Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog

Recently, Chicago personal injury attorney John J. Perconti of Levin & Perconti settled a workplace injury lawsuit for $600,000 on behalf of a heating and air conditioning foreman who was injured on a job site. The construction accident occurred in Chicago in February 2004 when the victim tripped on a piece of steel that was lying in a passageway of the construction site where he was working. When he fell, he suffered a serious personal injury to his back that required several surgeries. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, that the construction company failed to provide the victim with a safe place work, failed to warn the victim of the dangerous conditions, failed to provide adequate safeguards to prevent him from injury and failed to remove debris from the passageway. To read about other Chicago personal injury lawsuits settled by Levin & Perconti, follow the link.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Verdicts and Settlements

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Almost one hundred years ago, 259 miners died horribly in what became known as the Cherry Mine disaster. Some of the biggest gains in mining safety came only after the Illinois mining accident.

To read more about the Illinois mining disaster.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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A recent state court held that architects and other design professionals can be sued in product liability lawsuits for negligence even if their mistakes do not result in personal injury or property damage. The court explained that the basis of the economic loss doctrine is to separate claims for breach of contract from claims strictly for tort damages.

To read more about the construction ruling.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Products liability

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An engineering firm hired by personal injury attorneys for the victims of the bridge collapse says that the cause of the disaster was the failure of a beam. The findings of the engineering firm contradict the conclusion reached by the National Transportation Safety Board.

To read more about the findings.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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Final personal injury lawsuit settlements were reached with two companies involved in the 2006 Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse. The construction accident killed one woman when her car was crushed by the tunnel ceiling panels. The construction accident instigated the shutdown of multiple tunnels and ramps in the area.

To read more about the construction accident settlement.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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An employee of a restaurant has filed a personal injury lawsuit against a roofing business for personal injuries sustained when a ladder fell on her. The personal injury lawsuit alleges that the business allowed the ladder in question to slip off the roof and land on her foot and ankle.

To read more about the construction accident.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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Today, a bucket lift fell over, crashing into a building and injuring two construction workers in a construction accident. One of the construction workers died and the other is in serious condition.

To read more about the construction accident.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

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A portion of State Street in Chicago was closed after a construction accident resulted following a scaffolding collapse. The construction accident happened at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. Luckily, no personal injuries were sustained.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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The U.S. government wishes to fine a crane company over a construction accident that wrongfully killed four workers. The workers death resulted after a massive falling crane. Not only was the crane operator inadequately trained, but the project superintendent did not ensure the crane did not reach hazardous conditions.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of a young girl who was killed in her neighbor’s house during a tornado. The family of the wrongful death victim is suing the construction company for poor construction, blaming it for the girls’ death.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Wrongful Death

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In a report on Kansas’s workers compensation system, the Associated Press commented that reckless employers are free from legal action even if their negligence led to the injuries of a worker. Worker’s compensation benefits in the state are capped at a certain amount based on the injured employee’s wages and the extent of the injury. Employees under this worker’s compensation system cannot take legal action against their employers in cases of personal injury at work. The AP stated that since businesses get coverage after paying insurance premiums, worker’s compensation payments should be the remedy for injured employees.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Current Issues , Workers' Compensation

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Two workers contracted by the Illinois Department of Transportation were personally injured and suffered burns when they came into contact with a power line while hoisting a road sign in Deerfield, Illinois. The personal injuries occurred near an Interstate Highway 294 ramp. The workers were burned on their hands, and the extent of their personal injuries is not yet known. Both work for the Oak Brook, Illinois based Highway Technologies. At this time, no worker's compensation lawsuits have been filed. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Electrical Safety , Workers' Compensation

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A federal agency proposed a $70,000 fine for the bridge that was being built that collapsed and caused a workers’ death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited American Bridge for six safety violations that caused personal injuries and proposed a total of $90,000 in fines.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Current Issues , Workers' Compensation

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An injured worker has filed a personal injury lawsuit against his employer after a construction accident caused him injuries on the job. The personal injury lawsuit alleges that a crane dropped a dock hose on his left fingers. He seeks $75,000 and restitution for medical care, earnings, and other associated expenses.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Workers' Compensation

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A bridge that was being used during construction of a soaring walkway to give visitors breathtaking views turned into a construction injury disaster zone when it collapsed. One worker was killed and 18 others received personal injuries. Contractors were pouring concrete on a “canopy walk” as high as 40 feet when the bridge gave way. Witnesses said that the collapse was a frenzied scene with dozens of workers falling.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Land Owner liability , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

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A man who was paralyzed from the waist down after falling 17-feet from a ladder while working at a steel mill has been awarded a $48 million verdict in his personal injury lawsuit. The 42 year-old personal injury victim suffered a spinal cord injury when he fell from a ladder while at work.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Slip and Fall , Verdicts and Settlements , Workers' Compensation

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A construction accident on a pedestrian bridge caused the bridge to collapse resulting in several personal injuries. The accident caused a construction worker’s death and caused other construction workers injuries that required medical treatment. There is no determination as to the cause of the bridge collapse as of yet, but it is likely an investigation will be underway. Individuals on the scene described as if they heard a construction explosion when the bridge collapsed. To read more about this story click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Pedestrian

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Two workers are in critical condition with personal injuries after scaffolding collapsed on the side of a Chicago River North building seven stories above the ground, which lead to a dramatic mid-day rescue. 50 firefighters worked to save the two men, one of whom was pinned against the building while the second managed to climb to the top of the building. The scaffolding fell in the late morning, trapping the man. Rescue workers found one of the men hanging on the side of the roof of the building at 320 W. Ohio St. The man’s arm appeared to be trapped underneath a piece of scaffolding and his feet were resting on a piece of the building under renovation. It took firefighters more than a hour to free the pinned man, and the men needed intravenous fluids and oxygen while rescue personal worked. The man who had been trapped was bloodied and his head bandaged. Both workers suffered significant blood loss and major head trauma. Part of the collapsed scaffolding remained hanging from the side of the office building. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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Before he died from injuries sustained in a mine disaster, the deceased man regularly sent money to Mexico to support his disabled parents and to pay for two younger sisters. His parents contend that the miner was their sole source of support and as a result, they are entitled to his workers’ comp benefits of roughly $2400 per month.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Workers' Compensation

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A plaintiff recently settled his claim in a personal injury lawsuit settlement for $1,350,000. The plaintiff suffered a puncture-wound to his foot after stepping on a submerged metal spike that was in a sulfur pit. The plaintiff was a diabetic and doing maintenance on a sub pump in a submerged part of a sulfur pit when the accident occurred.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Verdicts and Settlements

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According to an Illinois personal injury lawsuit recently filed, an employee of an elevator company claims that he was hurt by falling debris from the ceiling in an elevator shaft. The complaint filed in the Illinois personal injury lawsuit states that the defendant breached its duty to prevent unsafe work practices.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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Tuesday morning a ramp collapsed a at a casino construction site. As many as 12 construction workers suffered minor injuries when they plunged into Lake Michigan after the ramp collapsed. Between 10 and 12 of the workers were transported to local hospitals, mostly with minor cuts and bruising after the accident, which occurred at about 8 am. Read more here.

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A mine collapse has killed nearly eighteen people and caused personal injuries to another ten miners who remain alive. The mine collapse accident comes in the wake of earthquakes that have hit the region. An investigation has been launched to see what caused the construction accident. There may be a potential premises liability claim against the company who owns the mine. As of yet no wrongful death suits or personal injury suits have been filed against the mine’s owner. To read the full story click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Wrongful Death

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A gate accident that caused serious injuries and death to a young Chicago, Illinois boy has turned into a lawsuit. A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the negligent management company who was responsible for the gate. Construction accidents and premises liability lawsuits occur when management and property owners are negligent and do not make sure their machines and their properties are in safe conditions. The Chicago, Illinois gate accident has resulted in the wrongful death suit on behalf of the boy who was only three when he perished. Chicago municipal code violations may also be investigated further in the case. To read the most current update on this story click here.

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Posted In: Amusement Park Accidents , Construction Injury , Illinois statutes and Chicago Municipal Codes , Injuries to Minors and Children , Wrongful Death

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Building code violations in a Chicago, Illinois building may have caused the death of a three year old child who died after suffering premises liability injuries. Chicago code violations in the area surrounded the iron gate that killed the boy. Faulty repairs to the gate may have caused the gate premises accident. As questions remain on the liability for the boy’s death one thing remains clear that an innocent Chicago, Illinois boy died on Chicago Housing Authority grounds. The management company of the premises may be liable for the faulty housing area. To read more on this story click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Illinois statutes and Chicago Municipal Codes , Injuries to Minors and Children , Land Owner liability

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A Chicago, Illinois premises liability suit may arise after a gate accident occurred. A tall steel gate fell and cause a minor death, a three year old boy. Building code violations should have previously warned Chicago, Illinois officials of the faulty building construction. The premises liability falls on Chicago, Illinois officials as the building was under control of the Chicago Housing Authority. The construction accident occurred when a rusted gate fell and killed the innocent three year old. There is no word yet if a personal injury lawsuit or a wrongful death lawsuit will be filed. To read about this recent premises liability accident click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Injuries to Minors and Children , Land Owner liability , Wrongful Death

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Late last night a Chicago, Illinois expressway became the scene of a deadly car crash. The fatal car accident left the driver of a pickup truck dead after he was seen driving in what some would call negligent driving or reckless driving as the car was driving in the wrong direction. The pickup truck smashed into a construction truck vehicle after hitting a car. Besides the one truck driver killed the other vehicles on the road neither suffered serious property damage nor serious personal injuries. The area where the accident occurred is also in a construction zone but luckily no construction accident occurred with workers being off for the night. To see the full article and a news clip about the crash click here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Motor Vehicle Accidents

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Construction at the new Cowboys stadium hit a bump on Thursday when three workers were injured in a construction accident. The workers were on a crane when cables and equipment fell from another crane, forcing them to jump off the one they were standing on. Three workers were injured, one critically so, from the fall. One was taken by helicopter to a hospital, the other two taken to the same hospital by ambulance. This accident occurred just one day after a worker was killed in a crane accident at another construction site. While all three men are known to have been conscious during transportation to the hospital, it is still unknown what the extent of their construction injuries were. The size of any site when the end product is a structure like a stadium makes construction accidents and injuries like the one involved here practically inevitable. Since the extent of any injuries is as of yet unknown, it is hard to determine whether any personal injury lawsuits, workers’ compensation claims, or even wrongful death lawsuits will be filed.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Construction Injury

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On Tuesday a contract worker hired for certain services at a Caterpillar Technical Center in Mossville, Illinois was involved in an accident and suffered severe personal injuries resulting in death. The as of yet unnamed worker, whose identity will not be released until his family is notified, was pronounced dead at a Peoria hospital, where he had been taken after the accident. No other information about the accident has been released, but Caterpillar manufactures construction equipment, so this may have been a construction injury. Pending further information about the accident, it has not yet become clear who is at fault or whether a personal injury lawsuit, construction accident lawsuit, and/or a wrongful death lawsuit will be filed.

Read more here.

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Chicago, Illinois was the center of a building construction accident, last week, where a crane fell on a building construction site. Emergency crews were called to the construction site after the 700 foot crane smashed into a building. Chicago, Illinois is only one of many cities to recently experience accidents on construction sites. Construction crews must work carefully and be cautious as in locations like the Chicago Loop both buildings and pedestrian accidents are abundant and likely to result in personal injuries. To see the full article click here

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Chicago Representative Fritchey has sponsored a bill that is now being read on the Illinois House floor that would improve protections for construction workers in Illinois. The bill is a response to the increasing dangers of working in construction that often include catastrophic injuries, disability, and worker’s compensation suits. The bill would increase requirements for safety features on scaffolding, require posted worksite safety information and warnings, as well as other detailed requirements to improve working conditions for Illinois construction workers.

For the full text of the bill, please visit the General Assembly.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Jones Act and Maritime law , Workers' Compensation

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Accidents at construction sites are dangerous and can often be fatal. The Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) is designed to inspect construction sites in order to ensure safety for employees and reduce construction site injuries. In the Midwest, Illinois is the worst state in the region regarding efficiency and number of OHSA inspections. Because there are so many more construction sites that OSHA can inspect, it would take an estimated 121 years for OSHA to inspect all of Illinois's jobsites. All employees should be aware of their employer's workers' compensation insurance and should learn their rights in the case of a construction injury or accident.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Workers' Compensation

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A $2.7 million settlement was reached in a Cook County Circuit Court regarding a construction accident in Aurora, Illinois. One man was killed in the construction accident, and another seriously injured. The accident occurred at the site of a land development project, where the two men were sent to measure a soil pile blocking a future cul-de-sac. The 25-foot high soil pile collapsed and buried the men while they were measuring it, killing one 51-year-old worker and crushing the back and pelvis of the other, a 27-year-old man. The plaintiffs alleged that the injury causing measuring job was not a part of the written contract between the excavation company the men worked for and the road development company. The contract in question was not signed until after the accident.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

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Five workers were recently killed at a hydroelectric plant when a fire erupted. The men died of smoke inhalation. The contractor, RPI Coating, had been fined 90 times since 1988, with fines totaling $135,569. The company had also been fined numerous times, for hundreds of thousands of dollars, for violating hazardous waste rules. The plant is owned by Xcel Energy, and some people have been questioning the company's decision to hire RPI despite the numerous fines and citations relating to safety. The men that died in the fire range from 18-years-old to 52-years-old. Numerous other workers were injured in the fire. No personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits have been filed as of yet.

Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Burn Injury , Construction Injury , Electrical Safety , Fire Safety , Wrongful Death

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An Indiana man working on the City Center project in Carmel, Indiana has recently filed a personal injury lawsuit against the city and the general contractor for the project. The personal injury lawsuit alleges negligence which lead to the construction accident. While working on an underground portion of the project, the construction worker nearly lost his arm when a crane above him dropped a load of rebar. The man states that it looked like the rigging securing the rebar was worn out and defective. The rigging on that crane was changed the subsequent day.

Click here for the full article.

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Posted In: Construction Injury , Land Owner liability , Products liability

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A New Jersey engineering and construction firm was ordered to pay $5.2 million in an asbestos exposure case alleging that the company failed to disclose asbestos risks. The firm has faced 20 other asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits and have been found liable for $100 million in general damages overall. In this case, the plaintiff was awarded $2 million for punitive damages. This was the first case against the firm where punitive damages were awarded. The victim was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer related to asbestos exposure, and died after filing the suit.

Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Asbestos and Mesothelioma , Construction Injury

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