Work Accidents

How a worker lost six fingers due to his employer’s safety violations

June 21, 2016

A 21-year-old temporary employee’s six fingers were amputated during a workplace accident on November 4, 2015. He had been working for four weeks at Custom Aluminum Products, a metal manufacturer based in South Elgin, Illinois. The…

OSHA fines four Illinois companies after construction worker’s death

June 16, 2016

An employee sustained fatal blunt force injuries while working at a wastewater treatment plant in Springfield, Illinois, in October 2015. The 42-year-old man was testing joints for leaks inside a 54-inch pipe when an inflatable bladder…

Construction worker dies from falling beam

May 27, 2016

A construction worker lost his life when a steel beam weighing 45 tons fell at a construction site. The accident occurred during the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 5, under a Jane Addams Memorial Tollway…

Illinois roofer fined for failing to protect workers from risk of falls

May 20, 2016

An Illinois roofing company received citations for one willful, one repeated and one serious safety violation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on April 13. The agency proposed to fine the South Elgin-based contractor…

Injured worker entitled to wage-differential award in spite of income

April 29, 2016

An Illinois Appellate court ruled that an injured stationary engineer can receive a wage differential award as compensation for her diminished earning capacity in spite of the fact that she did not suffer a decline in…

New silica dust rules aim to save lungs of construction workers

April 18, 2016

The Department of Labor issued controversial new rules on March 24 to protect workers from silica dust exposure, one of the oldest known workplace hazards. Silica dust is a common mineral found in construction materials such…

Construction worker’s widow files wrongful death lawsuit

March 28, 2016

A man from Riverton, Illinois, was working to help construct a $55 million treatment facility for the sanitary district located at 3300 Mechanicsburg Road when there was an explosion that caused him to be injured on…

Illinois Department of Labor promotes grain bin safety

March 21, 2016

The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) observed Grain Bin Safety Week from February 21 to 27 as part of a national effort to address the growing number of grain bin accidents and deaths. With more than…

Workers’ compensation benefits denied to injured flight attendant

March 7, 2016

A panel of five justices ruled that a flight attendant is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits merely because she suffered an injury on an airplane while she was commuting to work. The appeals panel found…

Employee’s icy fall leads to 3.5 million dollar settlement

February 19, 2016

A man settled for $3.5 million and a more than $1 million workers’ compensation lien waiver in a lawsuit against his employer after suffering a serious back injury due to a workplace construction accident. The agreement…