Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog

A scaffolding fall accident in May caused an Illinois worker to lose his life at a construction site. The worker was applying stucco to a home under construction in Burr Ridge when he fell from a scaffold and suffered a head injury. The fatal Illinois construction accident was in large part due to the fact that the worker was not wearing fall-protection equipment.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has recently cited the construction company responsible for employing the construction worker with four willful violations. Following an investigation into the fatal accident, it was determined that Igor Jerema Construction based out of Buffalo Grove failed to provide employees with fall protection, build scaffold supports on firm foundation, provide a ladder for workers on the scaffolding project and lacked a plank platform for all levels of the scaffold. The construction company is facing proposed fines of $50,000, a relatively small price to pay for putting workers at risk of fatal injury.

Chicago workers' compensation attorneys understand that fall accidents are one of the many dangers construction workers face. The leading cause of death in the construction industry is fall accidents, but workers are also subject to transportation accidents, struck-by accidents, trenching accidents or injuries caused by operating hand tools or power tools.

OSHA representatives are aware of the many different dangers in the construction industry, which is why they are now offering an online v-Tool for workers and employers to learn about the many different hazards they may face. Almost 137,000 construction workers are injured and another 800 are killed annually on the job.

OSHA has developed a set of 12 brief construction hazard prevention videos that can assist workers in identifying a potential hazard and also eliminate the threat of work-related injuries at a construction site. Each video is two to four minutes and depicts a real-life job site incident that resulted in injury or death. The video then follows-up with a corrective action that can be used to help prevent the same kind of incident from happening at other job sites.

For example, one video shows a worker falling from a ladder that is erected on a scaffold well above ground level while another worker stands on the edge of the platform with no railings or protective harness to keep him from falling. Workers are not permitted by OSHA standards to work 10 feet above a surface without having some sort of protective equipment or device that can prevent them from free-falling to the ground. The worker in the video reaches to hammer a nail into the siding and loses balance, causing him to fall to ground level. The video corrects the hazard by showing a long scaffolding strongly built from the ground up that offers full support and railings around all the edges to prevent a fall accident. In addition, the ladder was removed from on top the scaffold as the platform can be raised and lowered through a cable device. The railings on each side of the scaffold prevent a worker from falling over the edge while measuring or working on top of the scaffold.

Other videos include images of other types of fall accidents, sprain and strain injuries that can occur, struck-by accidents, exposure to carbon monoxide at a construction site and injuries that can occur while trenching or excavating at a construction site.

Continue reading " Scaffold Fall at Illinois Construction Site Leads to Fatal Work Injury; Company Cited for Willful Violations " »

As more and more jobs become available nationwide, we could see more work injuries being reported by companies who fail to train new hires or employees who are changing from one job industry to another. Illinois workers' compensation attorneys want to remind employees as you begin a new job, make sure you are properly trained so that you can help decrease the possibilities of an accident in the workplace.

The economy has been in a slump for quite some time now. A recent article from U.S. News & World Report indicates the tide may be turning slightly as the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent nationwide. This is the lowest the rate has been in nearly three years. Approximately 140,000 jobs were added in November; half of them are considered new jobs offered in the retail and healthcare industries. Common sense tells us much of the credit is due to it being the holiday season and the fact the seasonal jobs can skew the numbers. Several part-time and seasonal workers were hired in November, which can have a direct impact on the unemployment rate. Having said this, we are optimistic that the numbers do mean something and that the American public can finally start getting back on their feet again.

It is no time for companies to become complacent about educating employees about safety precautions or employers making sure they are doing everything in their power to create a safe work environment. All employees have a right to be protected in order to reduce the risk of a work-related accident in Chicago or elsewhere.

We recently posted on our Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog about the dangers of Black Friday crowds and how they can lead to injury when workers aren't trained or protected. Retail companies typically hire extra staff to get them through the holiday blitz. Training seasonal workers for security or crowd management must be a priority or else companies can face premise liability or workers' compensation claims as a result of their negligence.

Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 4,500 fatal occupational injuries nationwide. Illinois reported 203 worker deaths in 2010, almost 50 more than the number of occupational deaths reported in our state in 2009.

The most common cause of death at work nationwide in 2010 was from transportation incidents. Illinois reported 72 of the 1,766 fatal occupational injuries caused by transportation incidents. Other common causes of fatal work injuries in Illinois were related to contact with objects, equipment or struck by incidents (39), violent acts and assaults (38) and fall accidents (37).

No matter what field or industry you work in, employers have a responsibility to their workers' safety and well-being while in the workplace.

Continue reading " People Changing Job Industries Could Bring Increase in Illinois Work Injuries " »

Gire Construction Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) for several violations that include failing to provide workers with fall protection equipment while working at elevated levels.

Construction companies that put workers at considerable risk of a work-related fall accident in Chicago or elsewhere should be held accountable for their negligent actions. Too many times these violations go undetected before a tragedy occurs and a worker gets seriously injured from falling off a rooftop or scaffolding.

Our Illinois workers' compensation lawyers want to remind injured workers that you do have rights and should pursue legal action for compensation of your injuries. Work-related injuries can be costly and should not be consumed out-of-pocket when your employer failed to provide adequate protection or a safe work environment for you and your co-workers.

The Champaign, Ill.-based construction company was first inspected by OSHA investigators on May 27 at a Decatur job site location. During that inspection, 21 workers were observed without fall protection while removing shingles from a building's rooftop. As a result, two willful violations were cited for failing to properly train workers and failing to provide fall protection.

On June 3, employees from Gire Construction were seen performing roofing work without fall protection at two separate residential sites in Champaign. OSHA inspectors cited the company for two more willful violations for not providing fall protection to employees working at elevated levels above the ground's surface. An additional willful violation was handed out for failing to provide a ladder that extended three feet over the eave of the roof.

The five willful violations totaled $140,800 in proposed fines for disregarding employee safety knowingly and not providing protection regulated by federal standards in the construction industry.

Gire Construction also received a serious violation citation for not requiring employees to wear eye protection during a September 15 inspection at a Rantoul job site. The serious violation proposed a penalty of $3,300.

Since 2004, Gire has been inspected five times. The company has been cited for 12 previous violations involving training, ladder usage and fall protection. Companies that fail to correct safety and health violations can be cited for repeat violations that usually result in stiffer penalties.

Construction companies under federal regulation are required to provide workers with proper training on how to work at heightened levels. Companies are also required to make sure job sites are equipped with fall protection such as safety nets, guardrails or personal fall-arrest systems.

Employers have a responsibility to make sure protective devices are present before a job begins. Employers should instruct all workers to use fall protection devices or risk being taken off the job. Creating a safe work environment and demanding safe practices from your employees is one way to keep workers productive and ensure the job gets done safely and correctly.

Continue reading " Gire Construction Cited for Fall Hazards; Illinois Company to Pay Hefty Penalties " »

When an Illinois company knowingly releases catastrophic amounts of hazardous chemicals or toxins in the workplace, workers' safety could be compromised. Those releases could result in explosions or other incidents that put workers at risk. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, when workers are exposed they may suffer irreversible health conditions from a work-related accident in Illinois or elsewhere that can have a long-term effect on their quality of life or maybe even shorten their life span.

Cook County workers' compensation attorneys have seen the effects of people injured on the job. That is why we fight hard to protect injured workers' rights and advise them about any compensation that they may be entitled to for medical bills and other costs. Employers who put their workers at risk of serious health conditions must be held accountable for not making sure work environments are operating under applicable laws.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) that will protect workers from highly hazardous chemicals being released at chemical facilities. It is replacing the pilot program that was initiated back in 2009 as a result of OSHA inspectors finding that there are far too many workers being killed or injured in chemical facilities nationwide.

Maybe it helps to understand the dangers that workers face at chemical facilities. According to Chemical Plant Safety, workers are exposed to all kinds of hazardous substances at these types of facilities, especially when spillage occurs. Acids, highly flammable liquids, reactive substances, toxic chemicals and oxidizing agents are just a few of the hazardous chemicals that can spill in or from a storage tank, warehouse, lab, production site or even during transportation of the hazardous wastes.

When chemical spills occur, workers or environments are exposed to:

-Toxic atmospheres that can be breathed in and cause severe internal injuries or health conditions.

-Fire and explosions. Flammable vapor ignites quickly causing a severe risk of burn injuries and smoke inhalation. Burns can also be caused by corrosive liquids that spill onto the floor or other surfaces.

-Contamination of the environment, which includes air, water or soil.

-Spilled chemicals that come into contact with incompatible materials can cause a reaction and generate other toxic gases or chemicals.

The new National Emphasis Program will allow OSHA inspectors across the country to visit chemical facilities to make sure necessary precautions are being taken to reduce chemical spills. Workers must be protected according to standards set forth by OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) policies and procedures.

During random inspections at facilities, inspectors will ask detailed questions to gather information related to PSM requirements. They will also verify that an employer's implemented PSM program is consistent with their intended written PSM program.

The only way to limit employee exposure to a hazardous substance at a chemical facility is to get away from the honor system and have OSHA inspectors keep facilities operating under federal regulations with random in-person visits. Protecting employees from releases of hazardous chemicals can prevent life-changing consequences that injured workers may face.

Continue reading " Chemical Exposure at Work Can Have Long-Term Effects on an Illinois Worker's Health " »