Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog

A partnership has formed between the Illinois Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Ryan Companies U.S. Incorporated in an effort to promote health and safety on a construction site in Moline, according to a recent OSHA press release. This location will be the site of the Kone Building Project.

Our Chicago workers' compensation lawyers applaud this joint effort and hope that it keeps construction workers safe on this large construction project since a good number of work accidents in Illinois occur at construction job sites.

In the U.S., millions of people are working at over 250,000 job sites every day. We know that construction workers have some of the deadliest jobs in the nation with potential hazards including falls from heights, scaffold collapse, trench collapse, arc flash or blast injuries and electric shocks.

With its headquarters in Naperville, Ryan Companies U.S. Inc. will put into practice a site-specific health and safety program. If a subcontractor doesn't have its own health and safety program they will help them and perhaps refer them to the Illinois Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program for additional guidance.

The purpose of the partnership agreement is to identify and control safety hazards, improve existing health and safety programs, promote a supportive relationship between management and labor, and encourage worker participation to achieve a healthy and safe workplace. In order to obtain these goals training needs to increase, best work practices need to be followed, and obeying applicable OSHA regulations and standards needs to be a priority. To learn more about OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program visit their website for more information.

According to OSHA the top standards frequently violated on construction sites are: scaffolding, fall protection (scope, application, definitions, training requirements), Excavations (general and protective system requirements), ladders, head protection and electrical (wiring methods, protection and design).

Scaffold-related accidents cause roughly 4,500 injuries and about 50 deaths each year. Here are some steps to prevent scaffold accidents from happening:
-Scaffolds should be erected on sturdy ground and assembled correctly.
-Scaffolds should always be fully planked.
-Never move a scaffold when it is occupied and never erect or move one near power lines.
-Scaffolds should be free of anything slippery like ice or snow prior to their use.
-Workers should never be on a scaffold during bad weather like high winds and lightning.
-Never use anything, like a crate, to make a platform to raise work height.
-Know how much weight the scaffold can handle and never overload it.

Falls are consistently the leading cause of death in the construction industry. Factors that contribute to these falls include: uneven working surfaces, human error and failing to use or the misuse of fall protection equipment. Measures to help prevent fall hazards could be:
-Use of elevated platforms or aerial lifts, which would offer safer elevated working surfaces.
-Build a guardrail system with warning lines and toe boards.
-To protect employees near the borders of roofs and floors install a control line system.
-Make sure holes in walls and floors are covered.
-Use body harnesses or safety net systems.

Continue reading " New Illinois Work Safety Partnership Could Help Reduce Injuries to Workers at Chicago Construction Sites " »

Our Chicago workers' compensation lawyers would like to take a closer look at the recently released 2010 preliminary fatal workplace injury report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2010 preliminary report reveals that 4,547 workers died from injuries occurring on the job. Let's examine deadly work injuries by the type of incident:

Fires and explosions
There was a 65 percent increase in workers killed by fires and explosions in 2010. In 2009, 113 workers were killed compared to 187 last year. The significant contribution to the increase was deaths due to fires rose 106 percent from 2009. 82 of the 187 deaths happened in multi-fatality incidents. Illinois had 7 deaths as the result of fires and explosions

Workplace homicides
Homicides in the workplace during 2010 dropped by 7 percent compared to the previous year. The 2010 preliminary total is 506 cases, which is a decrease of over 50 percent from the all time high of 1,080 cases in 1994. In spite of the decrease, homicidal incidents involving women rose 13 percent in 2010. Workplace suicide cases were down from 263 in 2009 to 258 in 2010. Even though there was a decrease in the number of suicides the 2010 preliminary count is the 3rd highest total for the fatal work injury poll.

Falls
There was a 2 percent decrease in fatal falls in 2010. In 2009, there were 645 fatal falls; in 2010 there were 635. In 2007, there were more than 840 fatal falls; coincidentally, there has been a 25 percent decrease in the total over the last few years. The construction industry (private) has seen more than a 40 percent drop in the number of fatal falls since 2007 but it is likely due to the drop off of construction projects due to a weathered economy. It was reported that 31 Illinois workers fell to their death in 2010.

Struck by objects or equipment
In 2010, 402 workers were killed as the result of being struck by objects or equipment, which is a 4 percent decline from 2009. Being struck by objects or equipment caused the deaths of 39 Illinois workers.

Exposure to harmful substances or environments
There was a slight increase for fatal work injuries involving workers being exposed to harmful environments or substances, although electrocutions did see a decrease. A total of 15 Illinois workers died from exposure to harmful environments or substances in 2010.

Transportation
In 2010 almost 2 out of every 5 deadly work injuries involved a transportation incident. This is a small decline from 2009. Incidents involving non-highway accidents (off road), railway and pedestrians had increases compared to 2009. Aircraft and watercraft occupational fatalities were both down in 2010. (Transportation counts are expected to rise since all data was not yet available for the preliminary report.) Transportation incidents accounted for 72 deaths in Illinois.

2010 deaths by occupation saw the following results:

-Fatal injuries in extraction and construction work fell by 9 percent. This is the lowest it has been since 2006 which was a record high.

-Fatalities dropped 15 percent to 530 for construction trade workers; there has been a steady decline (46 percent) since 2006. Construction laborers are the most deadly sub group of workers but in 2010 deaths declined by 16 percent to 193. Due to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and Upper Big Branch Mine incidents extraction worker deaths rose from 59 in 2009 to 91 in 2010.

-There was a 9 percent increase in fatal work injuries in fishing, forestry and farming workers.

-Agricultural worker fatalities increased to 156 from 127 in 2009 and logging worker deaths grew from 36 in 2009 to 59 in 2010.

-Researchers noted a drop in fatal injuries among fishing industry workers.

-After a 2-year drop, fatalities among protective service occupations rose by 6 percent. Police officers deaths were up 40 percent since 2009, with 134 officers losing their lives.

-Deaths to resident military personnel dropped 44 percent in 2010.

-There was a 5 percent increase in the number of deaths to workers in the material moving and transportation occupations and made up about 25 percent of all occupational fatalities.

-A 6 percent increase in sales workers and truck drivers led the way of transportation and material moving subgroups with the most fatalities.

Continue reading " Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorneys Take a Close Look at Most Dangerous Work Industries in 2010 " »

Our Chicago work accident attorneys continue to review the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010 preliminary fatal workplace injury report because we want workers to have detailed information about the most dangerous work environments.

As Chicago workers' compensation lawyers, we are always interested in seeing the industries that are the most deadly and what kinds of workers are at the greatest risk of a fatal workplace injury. We know that tragically 4,547 workers (and the numbers could rise upon more research) lost their lives in 2010 due to an on the job fatal injury.

Fatal workplace injuries by industry sector:

Disasters at the Upper Big Branch mine and at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig claimed the lives of 40 workers. So, it is no surprise that mining deaths in the private sector rose 74 percent in 2010. All areas of mining saw large increases including 71 percent in mining support activities and 110 percent in other than gas and oil mining activities.

There was a 10 percent decrease in fatalities in the construction sector (private industry). Since 2006, construction deaths have dropped 40 percent but it could be due to the economy since work hours have decreased steadily since 2008. Though the number of deaths was down, the construction industry leads the way in fatal workplace injuries.

There was little change in the number of deaths in the service-providing industries of warehousing and transportation. But fatalities in truck transportation, which is a subgroup of the warehousing and transportation sector, rose 2 percent helped by a 17 percent rise in freight trucking incidents. Water transportation deaths were down but rail and air transportation saw a rise.

A 16 percent decrease was seen in the business and professional services group helped by 38 fewer deaths in landscape services in 2010. Interestingly, health and educational groups showed a 13 percent increase from 2009 to 2010. Government worker deaths rose by 3 percent from 2009 due to 32 more police department workers dying in 2010 compared to 2009. There was a 21 percent drop in federal government worker deaths in 2010 but local government workers saw a slight increase.

What types of workers were suffering fatal work injuries in 2010?

White workers (non-Hispanic) deaths were up 2 percent in 2010, but African-American or black (non-Hispanic), Latino and Hispanic workers fatalities all dropped. The biggest decrease was with African-American or non-Hispanic black workers, who had 9 percent fewer deaths in 2010. This follows after a decrease of 21 percent reported in 2009.

Fatal injuries in this group have dropped by 37 percent since 2007. Among Latino and Hispanic workers, deaths declined by 4 percent in 2010, to their lowest totals since 1997. There were 682 fatal work injuries among Latino or Hispanic workers, 63 percent were foreign-born workers and workers born in Mexico had the most deaths with 38 percent.

Total hours worked was down by almost 2 percent for self-employed workers but rose for salary and wage workers. Self-employed workers suffered the fewest deaths since 1992 with a 6 percent decrease between 2009 and 2010, though salary and wage workers had a 2 percent increase. Fatal injuries to men dropped 1 percent in 2010 but rose for women by 6 percent. Worker fatalities rose in age groups 55 years and older, those under 18 and 25 to 34-year-olds, while lower totals were shown in all other age categories.

Continue reading " Complex Work Injury Cases in Illinois Require Experienced Chicago Workers' Compensation Law Firm " »

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its 2010 preliminary results for fatal occupational injuries. Sadly, 4,547 workers sustained fatal injuries while on the job nationwide in 2010.

Our Chicago workers' compensation lawyers are concerned about the high number of fatalities, considering it is only slightly lower than the 4,551 worker fatalities reported for 2009.

"No worker should have to sacrifice his or her life to earn a living", says Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis from a recent OSHA press release.

In 2009, U.S. full-time workers were being fatally injured at work at a rate of 3.5 per 100,000. This was the same rate as 2009. There hasn't been much change in the rate of fatal work injuries since 2008. The final numbers will be published for 2010 around the Spring of 2012. Due to the economy, employees are working longer hours compared to 2008 and 2009, though it was noted that there were either decreases or only slight increases in hours worked in greater risk industries.

Key findings for 2010 fatal workplace injuries were:

-Self-employed fatal workplace injuries were down 6 percent to 999. This percentage increase was greater than the decreased percentage of hours they worked. In 2010, salary and wage workers' fatal injuries were up 2 percent from 2009.

-There was a significant increase in fatalities, 74 percent, in the private mining industry. 172 workers were killed in 2010 compared to 99 in 2009. Almost 20 workers per 100,000 were killed in 2010 compared to just below 12.5 in 2009. The incidents at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and at the Upper Big Branch Mine contributed to these numbers.

-There was a 10 percent decrease from 2009 to 2010 in fatal work injuries in the construction sector (private). This sector has seen an almost 40 percent drop in fatalities since 2006.

-Work-related fire fatalities saw its highest numbers since 2003, with a total of 109 in 2010. This number was almost twice as many as the 53 reported in 2009.

-There was a 7 percent decrease in workplace homicides in 2010, the fewest ever recorded. Unfortunately there was a 13 percent rise in workplace homicides that involved women.

-A decrease of 9 percent was seen in fatal workplace injuries among African-American workers and non-Hispanic black during 2010. There was also a drop of 4 percent for Hispanic or Latino workers. Fatalities were 2 percent higher for non-Hispanic white workers.

-Police officers saw a 40 percent increase in fatal on the job injuries, 134 officers lost their lives in 2010.

Included in the totals of police officers killed on duty were several Chicago police officers who lost their lives on the job:

-A 56-year-old sergeant was killed when his police vehicle crashed on icy roads in February 2010.
-A 43-year-old officer was shot and killed during a struggle in July 2010.
-A 20 year veteran of the department was shot and killed in November 2010 while collecting evidence at a burglary scene.

The final total for 2009 workplace fatalities for Illinois was 158. For 2010 the preliminary total is 203 including 72 deaths as a result of a transportation incident, 38 deaths from assaults and violent acts, 39 deaths due to contact with equipment and objects, 31 deaths due to falls, 15 fatalities from exposures to harmful substances and environments and 7 deaths due to fires and explosions.

Continue reading " Preliminary Report Indicates High Rate of Fatal Injuries at Illinois Workplaces or Job Sites " »