Cook County Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries - Most Popular

Equipment failure kills laborer

Barry Doyle — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:00:00 GMT

A California laborer was struck in the chest when the shovel of a steam shovel came loose and landed on top of him. At the time of the accident, he was working in a trench on a construction project.

The laborer suffered fatal injuries as a result of being hit by the shovel.

Under Illinois law, this man's family would be entitiled to worker's compensation benefits for his death. However, those benefits are fairly limited compared to the true losses that this family has actually suffered.

When there is another entity responsible for a work injury besides the injured worker's employer or co-employee, there is a potential for a liability lawsuit which would allow this family to recover the full measure of its losses.

In this particular case, the remains of the steam shovel must be preserved for investigating a potnetial case against the manufacturer of the steam shovel and its component parts, anyone responsible for maintaining the steam shovel, and the owner of the steam shovel if it is not the laborer's employer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

River North Scaffolding Collapse

Kristina Labanauskas — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:10:00 GMT

A scaffolding collapse in River North resulted in serious injuries to two construction workers. The collapse happened in the 300 block of West Ohio Street on Monday morning. According to authorities, something apparently broke, which caused the scaffolding to collapse against a building. The two injured workers were taken to the hospital in serious to critical condition.

Scaffolding accidents result in many injuries and fatalities each year.

In the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) in 2005, an average of 88 fatalities occurred in the years 2000-2004 from scaffolds, staging. In a Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) study, 72% of workers injured in scaffold accidents attributed the accident either to the planking or support giving way, or to the employee slipping or being struck by a falling object.

According to U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), all of these accidents can be controlled by compliance with OSHA standards.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Kristina Labanauskas

Fatal scaffolding collapse

Barry Doyle — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 07:30:00 GMT

Two Indiana construction workers fell 40 feet to the ground when the scaffold they were working on collapsed. The scaffold had a loose pin holding in one of the members of the scaffold and when the workers went to repair the scaffold, their weight caused the scaffold to collapse.

One worker survived the fall suffering chest and head injuries; the other workers suffered fatal injuries.

Federal regulations govern the construction, maintenance, and inspection of scaffolds. One of the regulations requires that the scaffold be constructed so as to support its intended loads. The weight of these workers is clearly a load which was intended for this scaffold.

The scaffold must be periodically by competent persons as well. This is intended to assure that the sacffold and its compenents are in proper condition.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Fatal nail-gun accident

Barry Doyle — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:45:00 GMT

An Idaho construction worker was found dead on a residential construction project. At the time of his death, he was using a nail gun to frame houses.

The nail gun apparently accidentally discharged and he was killed by a penetrating injury to his brain stem.

On a construction site, not only do the work practices have to be safe, but the equipment must be safe as well. Nail guns are a special hazard because of the great force with which they discharge nails. Accidental discharge is a recognized hazard, and manufacturers are under a legal obligation to make nail guns with guards against accidental discharge.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Construction worker killed by falling scaffolding

Barry Doyle — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:00:00 GMT

A construction worker was killed when he was struck by falling scaffolding which was being assembled by co-workers. As the co-workers were moving scaffolding components places, portions of the scaffolding fell and struck him.

The worker suffered head injuries which proved fatal.

One of the basic safety concepts in construction is to stay clear of work being performed overhead due to the dangers of falling equipment and materials. The parties in charge of the work have the responsibility of ensuring that the areas below overhead work are kept clear while the overhead work is ongoing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Fatal scaffolding accident

Barry Doyle — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:00:00 GMT

OSHA has fined a Florida firm over $65,000 in connection with an accident occurring at a construction site. OSHA found that the scaffolding did not have guard rails or properly installed planking and that the company did not adequately train it employees or have a competent person supervising their work.

As a reslt of the unsafe condition of the scaffold, a company employee fell over 100 feet, suffering fatal injuries.

In wrongful death cases, there are essentially two parts to the case. One part is the survival action, which is compensation for conscious pain and suffering by the decedent prior to death. The other part is the wrongful death action, which is for the losses sustained by the next of kin as a result of the death.

In cases such as this where the person is unlikely to have survived the fall, proof of conscious pain and suffering is very difficult. Some courts will allow recovery for pre-imapct fright; others will not. In any event, there should be recovery under wrongful death portion of the case.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Trench collapse injures worker

Barry Doyle — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 06:00:00 GMT

A Pennsylvania construction worker was injured when the trench in which he was working collapsed while he was still inside it. The crew with whom he was working was installing a pipe which was being run into a school. The worker suffered a fractured leg and was listed in critical condition.

An OSHA investigation was underway to determine the cause of the collapse and whether citations will be issued.

Under Illinois law, when a worker is injured on the job, he potentially has two separate cases: a worker's compensation case and a liability laswsuit.

Worker's compensation is a no-fault system: if the worker is injured on the job, he is entitled to the benefits available under the Worker's Compensation Act. These include payment of two-thirds of his average weekly wage while he is off work, payment of his medical expenses, and a lump sum for permanency. The trade-off for being eligible to receive worjker's compensation benefits is that the injured worker cannot file a liability lawsuit against his employer or a co-worker, even if the employer or co-worker was grossly negligent in causing the injury.

A liability lawsuit requires proof of fault on the part of someone else besides the injured worker, his employer, or his co-employee. In general, the potential damages in a liability lawsuit are larger than the benefits that can be received from worker's compensation, but fault must be proven.

Injured workers are not required to choose one or the other -- they can pursue both a worker's compensation case and a liability lawsuit. However, the interplay between the worker's compensation case and the liability lawsuit is verycomplex.

Anyone who sustains a significant on-the-job injury where there is reason to believe that someone other than their emplioyer or co-employee was at fault should be careful to promptly hire a well-qualified attorney.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Contractor cited after employee falls through floor

Barry Doyle — Sun, 20 May 2007 16:21:48 GMT

A contractor was hit with over $69,000 in fines by OSHA after an employee was injured when he plummeted three floors when the floor of the building he was working in collapased. The employee was involved in the demolition of a building at the time of the accident.

Violations of OSHA regulations such as this put employees lives at unnecessary risk of harm.

When done safely, demolition of buildings is a more complex undertaking than simply knocking the building down as quickly as possible. The OSHA violation in this case came from the contractor failing to ensure that the floors were capable pof bearing the weights placed upon them after the demolition was underway.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Scaffold collapse results in fall

Barry Doyle — Sat, 05 May 2007 08:30:00 GMT

A worker on a Maryland construction site was injured when the planking to the scaffolding he was working on broke. He fell from the scaffold 37 feet to the ground.

The worker suffered spinal fractures which may result in paralysis.

Because scaffolds raise workers so high up in the air, OSHA regulations require that all of the component parts be in safe and proper condition. This requires checking the planking which is placed on the scaffolding frame for defects. Many companies have taken to using aluminum planking because of its lightweight, durable nature. However, the risk with aluminum planking is that it conducts electricity, an important safety consideration as well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle

Fall from roof kills one, injures one

Barry Doyle — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 11:00:00 GMT

At a new home construction project, two Alabama roofers fell from the roof that they were working on. Conditions were foggy on the day of the fall, and authorities believe that made the roofing felt they were working on slick.

The men fell 40 feet from the roof to a concrete patio below. The fall was fatal for one man; the other sustained serious injuries.

This is another accident which resulted from inadequate fall protection. When working at this height, these men should have been provided with personal fall protection such as a tie line. Also, since the roof they were working on was apparently pitched steeply enough that they slid off the roof, toe boards should have been used as well, especially since they were working in slick conditions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barry Doyle