Industrial Accidents

Chicago Lawyers for Industrial Accident Claims

Generally, industrial accidents are those in which an employee is injured on the job. They can sometimes be fatal or catastrophic. Common industrial accidents at construction sites involve vehicles and equipment. For instance, a heavy machine that is not guarded properly could inflict injuries on an unsuspecting workers. Sometimes industrial accidents involve toxic chemicals that cause serious illness. These accidents can occur due to inadequate ventilation or improper placement or combination of chemicals or other materials. The negligence of a poorly trained supervisor can cause of these accidents. If you are a construction worker who was injured in an industrial accident, you should call the seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. We have more than 60 years of experience seeking compensation for injured workers.

Causes of Industrial Accidents in or Around Chicago

Industrial accidents can be caused by numerous factors, both within and outside a construction worker’s control. They may involve chemical burns, improper exertion, dangerous working conditions, and problems in process. Sometimes, on construction sites, they are because of excessive overtime, and the fatigue that brings on, coupled with dangerous work conditions. In some cases, these accidents are caused by conditions one subcontractor created, and the employee of another is injured by.

Workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy that provides no-fault benefits. This means with regard to your employer, you’re limited to recovering workers’ compensation benefits, but will not need to prove your employer’s fault to recover these.

Additionally, you can still seek damages through a third party lawsuit when the defendant is not your employer. For instance, if you are a framer who was injured due to inadequate ventilation by a subcontractor working with toxic chemicals, you may be able to recover damages arising out of those injuries. For another example, if you are a subcontractor and a negligent supplier drives onto the site and pins you against a truck, resulting in injuries, you may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim, but you also recover damages from the supplier in a lawsuit.

Benefits for Industrial Accident Injuries

Depending on the circumstances of a work-related industrial accident, our lawyers may be able to seek benefits for you under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act or the Illinois Occupational Diseases Act.

Workers injured on the job are entitled to benefits such as medical care, temporary total disability, temporary partial disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and vocational rehabilitation. For example, if you are a construction foreman who develops a respiratory illness because of exposure to toxic fumes, you may be entitled to recover medical bills along with a portion of your wages during the period you’re left unable to work or need to work in a lower-paying position as a result of that illness.

Often medical care for an industrial accident on a construction site is significant. It may involve expensive treatments, including surgeries or complex procedures and equipment. For instance, you may need a prosthesis if you suffered an amputation in a vehicle accident onsite. You are entitled to medical benefits; this means you should have the costs of reasonably necessary medical care covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurers.

Third Party Lawsuits

You may be dismayed to learn that benefits do not cover all losses sustained in an industrial accident. Workers’ compensation benefits tend to compensate only a portion of the economic losses arising from industrial accidents. However, you may be able to recover compensatory damages, damages intended to make up for the harm you suffered, from a third party (an entity or person other than your employer) at fault for the industrial accident.

Our attorneys may be able to file a third-party lawsuit to recover the rest of your economic damages, the portion of wages not paid, as well as noneconomic harms you suffered, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, emotional distress, and loss of consortium. Unlike with workers’ compensation, your damages can usually be reduced by an amount proportionate to your degree of fault for the accident.

Hire Our Attorneys for Industrial Accident Claims

We handle workers’ compensation claims that involve industrial accidents in Aurora, Champaign, Rockford, Quincy, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Kane, Cook, and Adams Counties. Our Chicago attorneys also handle third party lawsuits, such as those that may need to be brought against a manufacturer, and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.