cannot use his hand to do his job.

Kemprowski is accusing the defendants of maintaining dangerous working conditions. Over a dozen other workers have filed personal injury lawsuits for injuries they sustained while building the new stadium for the Yankees.

Construction Accident Claims
Many construction workers place themselves at risk of getting seriously hurt while doing their job. If you were injured in a Chicago construction accident, not only are you likely entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, but there may be third parties associated with the job that you were performing that can be held liable for personal injury.

Many serious construction accidents have been known to leave a worker injured in such a way that he or she may not longer be able to work as a construction worker ever again. Not only are there costly medical and recovery expenses to consider, but your permanent loss of income may require you to explore all avenues of compensation in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits.

Recent US construction accidents:

• A construction worker was rushed to the hospital today after he fell 30 feet in a scaffolding accident. The worker was working on a job at the JW Marriot Resort when he landed on the concrete. The cause of the fall accident is not known at this time. According to one fire department lieutenant, the worker appeared to have sustained internal injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

• Also this month, a 21-year-old worker died in a July 10 construction accident. It was just his 5th day on the job. Spencer Clark Harrington sustained fatal injuries to his stomach and head when a 30-foot steel fell off a forklift, striking him. Harrington was a father-to-be.

• Just two days before that, another construction worker died when one of the metal pieces used to hold scaffolding together fell five stories, striking the worker’s head. According to police, the other workers told the men on the ground to move but Kimberly McKinley, 54, was not able to get out of the way. McKinley wasn’t wearing a hard hat when he was struck by the metal attachment.

Construction worker injured at the new Yankee Stadium takes legal action, NY Daily news, July 23, 2009

Worker Falls At Hotel Construction Site, KSAT12, July 24, 2009

Construction worker falls 30 feet and lands on concrete, KENS5, July 24, 2009
Father-to-be, 21, dies after construction accident on Harbor Island, Seattle Times, July 13, 2009

An Illinois worker sustained serious injuries when he fell while climbing down a ladder. Richard L. Godwin fractured several ribs and vertebrae, as well as sustained a serious head injury during the Illinois work accident, which occurred on April 24. He had to undergo a tracheotomy and use a feeding tube following the work accident. Godwin was working for Survant Air Systems on a job in Fairview Heights when he got hurt.

While Illinois workers’ compensation law allows an injured worker to obtain work injury benefits for any injuries sustained on the job, state law also allows an injured employee to sue third parties for personal injury.

On July 21, Godwin and his wife Dianna filed their Illinois personal injury lawsuit against Old Style Roofing Company. They are accusing the company of failing to secure the ladder to the roof and neglecting to warn Godwin that the ladder was not secured properly.

They are seeking an over $100,000 personal injury judgment. The couple contends that Godwin suffered disability, pain, mental anguish and distress, and loss of enjoyment of life as a result of the work accident. He also can no longer attend to his regular responsibilities and has medical bills that must be paid because of the work accident.

Common Kinds of Injuries Caused by Ladder Falls:

• Spinal cord injuries
• Head injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Arm injuries
• Leg injuries
• Chest injuries
• Pelvis injuries

Falls from scaffolds and ladders account for a significant number of work injuries. It is important that a ladder is properly positioned, secured, and in proper working condition when used by a worker on the job. Regardless of why a ladder-related work accident occurs, Illinois workers are more than likely entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

Roofing company blamed for worker's fall and tracheotomy, The Record, July 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Misuse of Portable Ladders, OSHA

Safe Ladder Management, Safety-Engineer.com

Continue reading "Illinois Worker Undergoes Tracheotomy After Falling From Ladder" »

A fatal work accident involving two monorail trains at Walt Disney World may have been caused by human error. According to FoxNews.com, attributing the Orlando Sentinel, a Disney employee has told investigators that he may have mistakenly radioed that he had already activated a track switch.

Monorail operator Austin Wuennenberg died over the July 4th weekend when two trains on the monorail crashed into each other. Eight people were on board at the time of the amusement park accident. Another employee was taken to a hospital for a medical check.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there were no mechanical errors discovered on the track or the trains. Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also looking into the deadly incident. OSHA has six months to present a report to the public.

Possible violations Disney could face:
1) Willful (Up to $70,000 fine)
2) Repeat violations (Up to $70,000 fine)
3) Serious (Up to $7,000 fine)
4) Other than serious (Up to $7,000 fine)

OSHA is also looking into another work accident at another amusement park. This incident occurred on July 1 at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure theme park right before the park opened. A worker sustained serious injuries when he was struck by a moving vehicle on the Dueling Dragons roller coaster.

OSHA spokesperson Michael Wald says that Universal did not contact them about the work accident, but that they heard about it via a “referral.” Universal is only required to report work accidents to OSHA if there is a death or at least three workers end up with injuries serious enough to warrant hospitalization.

Workers injured on the job or the families of workers killed in Chicago work accidents are likely entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Disney Monorail Accident Was Human Error, Report Says, FoxNews, July 16, 2009

OSHA investigates accident at Universal park, Miami Herald, July 14, 2009

OSHA probes accident that hurt employee, Orlando Sentinel, July 15, 2009

NTSB to probe crash of Disney monorail, Chicago Tribune, July 7, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Continue reading "Fatal Work Accident: Walt Disney World Monorail Accident that Killed Worker May Have Been Caused by Human Error" »

A Chicago construction worker has been rushed to an Oak Lawn hospital after he was struck by a drunk driver in a construction work zone. The Illinois construction accident occurred today on the Bishop Ford Freeway close to Dolton.

The Chicago work accident took place in a protected work zone on I-94 at around 4:15 am when a 1998 Cadillac pinned the worker to a construction van. The worker sustained two broken legs. The driver of the Cadillac suffered head injuries and was taken to a Harvey hospital.

According to Illinois State Police Chicago Master Sgt. Todd Borisey, the construction worker and the work zone were clearly visible to the motorist, and the cones on the roadway made it clear that there was a protected work zone in the area. The drive could be charged with violating Scott’s Law, which increases penalties if a driver does not yield to emergency vehicles or causes injury to service personnel or public safety workers at roadside emergency scenes.

While construction zones are often marked so that motorists can avoid causing injury to workers, many drivers unfortunately do not realized that they are in a road work area and they need to drive carefully so that no one gets hurt. Just last month, Arnold Placensia, another construction worker, was repairing potholes when a motorist who was driving at a high speed struck him. Placensia died from his injuries as did the driver, Nancy Richards, who struck a large piece of construction equipment after hitting him.

Construction workers injured in work zones are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation. In addition to workers’ compensation benefits, the injured worker or the family of a deceased construction worker may be able to file a Chicago personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against a liable motorist, subcontractor, or another negligent party.

Drunk driver strikes construction worker on Bishop Ford, Chicago Sun-Times, July 10, 2009

Construction worker, driver killed in suspected DUI, The Modesto Bee, June 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Scott's Law

Work Zone Mobility and Safety Programs, Federal Highway Adminstration

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation has issued its 2008 Annual Report. Highlights of the report include:

• The Illinois 2005 workers’ compensation total injury rate was 58% lower than the 1990 workers’ compensation total injury rate.
• About 250,000 Illinois work-related accidents occur each year.
• The majority of work injury claims don’t require time off work.
• The Illinois Workers’ Compensation is the recipient of some 60,000 of these claims.
• Last year, 57,515 Illinois workers’ compensation claims were filed with the Commission.
• Of these new cases, there were 22,818 Chicago workers’ compensation cases.
• The various Illinois workers' claims noted head injuries, neck injuries, eye injuries, back injuries, shoulder injuries, hand injuries, finger injuries, arm injuries, foot injuries, knee injuries, toe injuries, and leg injuries.
• Of the 59,533 claims that the Commission received during FY08, 51,549 claims were settled, 5,434 were dismissed, and 2,550 resulted in decisions.
• By the end of FY08, some 95,000 cases were pending at arbitration.
• 3,594 arbitration decisions were issued.
• 33% of Illinois workers’ compensation claimants are females—an increase from the 22% of female claimants in 1985.
• 66 employers that did not provide workers’ compensation benefits were ordered to pay $1.8 million in fines to the Insurance Compliance unit.
• These funds pay for the worker benefits that employees working for these uninsured companies would not receive otherwise.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission is in charge of resolving disputes between injured Illinois workers and their employers over work injury and death benefits. The Commission is supposed to resolve disputes, make sure that employees and employers are protected under the Occupational Diseases Act and Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, administer self-insurance, and gather data about work-related diseases and injuries.

If you have been injured in a Chicago work accident, our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm can make sure that you receive all the benefits that your employer owes you.

Illinios Workers' Compensation Commission FY2008 Annual Report (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Received 57,515 Claims in 2008" »

Last month, the New York Times published an article about three illegal immigrants that were awarded settlements for their construction accident injuries. While many illegal workers living in Illinois and elsewhere in the United States continue to worry that filing a claim for work related injuries could get them in trouble—the outcome of these construction accident cases prove otherwise.

One worker, a 33-year-old plumber from Mexico, settled his construction accident claim for $2.5 million. He sustained scald injuries on his body. Swig Equities, LLC and 44 Wall Owner, LLC were the defendants in his case. The worker was employed by a contractor.

Another worker, a 52-year-old Mexican national, got hurt when a steel beam landed on his foot in January 2004. The worker settled with Beway Realty Corporation and FJ Sciame Construction Company for $750,000.

A third worker, 36 and from Ecuador, fractured his hip and sustained other injuries when three tresses landed on him in August 14, 2007 while he was working on a roofing job. Each of the tresses weighed 200 pounds. He settled his construction accident case against Benjamin Beachwood Ocean Way, LLC, Rockaway Beach Boulevard Construction Company, Benjamin Beechwood Breakers, LLC, and New Visions Construction Corporation for $600,000.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Illegal Workers
Illinois is one of the US states that recognizes an illegal immigrant’s right to obtain workers’ compensation benefits if he or she is injured on the job. He or she can also file a third party claim for personal injury related to the work accident.

Payments for Injuries to Workers Here Illegally, The New York Times, June 17, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Economy Packing Co. v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (PDF)

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

It’s only Tuesday and already several workers have been seriously injured or killed in US work accidents this week. Hopefully, their workers’ compensation benefits can help cover costs incurred from the accident and provide financial relief.

Yesterday, three workers died while in a liquid-filled hole at a waste transfer plant. Authorities say the workers appear to have been overcome by toxic fumes. Two of the people that died were a father and a son.

The hole was 18-feet deep and had about four feet of liquid in it. One worker fell into the hole. A second worker tried to rescue him. A third worker that was trying to assist the two workers also fell into the hole. Firefighters say that by the time they arrived at the work accident site, the three bodies were face down in the liquid. Authorities say there were toxic levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air. The plant is run by M & P Reali Enterprises.

Also on Monday, a 53-year-old worker died after he was run over by the tractor he was operating. Reginaldo Correa Talamantes, 53, got caught under the vehicle's rear wheel. He was pronounced dead at the work accident site.

In an unrelated work accident in another US state, foreman John Evans’s leg was crushed while he was trying to line up the milling machine. He tripped and fell in front of the machine. The machine operator did not see Evans and ran over his leg.

Sustaining a catastrophic injury in any accident is a traumatic and devastating event that not only causes great pain and injury to the victim and his or her family, but it also can dramatically impact the worker's ability to work and earn a living. This is why it is important that you receive all of the Illinois workers’ compensation benefits that you are owed.

Willows orchard worker killed in tractor accident, ChicoER.com, June 30, 2009

Worker's leg crushed in road milling accident, The Herald-Mail, June 30, 2009

3 Workers Dead at Waste Plant in Queens, NY Times, June 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Industrial Commission

Continue reading "Catastrophic Work Accidents on Monday Lead to Injuries and Deaths" »

An Illinois insurance agent has admitted to defrauding 22 businesses out of about $400,000 in workers’ compensation premiums. In Lake County Court, Reuben Collier Jr. pleaded guilty to four Class 3 felony charges.

Collier, who was working in Waukegan out of Collier Insurance Agency, committed insurance fraud when he fabricated false insurance certificates to make his clients think that their premiums were sent to insurers.

According to investigators, many of his clients paid cash for their Illinois workers’ compensation coverage. The Illinois Department of Insurance and the Waukegan Police Department say that the insurance agent told these clients that they were getting a discount because they paid him in cash.

Collier also forged bogus policy renewals when policy periods were about to or had ended, and he would create fraudulent certificates when clients needed additional proof of insurance.

As part of his guilty plea, Collier:

• Must serve a 30-month probation period.
• Serve a term of periodic imprisonment, which will include electronic home monitoring. He will be released for work.
• Make restitution to 24 of his victims for $97,136.

Workers’ Compensation
It is important that Illinois companies have workers’ compensation coverage so that in the event that an employee is injured, gets sick, or dies on the job, he or she can receive benefits. Illinois workers’ compensation law prevents workers from suing their employer for personal injury or wrongful death because they can avail of this coverage.

Unfortunately, disputes and misunderstandings can arise between injured workers and their employers, which can make obtaining workers’ compensation benefits in a timely manner a challenge—unless you’ve got legal help.

Illinois Agent Guilty of Fraud Charges, Insurance Networking News, June 25, 2009

Illinois Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Claimsjournal.com, June 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act

Illinois Department of Insurance

Continue reading "Illinois Workers’ Compensation: Agent Admits that He Defrauded 22 Businesses Out of $400,000 in Premiums" »

A Chicago Park District employee was killed after he slipped and fell into a manhole. William Daniels III was in Mann Park doing maintenance work last week on the wading pool when he appears to have opened a drain, slipped, and fell in. He was partially submerged in the drain after he was struck by a rush of water. Someone saw him leaning into the manhole and contacted 911.

Firefighters arrived to rescue Daniels, who was in cardiac arrest by the time they arrived. Daniels, 59, was pronounced dead at St. Margaret’s hospital. Tests will be conducted to determine if he died from drowning.

Manhole Accidents
Manhole accidents can cause serious injuries to workers. Just this April, two contract workers collapsed while in a manhole. One of the workers died. Investigators have said that the air in the manhole contained 13% oxygen. Less than 16% oxygen in the atmosphere is considered very dangerous. The deadly work accident happened just one block away from where a worker had to be rescued from another manhole.

Just last month, a judge issued an order that allowed family workers of two workers that died in a manhole accident to move forward with their wrongful death lawsuit against Boyd Gaming, the owner of the hotel-casino where the tragic work accident happened. Boyd supervisors were accused of ordering the employees to go into the manhole even though they allegedly knew it could prove fatal. A third worker also sustained serious injuries during the work accident.

In October, a Consolidated Edison worker that was splicing cable was killed in a manhole blast. In 2003, a construction worker broke his leg while working in a manhole.

Sewer death: Autopsy set for Park District worker who died, Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2009

Chicago Park District employee drowns in catch basin, Chicago Sun-Times, June 16, 2009

Suit in Orleans worker deaths allowed to proceed, LasVegasSun.com, May 1, 2009

Worker dies while in manhole, ABClocal.go.com, April 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Chicago Park District

Illinois Industrial Commission

Continue reading "Chicago Slip and Fall Work Accident: Worker Dies After Falling into Manhole " »

A Monroe County construction worker is suing Rehkemper & Sons and National Crane Company for his work injuries. Andrew Buckley claims he started to experience mental, personality, and behavioral changes after he sustained a traumatic brain injury while on the job.

Buckley says that on July 11, 2007, he was hit in the head and chest by bundled floor trusses that had fallen after the crane arm that was carrying the materials suddenly broke. The impact of being struck by the bundles threw him backward onto concrete.

Buckley says that as a result of the crane accident, he sustained facial fractures and had to undergo reconstruction surgery. He also sustained a TBI. He contends that his ability to work and enjoy life became impaired and he lost income because he couldn’t work.

At the time of the work accident, Buckley was employed by McFadden Construction Company, and Rehkember and Sons was using mobile cranes at the Columbia construction site. He is seeking over $50,000 plus other relief.

Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are catastrophic injuries that can seriously impair your ability to live a normal life. A person with a TBI may no longer be able to work or perform daily tasks, and his or her ability to interact with family and friends may become seriously impaired.

While Illinois workers’ compensation benefits will provide you with some compensation for your TBI that you sustained in a work accident, this may not be enough to cover all your costs and losses. An experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer can determine whether you have grounds for filing a third party lawsuit against other liable parties.

Traumatic brain injury at work site prompts suit, The Record, June 11, 2009

Brain injuries are the 'invisible' disability, The Enterprise-Bulletin, June 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
TBIs, CDC.gov

Construction Accidents Overview, Justia

According to the Insurance Journal, workers’ compensation carriers are worried that the increase in the number of obese people in American could lead to poorer job performance. According to the facts:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 25% of Americans are obese.
• By 2020, 43% of US women and 40% of the men are expected to be obese.
• Over 70% of both males and females are expected to be overweight.
• The National Council on Compensation Insurance reports that obesity affects mortality rates and can reduce productivity.
• It can also lead to poorer health, more time in hospitals and emergency rooms, and a poorer quality of life.
• Workers that are considered morbidly obese had eight times more lost workdays than other workers.

In regards to obese workers, a 2007 Duke University Medical Center study reports that:

• Very obese workers file 45% more claims than employees that are not obese.
• Their medical costs from claims were seven times higher.
• Slip accidents, fall accidents, and lifting accidents were among the common causes of injuries.
• Obese workers were at high risk of sustaining injuries to their back, hands, wrists, or lower extremities.

The study recommended that employers develop a strategy that promotes healthy eating and physical activity. Also, according to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study, workers in the obese category tend to have a higher risk of injury than workers with a normal body mass index.

If you are injured on the job—regardless of who is at fault or who caused the accident—your employer is likely obligated to pay you Illinois workers’ compensation. In the event that your benefits are denied or delayed, there are legal avenues available for you to ensure that you receive the benefits you are owed.

Workers' Compensation Industry Worried About Obesity Claims, Insurance Journal, June 9, 2009

Obesity Increases Risk of Injury on the Job, Johns Hopkins, May 15, 2007

Obesity Increases Workers' Compensation Costs, DukeHealth.org

Related Web Resources:
Overweight and Obesity, CDC

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Illinois Workers’ Compensation: Insurance Carriers Reportedly Worried About Worker Claims Linked to Obesity" »

A Chicago worker was injured on the Dan Ryan Expressway early this morning when he was hit by an SUV. The worker was picking up highway barrels when the Illinois work zone accident happened, causing him to get pinned against his truck.

He suffered severe leg injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

Illinois Work Zone Accidents
According to an Illinois State Police official, there were 31 work zone deaths in 2008. 2 of the victims were construction employees. 27 work zone deaths occurred in 2007, including two construction worker deaths. There were 29 work zone fatalities in 2006, including one construction employee fatality. The majority of deadly work zone accidents occur because of driver distraction or speeding.

A few years ago, state police began using photo enforcement vans close to work zones to catch people speeding. Vans are easy for motorists to see and come with a speed board. As a result, over 7,441 speeding tickets have been issued over the last four years, and the Illinois Department of Transportation has made over $7.4 million from work zone speeding violations. The IDOT maintains, however, that the citations are issued to save lives and not to make money.

Illinois work zone employees injured on the job should file their workers’ compensation claims as soon as possible. Regardless of who caused your work injury accident, you are likely entitled to work injury benefits—and you may also be able to obtain Illinois personal injury compensation from a negligent driver or another careless party.

Common causes of injuries to highway workers:

• Motor vehicle accidents involving passing traffic.
• Construction accidents involving construction equipment and work vehicles.
• Inadequate safety measures or lack of the proper safety gear to protect workers.

Illinois highway work zone deaths decline, but police remain vigilant, Herald & Review, July 19, 2009

Dan Ryan road worker hit, seriously injured, Chicago Breaking News, June 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Building Safer Highway Work Zones: Measures to Prevent Worker Injuries From Vehicles and Equipment, CDC

The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

Continue reading "Chicago Workers’ Compensation: Worker on Dan Ryan Expressway Struck by SUV" »

In Evanston, All Goods Pet Care, also called The Hungry Pup, has been forced to close down. The Cook County pet store, located on Chicago Avenue, was shut down because its owners failed to obtain Illinois workers’ compensation for its employees. This is the first time an Illinois business has shut down its operation because of a workers’ compensation violation.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission had sent legal notices to the Evanston pet care company a number of months ago requesting proof of workers’ compensation insurance. An investigator also went to the store to personally deliver another letter, as well as a warning that the store would have to close its doors unless proof of insurance was provided.

Four of the company’s employees have filed workers’ compensation claims against the Illinois pet-care company and two were found eligible to receive benefits. However, no benefits were paid out.

At a hearing that the Illinois pet care company opted not to attend, a work-stop order was obtained. Per state law, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has the authority to issue a stop-worker order to any employer that knowingly neglects to carry workers’ compensation insurance.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Under Illinois law, must employers must carry workers’ compensation insurance. This is supposed to provide benefits for workers that are hurt or get sick or die while on the job. While 91% of Illinois employees are covered under Illinois workers’ compensation law, business partners, sole proprietors, corporate officers, and limited liability companies are allowed to exempt themselves. Employers may either obtain consent to self-insure or buy insurance.

Evanston business closed for not having workers' comp insurance, PioneerLocal.com, June 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation

Workers' Compensation Web Resources, Justia

Continue reading "Cook County Workers’ Compensation: Evanston Business Closes For Failing to Obtain Employee Coverage" »

Four people were transported to the hospital this morning following a propane gas blast at Cyrano’s Café, which is located at the Chicago Riverwalk. The blast occurred at around 9am while cooks were getting the kitchen ready.

Because of a minor gas leak, the propane tank had been repaired the day before. AmeriGas, which conducted the initial installation, says that the tank had passed a leak test.

A deckhand who works at Chicago’s First Lady boat tours, 24-year-old Jessica Herum, was working nearby and ran to the restaurant to extinguish the blast using a dry chemical fire extinguisher.

Of the four people taken to a hospital following the blast, one person was in serious-to-critical condition, two people were in fair-to-serious condition, and one person was in good condition. Two of the people injured in the blast were cooks that worked for the restaurant. Four other people that sustained minor injuries refused treatment. Later in the afternoon, the Chicago Fire Department cited the cafe with several code violations.

Propane Gas Injuries
Propane is a highly flammable gas. Injuries from a propane gas blast can be life-threatening and may include severe burns, limb loss, and death. Common causes of propane gas blasts can include:

• Leaking gas tanks
• Improper maintenance
• The tank of propane is over-pressurized
• The gas control valves are defective

Work injuries are generally covered under Illinois workers’ compensation law, which means that you are likely entitled to benefits if you were involved in a propane gas blast while on the job. If the gas company or another party acted negligently and contributed to causing your work accident, you also may be entitled to third party personal injury compensation.

Riverwalk restaurant cited in propane explosion, Chicago Breaking News, June 3, 2009

Propane, CCOHS

Related Web Resources:
Propane 101

Chicago Riverwalk

Continue reading "Chicago Work Accident: Propane Gas Blast Injures Restaurant Workers" »

A worker is in the hospital after he was injured in an electrical accident on Tuesday afternoon. Brian Arnold was testing an electrical line when his tools made a flash burn happened. He sustained second-degree burns from the work accident. According to a supervisor, Arnold was wearing the required goggles, helmet, gloves, and uniform and that this likely minimized his injuries.

In another electrical accident that occurred last week, a 38-year-old construction worker sustained burn injuries on his feet and hands when the crane he was operating came into contact with a live electrical line. The electrical shock threw the worker into a pool of water. Paramedics had to wait until the power was turned off before they were able to retrieve him.

Electrical Power Line Accidents
Electrical power lines can be a cause of work injuries in the event that a worker comes into contact with a live power line. Crane operators, painters, and construction workers are just a few of the groups at risk of getting really hurt in an electrical power line accident. In certain instances, the use of certain tools around power lines, such as metal ladders, scaffolds, backhoes, cranes, aluminum paint holders, and concrete pumpers, can increase the chances of an electrical accident happening on the job.

In the event that you are injured in an Illinois work accident, you need to let your employer know immediately so that you can receive your workers’ compensation benefits as soon as possible.

In an ideal world, obtaining workers’ compensation should be an instant, automatic process. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. However, Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer Steven J. Malman can make sure that you receive all the work injury benefits that you are entitled to receive.

Man Suffers Burns After Industrial Accident In Lebanon, WCPO.com, June 2, 2009

Construction worker in hospital due to electrical accident, 680 News, May 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
How to Prevent Electrical Accidents

Electrical Accidents, CDC

Last week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that she has filed an objection over Fiat’s purchase of Chrysler in federal bankruptcy court. Madigan said her objection was filed on behalf of the Illinois Self-Insurers Advisory Board and the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Madison says that the purpose of the objection is to protect Chrysler workers in the state that may need Illinois workers’ compensation for their work injuries. Her filing states that both the ISIAB and the IWCC oppose the sale if there won’t be enough assets left to pay Illinois Chrysler employees their workers' compensation benefits.

Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. The motor vehicle manufacturer, which was established in 1924, announced that Fiat would be purchasing most of its assets as part of a restructuring deal reached with stakeholders.

However, the current sale terms does not obligate Fiat to pay Chrysler workers’ work injury benefits and Chrysler may not end up having enough assets to pay its injured employees their compensation. If Chrysler can’t pay these benefits, the financial burden would fall on the Illinois Self-Insurers Security Fund. Officials in other states have also filed objections voicing similar concerns about their injured Chrysler workers.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Most injured workers are guaranteed Illinois workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained during work-related accidents. This provides workers the medical services and compensation they need to recover from their injuries while protecting employers from Illinois personal injury lawsuits.

Work injuries not only take time and money to recover from, but they can prevent an injured worker from doing his or her job and earning a living.

State Attorneys General File Objections to Sale of Chrysler Assets, The National Law Journal, May 28, 2009

Madigan Files Objection to Chrysler Sale on Behalf of Workers' Compensation Fund, eNews Park Forest, May 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Self-Insurers Association

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Continue reading "Chicago Workers' Compensation: On Behalf of IWCC and ISIAB, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan Files Objection to Chrysler Sale" »

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is citing and fining Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for the death of a Wal-Mart employee during a Black Friday shopping event on November 28, 2008. OSHA says that store employees were placed at risk of being crushed by the crowd because Wal-Mart neglected to put into place “reasonable and effective” crowd management principles and, instead, engaged in inadequate crowd management. He died of asphyxiation.

OSHA is also accusing the Wal-Mart store of failing to provide workers with the tools and training required to manage the crowd of approximately 2,000 shoppers that rushed into the store. The crowd knocked seasonal worker Jdimytai Damour onto the ground, trampling him as they broke down doors to get to the sale items.

The OSHA fine for the citation is $7,000—the maximum fine possible for a serious OSHA violation. Based on past Black Friday experiences, an OSHA representative said that the store should have foreseen that effective crowd control tactics needed to be put in place. Wal-Mart disagrees with the citation and claims that it could not have anticipated Damour’s tragic worker accident. Wal-Mart spokesperson Daphne Moore says that OSHA and the retail industry do not provide guidance for such situations and that, in fact, the company had implemented crowd management precautions on the day Damour died.

The retailer has agreed to improve its post-Thanskgiving day crowd management strategy, pay $400,000 to victims that were injured during last year’s Black Friday trampling incident, and give $1.5 million to nonprofit and social services groups. The deal with prosecutors allows the retail chain to avoid criminal charges in Damour’s death.

Most injured workers and immediate family workers of those killed in Illinois work accidents are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits from their employers.

OSHA cites Wal-Mart in trampling death, Newsday.com, May 26, 2009

Wal-Mart pays $2M to avoid charges in death probe, AP/Trib.com, May 6, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Family Of Wal-Mart Employee Jdimytai Damour Sues Over Trampling Death, The Huffington Post, December 3, 2008

Wal-Mart Worker’s Black Friday Death Was Preventable, ChicagoWorkersCompensationLawyerBlog, December 2, 2008

Walmart Stores

Continue reading "Wal-Mart Worker’s Death Leads to OSHA Citation and $7,000 Fine" »

A number of worker unions are calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect employees—especially health care workers—from the swine flu by enforcing specific safety protections. At least 82 of the 5,000 probable and confirmed swine flu cases in the US involve health care workers and there is concern that the virus is still spreading.

In a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AFL-CIO Safety and Health Director Peg Seminario noted that emergency responders, health care workers, and other workers that come into contact with people carrying the H1N1 virus are at high risk of also getting sick while on the job. Although OSHA and the CDC issued guidelines earlier this spring on how to protect workers from the swine flu—followed by interim guidelines directed at health care workers—Seminario says the guidelines are not being followed. She says a compliance directive or a hazard alert needs to be issued to address the swine flu-related hazards that workers in the healthcare industry face and the need for employers to protect their employees so they don't sustain this work-related illness.

The AFL-CIO offers its own recommendations on how employers can protect health care workers from the pandemic flu virus:

• Establish an infection control program for workers in hospitals and clinics.
• Seek and implement ways to control exposure to the virus.
• Make sure workers have easy access to personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies, and respirators.
• Educate workers about the swine flu, its symptoms, how it spreads, and how to control the infection.
• Train workers on ways they can protect themselves and prevent the virus from spreading.
• Enforce personal hygiene policies.
• Set up isolation units for swine flu patients so that other patients are not exposed to them.
• Select the specific health care workers who will treat your swine flu patients.
• Send home any health care workers that you think may have the swine flu.

If you have the swine flu because you were exposed to the virus while working, you are likely entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits.

Unions Urge OSHA to Enforce Swine Flu Worker Protections, BlogAFLCIO.org, May 19, 2009

Protecting Health Care Workers During Pandemic Flu, AFLCIO.org (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Swine Flu, CDC

Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic, OSHA

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Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent letters to over 13,500 employers throughout the US to let them know that their illness and injury rates are much higher than the national average. OSHA called the letter a “proactive step” toward encouraging its recipients to start taking immediate steps to lower these rates and improve health and safety conditions on the job.

The injury and illness rates of the employers that were contacted was more than double the national average and had resulted in time off from work, job changes, and limited work activities. The data for these rates was compiled from a 2008 survey conducted that involved 80,000 work sites and the illnesses and injuries that occurred in 2007.

The letter included a list of the most frequently cited OSHA standards, included copies of each employer’s illness and injury data, and offered help on how to improve illness and injury rates. OSHA also provided information on insurance carriers, health consultation services, and state workers’ compensation agencies.

Illinois Workers' Compensation
Illnesses and injuries that occur on the job may allow you to qualify for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits—regardless of who was at fault in causing the work accident. However, Illinois employers are still obligated, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, to provide you with a healthy, safe, and hazard-free work environment. Employers can be cited and fined if a worker gets hurt, sick, or killed because of a a health hazard or an unsafe condition that could have been remedied or removed.

OSHA Notifies Workplaces with High Injury and Illness Rates, OSHA, April 17, 2009

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

US Department of Labor

Continue reading "Workers’ Compensation: OSHA Tells Over 13,500 Employers that Their Illness and Injuries Rates Surpass the National Average" »

States throughout the country are observing Chrysler LLC’s bankruptcy proceedings to see how the case might affect workers’ compensation funds. Chrysler has promised to continue providing workers’ compensation benefits even though it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Last week, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox filed a motion in bankruptcy court expressing concern that some of the verbiage in Chrysler’s bankruptcy paperwork leaves room for the auto manufacturer to back out of its existing workers’ compensation commitments. One concern would be that if a buyer were to purchase Chrysler, that entity would not be obligated to keep paying the injured workers’ claims. Cox's motion expressed concern that if the state’s Self-Insurers Security Fund had to assume these obligations, the fund would become insolvent within weeks.

Michigan, where Chrysler has strong business roots, is not the only state that could be affected if this were to happen. Chrysler, which has employees throughout the US, is self-insured some states and has bought workers’ compensation insurance in others. As a matter of fact, an Illinois Workers’ Compensation spokesperson says it is observing the situation in Michigan and speaking with agencies in other states about the issue.

A Chrysler spokesperson says that the court has given the automaker authority to keep paying workers’ compensation to its injured workers that qualify for these benefits. As of the end of 2008, Chrysler had 38,257 workers in the US. The company’s workers’ compensation liability may exceed $150 million, requiring the company to put out over $25 million a year. Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 30 and is in the process of combining its business with Fiat.

States watch Chrysler's possible impact on workers' comp, Automotive News, May 11, 2009

Michigan Objects to Chrysler-Fiat Deal Over Workers' Compensation Funds, Insurance Journal, May 7, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Chrysler files for bankruptcy, Money.CNN.com, May 1, 2009

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Continue reading "Will Chrysler Bankruptcy Impact Workers’ Compensation Funds?" »

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the elevator accident that claimed the life of a worker yesterday. Jason William Moyer, 39, was repairing an elevator when it fell on him while he was in the shaft. He was pronounced dead at the work accident site.

A report from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation says that the elevator that crushed Moyer failed a private inspection in February 2008. At a follow-up evaluation, the state agency issued a citation to the elevator’s owner for failing to have an updated license. The owner was also told that proof of a current inspection would have to be obtained.

Work injuries and deaths can be grounds for workers’ compensation from the injured or deceased worker’s employer. A personal injury law firm can also determine whether there are third parties that should be held liable for your work accident.

For example, last month a worker that got hurt because a man-lift malfunctioned sued a number of companies and officers for injuries he sustained while on the job. Milan Patrick is suing Victory Holdings, Panco Properties, Cathy Panico, Joseph Panico, Genco Land and Development, and Antonio Colasante for personal injury.

Patrick says that the defendants hired him in 2007 to do some remodeling at an apartment building. The worker had to use a 1995 Genie S40 man-lift to complete some of the work on the side of the building.

The plaintiff contends that because the man-lift was not properly maintained and its safety warning system was not working, on April 10, 2007 the bucket of the man-lift that he was in toppled over, causing him to become pinned between a parked car and the bucket. Patrick says he sustained abrasions and broken bones during his work accident.

Work injuries can lead to expensive medical bills, lost wages, and other damages and losses.

Man crushed in Century Village elevator shaft, Palm Beach Post, May 11, 2009

Shinnston man sues over man-lift injury, West Virginia Record, May 11, 2009

Continue reading "Elevator Accident Crushes Worker to Death" »

As of May 4, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control is reporting 279 confirmed cases of Swine Flu (H1N1 flu) in the United States. While this is a concern for everyone, it is especially a concern for workers who have to go to their jobs and may catch the virus from someone at their office, factory, or another type of work facility.

If you get the swine flu while you were doing your job, you may be entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. The challenge may be, however, proving that you contracted the contagious virus while you were doing your job (meaning you have a work-related illness) and not from an incident that is not work-related.

It doesn’t help that many work-related tasks put workers in situations that could put them at risk of getting the swine flu from others. For example:

• Working around other people.
• Eating out.
• Travel.
• Interacting with business associates that come from other parts of the country or the world.

Unfortunately, many Illinois workers can’t afford to stay home to avoid getting sick or to protect others from contracting their viruses. About 57 million US workers don’t get paid for sick days. Not only does staying at home mean that they don’t get paid but it could also result in the loss of their jobs.

It doesn’t help that the workers that likely don’t have sick leave are workers in the child care industry, food services industry, and hotel industry—lines of work that involve workers coming into regular contact with other people or food items. According to a 2008 study on sick leave, 68% of workers that don’t have paid sick leave have showed up to work with a contagious illness.

Steps employers can take to minimize the risk that workers will contract a virus while on the job:

• Make sure the work area is environmentally clean.
• Remind employees to regularly wash their hands.
• Have antibacterial hand cleansing lotions available.
• Encourage workers that exhibit flu-like symptoms to get medical attention and not return to work until they are certain they don’t have the swine flu.

Swine Flu Meets Workers Comp, Workers' Comp Insider, April 27, 2009

H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and its impact on Workers Compensation, WorkersCompensation.com

Swine Flu or Not, Many Workers Can't Stay Home, FoxNews.com, May 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission

Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (PDF)

H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu), CDC

Continue reading "Illinois Workers’ Compensation: Workers Sick with Swine Flu" »

12 people working at the Dallas Cowboys practice stadium were injured on Saturday when 64 mph winds caused the roof of the tent-like structure to collapse. About 70 people were in the stadium during the rookie minicamp when the accident happened, including players, coaches, media, and team personnel. Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was among the people who got hurt. DeCamillis broke a couple of vertebrae but is expected to recover following surgery.

Another Dallas Cowboys employee, scouting assistant Rich Behm is reportedly paralyzed from the waist down. His spine was severed during the accident. On Saturday night, assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his right leg to his tibia and fibula.

Other injuries sustained by other victims include an open fracture under the knee, a head injury, and someone was impaled with metal. Some 60 people escaped the roof collapse with bruises and cuts. There were about 70 people in the minicamp when the structure fell.

Fortunately, a lot of people received warning that there was something wrong with the roof when the lights started shaking. This caused people to try evacuating the facility, which may have saved many lives.

The building, which consisted of a 100-yard football field with a few yards of clearance around had a roof located 80-feet above the ground. One of the companies that took part in building the stadium is Summit Structures LLC. In 2006, a state court found that Summit was negligent when it designed and built a building that fell in 2003 following a snowstorm.

If you were injured on the job during an Illinois work accident, you are likely entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for your injuries.

Cowboys staffer paralyzed after accident, Comcast.net, May 2, 2009

Roof collapse injures a coach, 11 others at Cowboys' facility, USA Today, May 3, 2009

Cowboys assistant paralyzed after facility collapse, SeattlePI.com, May 3, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Dallas Cowboys Team Page

Workers' Compensation Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Illinois Workers Compensation Law Firm: 12 Employees Injured as Dallas Cowboys Practice Stadium Roof Collapses" »

Paralysis is a serious condition that can render a person unable to move parts of his or her body because he or she got injured or sustained a disease. Work injuries are leading cause of paralysis—especially among workers in the construction industry, industrial industry, trucking industry, and other industries requiring that a worker engage in intensely physical or dangerous labor.

If you became paralyzed in a work accident, there is a very good chance that you are entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. These payments should help you get the medical care that your injuries require and also provide you with some compensation while you recover.

If your paralysis injury is a permanent one that prevents you from being able to return to your job, your employer is supposed to give you proper compensation. The best way to make sure that all of your future needs are taken into consideration is to have experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer working for you—because once you settle, you can't negotiate further.

Paralysis in America
It turns out that there are more Americans living with paralysis than what previous estimates indicate. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation says 1 in 50 Americans lives with some kind of paralysis, which can be caused by SCI’s. That’s almost 6 million Americans—a much higher figure than the nearly 4 million that was previously estimated.

Spinal cord injuries, a common cause of paralysis, also occur more often than previously thought, with 1.275 million people in the country suffering from SCIs. Work injuries rank first as the leading cause of SCI’s, with traffic collisions and recreational/athletic activities coming second and third. Other conditions that cause paralysis include multiple sclerosis, post-polio syndrome, stroke, and cerebral palsy.

Living with some form of paralysis is never easy and losing your job because you can no longer work not only takes away your source of financial support but it can take away part of your identity, your family's livelihood, and irrevocably alter your life.

One in 50 Americans Lives With Paralysis, Forbes.com, April 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation

National Spinal Cord Injury Association

Continue reading "Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Firm: More Americans Living With Paralysis than Previously Thought " »

Today is Workers Memorial Day. The day is set aside to remember workers who were injured or died in work accidents. According go the AFL-CIO, 5,657 workers died in work accidents in 2007, while over 4 million others who were injured or got sick. That breaks down to about 15 workers killed a day and 10,959 others were injured. However, considering that there are limits to the injury reporting system, this amount is likely a conservative estimate. More likely, about 8 to 12 million workers get hurt or sick each year.

As part of its observation of Workers’ Memorial Day, the AFL-CIO issues its annual report, “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.” Among its numerous findings:

• 50,000 to 60,000 workers sustain occupational disease each year.
• 5,657 worker deaths occurred because of traumatic injuries.
• $145 billion to $290 billion a year is spent directly and directly on disabling injuries. But again, these costs only take into account injuries reported to employers.
• The report also reveals that Latino workers continue to be the group most likely to risk death while working.
• 937 Latino workers died in work accidents in 2007.

The report says that the Bush Administration neglected to address a number of health problems and safety issues during its eight years and even blocked or took away certain Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration rules.

Lawmakers are hoping to implement better laws to protect our workers. Last week, HR 2067 was introduced. The bill calls for tougher safety and health penalties, grants more workers protection by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, provides more worker safety rights, and protects whistleblowers.