Workplace Accident Lawsuit Settles for $1.6 M
According to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, approximately 250,000 work-related accidents occur each year in Illinois alone. The statistics are overwhelming, and the injuries often devastating.
Recently in Wisconsin, a workplace accident lawsuit was settled for $ 1.6 million, after a former maintenance worker was injured by a manhole cover, which blew off a boiler and struck the maintenance worker in the head.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the accident occurred in 2009, and the corporations charged with liability were the company servicing the boiler – a company by the name of BurCon, and BurCon’s insurance company.
BurCon’s technician was negligent, which was the ultimate cause of the explosion. The boiler exploded causing the injury while the maintenance worker was following directions from a BurCon technician. Injuries included massive blood loss, traumatic brain injury, broken bones in his face, eye damage, hearing loss, facial nerve damage, and respiratory failure.
With injuries so extensive, even a large number such as $1.6 million doesn’t come as a windfall; according to the settlement agreement, about $90,000.00 has already been set aside for the worker’s future medical expenses. Without the personal injury lawsuit, he almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to cover the costs of his past and future medical bills.
Frequently these types of cases arise because of other workers’ mistakes or negligence, working in an unsafe work environment, failures on the part of people in supervisory positions to ensure safe surroundings in the workplace, and many other reasons.
Currently, our Chicago personal injury attorneys are handling a case in which an employee of the Cherry Valley, Illinois farm failed to exercise reasonable care while operating an auger to unload grain. That employee’s negligence caused severe injuries to our client’s right hand, which required multiple extensive surgeries, and continuing ongoing therapy.
Workplace injury is a serious matter. With so many cases occurring in Illinois each year, is essential for employers to maintain safe working environments, and for workers to follow proper safety procedures. When a worker is injured because of someone else’s negligence, it is important for victims to seek justice, not only to recover damages, but also to motivate employers to change their practices to avoid future litigation. If you or a loved one have been injured in an incident at work, an attorney may be the right person to help you determine your rights.
