Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced a Severe Violators Enforcement Program directive that took effect on June 18. Announced in April, the program focuses on employers who continually disregard their legal obligations to protect workers.

Chicago work accidents frequently result when an employer fails to adequately provide for the safety and security of workers. Illinois workers' compensation benefits are available to any worker who is injured on the job. Workers may also be entitled to additional compensation if they are injured by faulty or defective equipment, dangerous working conditions, or because they lack the proper training and safety equipment. Contacting a Chicago work injury attorney is the best option to protect your rights.

The OSHA directive targets employers who repeatedly endanger workers. The directive establishes procedures and enforcement actions, including increased inspections. Inspections at other work sites a company operates may also fall under the guidelines if similar hazards or deficiencies are present. Employers may fall under the act if they have committed willful or repeated violations or failed to correct violations in one of more of the following circumstances:

-A fatal or catastrophic situation.

-In operations or processes that expose workers to severe occupational hazards.

-Environments that expose workers to highly hazardous chemicals.

-All egregious enforcement actions.

High emphasis hazards will be targeted and include fall hazards, amputations, combustible dust and other hazardous materials. Other areas of emphasis will include guarding floor and wall openings and holes; proper safety equipment for scaffolding; mobile ladders, stands and scaffolding; powered platforms for building maintenance; vehicle mounted elevating and rotating work platforms.

Continue reading " OSHA to target repeat violators in effort to reduce Illinois work accidents " »

A recent case decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals illustrates why an injured worker should always consult an experienced Chicago workers' compensation attorney when dealing with a work-accident or wrongful termination claim.

An employee of American Airlines suffered a Chicago work injury and was later fired for lying to a supervisor about his ability to drive -- the company conducted an independent investigation and caught him driving his personal vehicle. He then apparently attempted to represent himself in a wrongful termination suit and work injury claim, which he lost after failing to comply with a judge's instructions on repeated occasions.

In this case the defendant was hired by American Airlines at O'Hare International Airport in 2000; he injured his arm and shoulder while working as an aircraft fueler in 2007. He reported the injury to his supervisor, who completed the company's paperwork. On two subsequent occasions, his supervisor attempted to schedule a board of injury hearing to determine the cause of the work accident. On one occasion, the employee said he was restricted from driving by his doctor and on another occasion he reported having to pick up his son.

Ultimately, the employee's supervisor and union representative held the hearing over the phone. However, an undercover investigation by the company witnessed the employee out driving his car (contradicting the reason he gave for being unable to attend in person). He was fired for violating company rules against dishonesty.

A month later, the employee filed a claim for Illinois workers' compensation benefits and a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

In deciding whether the employee was wrongfully terminated as a result of filing a workers' compensation claim, the court looked at the three requirements for proving such cases: 1) that the defendant was an employee prior to injury; 2) that he exercised his rights under the Workers' Compensation Act; and 3) That is discharge was casually connected to filing a claim.

The only question in this case is whether the termination was adequately connected to the work-injury claim. The court ruled the company had just cause for firing the employee for being dishonest and upheld the lower court's ruling, which dismissed all of the employee's claims against the company.

Not only does this case illustrate why hiring a Chicago workers' compensation lawyer is critical to protecting your rights, it also underlines the fact that employers frequently check on claimants. Employees who are off work due to a work injury may be subjected to undercover surveillance or other tactics companies use to bolster their case. Your actions during a work injury case could end up being used against you in the courtroom.

Continue reading " Employers may conduct surveillance on workers claiming work injury " »

Peabody Energy said Tuesday that it welcomes a request by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration for an expedited hearing regarding the safety of its Illinois mine. But it said the formal announcement by regulators was publicity-seeking and inflammatory. While few think of Illinois when it comes to the oil, gas and mining industry, the state is one of the nation's largest players in the natural resources industry.

Employees who are injured on the job or believe they are being forced to work amid dangerous conditions should contact an Illinois work injury attorney to discuss their rights.

Safety in the natural gas, crude oil and mining industry has been in the news recently because of several high-profile incidents, including the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, a rupturing natural gas pipeline in Houston and April's mining disaster in West Virginia, which claimed the lives of 29 miners.

Illinois has substantial mining and pipeline operations across the state. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports 19 coal mines are operating in Illinois.

In fact, the two largest mining disasters to occur in the United States since 1940, both happened in Illinois. In 1947, an explosion at the Centralia No. 5 mine in Centralia, Illinois killed 111 employees. Four days before Christmas 1951, an explosion at the Orient No. 2 mine in West Frankfort, Illinois killed 119 miners. The third largest mining disaster in U.S. history occurred in 1909 in Cherry, Illinois when 259 miners died in a fire.

The safety of the Willow Lakes mine, an underground facility in Saline County, Illinois, has been in dispute for several years. The mine employs about 400 people and shipped about 3.7 million tons of coal to utility customers in 2008. The government has fined the company $230,000 and cited it in both 2008 and 2009 for safety violations, including failure to do enough to protect against roof collapse and not preventing excessive combustible materials in the workplace.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies the entire oil and gas industry as mining and reports that 2,320 injury cases and 174 fatalities occurred in 2008. The three most frequent causes of serious mining accidents were transportation accidents (41 percent), struck by object or equipment (25 percent) and fires and explosions (15 percent).

Illinois also processes about 1 million barrels of oil per day and has one of the 10 largest oil refineries in the United States: The Wood River Refinery processes 306.000 barrels of oil per day. Other Illinois oil refineries include the Exxon Mobile refinery in Joliet, which processes 238,600 barrels of oil per day; the Robinson refinery handles 204,000 barrels per day; and a refinery in Lemont processes 167,000 barrels per day.

Continue reading " Mining and refinery accidents can lead to Illinois work injuries " »

A Cahokia man has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $100,000 in damages after alleging he was fired for filing an Illinois workers' compensation claim.

The St. Clair Record reports the man began working for Allied Services in August 2008 and was fired on Nov. 12. The employee claims in a lawsuit that he was terminated after filing a workers' compensation claim as the result of an Illinois work accident suffered on Sept. 4. The man reported the accident, received medical treatment, filed a workers' compensation claim, took time off work and received benefits before being fired.

The lawsuit was filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court on May 24.

"The Plaintiff was terminated from his employment with the Defendant in retaliation for exercising his rights under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act when he was terminated under the pretext of leaving work without notification and a reduction in the work force but was actually terminated due to his exercise of rights under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act since the absences were due to his work related injury," the lawsuit states.

The employee said the termination cost him substantial lost wages, the loss of his medical and dental insurance, his accrued sick and vacation time, seniority and his 401(k) and pension benefits.

The current economic environment has employers on an unprecedented drive to seek cost savings and reductions in work force whenever possible. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employee productivity increased 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2010 while per-unit labor costs declined by 1.3 percent. Productivity has shot up more than 6 percent in the last year, the largest increase in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in April increased in 291 or the nation's 372 largest metropolitan areas.

From a practical standpoint, employees are afraid to lose their jobs, and in some cases such fear can make them hesitant to report a work injury. Meanwhile, employers continue to squeeze more work from fewer employees, leading to a greater risk of a work accident. Additionally, the current downsizing trend too frequently masks an employer's decision to shed workers who have been injured or are costing a company money through workers' compensation benefits.

Continue reading " Employers may hide behind downsizing when improperly firing employees who suffer a Chicago work accident " »