Caterpillar and John Deere Employees

Chicago Attorneys for Caterpillar and John Deere Employees

The manufacturing sector employs many workers in stressful and physically strenuous work conditions. It is common for workers to face injuries or even work fatalities. Caterpillar and John Deere manufacture construction and mining equipment. They have reported many employees’ injuries in their facilities. The rate for Caterpillar is about 500 injuries per year. Two contractors were killed in 2020. The company has faced $711,185 worth of fines for 65 workplace safety violations. The injury rate is higher for John Deere, Caterpillar’s competitor. If you suffered repetitive trauma injuries while working for Caterpillar and Deere, you might have grounds to bring a claim for benefits. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, our seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers have more than 60 years of experience fighting for workers who’ve suffered because of significant and disabling job-related injuries. We also handle third-party personal injury lawsuits and SSDI benefits claims. Give us a call.

Repetitive Trauma Injuries at Caterpillar and John Deere

Injuries you sustain on the job while working for Caterpillar or John Deere may be acute, repetitive, and chronic. In some cases, acute injuries result from machinery malfunction, while in others, it’s the result of a worker error. However, you have a high risk of repetitive trauma injuries when working for a machine manufacturer. As a worker, you may not be sure when to pursue legal action or when the injury is work-related.

Repetitive trauma injuries are those caused by performing your job over some time. Often, manufacturers use assembly lines to produce the machines. The line breaks the manufacturing process down into small steps performed by different workers, who face stress to their joints, tendons, and other body parts because they repeat the same task repeatedly on the line. Doing the same task over and over can result in problems with reduced strength and increased pain in the area of the body that is placed under repetitive stress. As a worker with a repetitive trauma injury, you may need time off to recover, and you may be unsure whether you have any recourse.

Under Illinois law, employees can obtain compensation benefits for a job-related injury or illness; if you were injured through repetitive traumas while on the job with Caterpillar and Deere, you might be able to recover benefits. It is crucial to notify your employer as soon as you can. Generally, a worker in Chicago or anywhere in Illinois has 45 days from the date of your injury to report it to your employer for workers’ compensation purposes. However, it can be harder to determine the date of injury in these kinds of claims. Therefore, it is vital to let Caterpillar or Deere know as soon as you notice signs of a repetitive trauma injury, even if the pain is relatively mild. You should provide this notice in writing so the company cannot later say it did not know.

Attorneys Fighting for Benefits for Caterpillar and John Deere Employees

You may be entitled to temporary total disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, temporary partial disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation, and medical benefits. You should be able to recover all reasonably necessary medical expenses through the workers’ compensation system. For example, suppose you developed a repetitive trauma injury to your wrist while performing a repetitive task with a machine in Chicago. In that case, your provider may prescribe medications, rest, physical therapy, and even surgery. These are expenses that workers’ compensation may cover.

Consult a Seasoned Chicago Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Suppose you are concerned about repetitive trauma injuries at Caterpillar or John Deere. In that case, you should discuss a potential claim with the experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. Our lawyers represent machine manufacturing workers in their workers’ compensation claims, along with personal injury and SSDI claims, in Rockford, Champaign, Quincy, and Aurora, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Kane, Cook, and Adams Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.