Christopher Ramirez, 22, was painting an interior wall of a building where he worked as a handyman. He was standing on the 9th rung of a 14-foot ladder. The ladder shook, slid and then collapsed causing him to fall. He suffered a fracture to his left elbow and bimalleolar fractures…
Articles Posted in Construction Accidents
Illinois Supreme Court Finds in Favor of Railroad in Case Where Bridge Wall Collapsed, Amputating the Legs of a Worker
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the Union Pacific Railroad Co. did not maintain control over a bridge demolition project after selling the bridge to a scrap contractor. During work on the demolition, a bridge wall severed Patrick Joseph Carney’s legs below the knee. The accident occurred more than…
Jury Verdict for $331,000 in Negligent Operation of a Crane That Injured Worker
Robert Howard was a 55-year-old truck driver when he arrived at a Nucor-Yamato Steel Co. facility to transport steel machine equipment. His flatbed tractor trailer was directed to a loading area where a Nucor employee was operating the crane to be used for loading the equipment onto Howard’s flatbed truck.…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Product-Liability Judgment of $245,000
Joseph Sondag was alleged in this lawsuit to have been exposed to asbestos dust from drywall tape manufactured by Tremco when he worked as a plasterer from 1957 to 1983. In 2007, he was diagnosed with pleural plaques and interstitial fibrosis. At trial, Sondag’s treating physician, Dr. Al Rossi, testified…
$128,000 Jury Verdict for Injured Worker Who Fell From Scaffold While Hanging Wallpaper
A Chicago real estate developer, Perry Casalino, hired Ramon Gavina as a laborer to install wallpaper inside the entrance of a building at 1513 N. Western Ave. in Chicago. Gavia maintained that Casalino purchased materials and tools, instructed him as to how to perform the work and told him to…
Illinois Appellate Court Rules Employer May Waive Workers’ Compensation Lien
Anthony Cozzone was employed by Fellows Roofing when he was killed in a work accident. The Cozzone estate filed a lawsuit against a third party who settled with the Cozzone family for $745,000. The attorney representing the family received attorney fees of 33% or $248,333. In the meantime, a jury…
U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of Crane Accident Case for Lack of Proximate Cause
In July 2013, ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp. of Independence, Ohio, leased a crane to White Construction of Clinton, Ind. The crane was a Manitowoc 2250 Crawler Crane. In the summer of 2012, Kyle Carson was working for White Construction at a wind farm in Indiana where his employer…
$3.3 Million Settlement for Construction Worker Injured by Backing Truck
Harry DeSchene, a 53-year-old worker for Pavement Recycling, was seriously injured on a jobsite. He was walking behind a water truck to take a work-related phone call when a truck driver of Emmett’s Excavation backed his truck into him. He was run over at his midsection. He suffered a pelvic…
Illinois Appellate Court Reverses Decision Where Contractor was Entitled to Insurance Coverage for Vicarious Liability
The Illinois Appellate Court for the First District has held that an insurer had a duty to defend an additional insured who was entitled under the policy of insurance to coverage because of vicarious liability even though the underlying complaint against it included no allegations of vicarious liability. CSR Roofing Contractors…
Village Inspector Tears Rotator Cuff at Construction Site; $272,000 Cook County Jury Verdict
On June 11, 2008, Louis Fortino slipped and fell on wet concrete slurry while doing a village inspection of a construction site in LaGrange Park, Ill. Voightmann Services Inc. was the general contractor for the construction project. Mr. Fortino was 64 years old and sustained a severe rotator cuff injury with…