Lee Newsome sustained a serious injury to his right foot when a rail hanging from a crane fell on him. He was working for the Wisconsin Central Railroad. Newsome sued the railroad under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) claiming that his injuries caused him a “loss of future earning…
The World Health Organization has declared that diesel fumes cause lung cancer. The announcement is important for people who are exposed to diesel exhaust in their work places. In the announcement, experts said diesel fumes were more carcinogenic than secondhand cigarette smoke. Diesel exhaust now shares the W.H.O.’s Group 1…
An Illinois District judge denied the U.S. government’s motion for summary judgment on the basis that the government had failed to establish that the plaintiff’s claim was not valid in James D. Fowler v. The United States of America, 08-CV-2785. The U.S. government had attempted to prove that the plaintiff…
It is commonly acknowledged that employers have a duty to provide a safe, healthy environment to their employees. If an employer fails to provide a safe environment, perhaps resulting in a work injury, then that employer may be held liable for the employee’s injuries. However, a new Illinois Supreme Court…
The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a circuit court’s ruling regarding the venue in a railroad employee’s personal injury lawsuit. While the railroad company had wanted to transfer the case to Mississippi, the Illinois courts supported the plaintiff’s choice of Illinois as the case’s venue. Fennell v. Illinois Central Railroad Company,…
Given the state of today’s economy, it has become commonplace to hear about companies trying to cut corners, to stretch every dollar, and maximize their workers’ responsibilities. However, UPS workers are raising questions about what cost these continual raised expectations have on workplace safety and employee health. Like many companies…
A former railroad worker found not able to pursue his Illinois railroad litigation case because his testifying medical experts were unable to identify the specific cause of the his injuries. The Illinois railroad litigation case was dismissed by the district court, a decision that was then affirmed at the appellate…
An Illinois chemical plant is denying allegations that toxins it dumped into the groundwater in the 1960s and 1970s is linked to a cancer cluster. Rohm & Haas Chemical Co. insists that the several brain cancer cases occurring among current or former residents near their Illinois plant are an unfortunate…
A recent Illinois personal injury lawsuit received a large verdict award, granting $30.4 million to the plaintiff in Solis v. BASF Corp., No. 06 L 12105. Several other parties to the Illinois work place injury lawsuit had settled with the plaintiff prior to trial for undisclosed amounts, but BASF Corp.…
A recent Cook County work site injury lawsuit was settled for $3.375 million; Ortiz v. Cato Karabegovic, et al., No. 06 L 006651. Contributing to the settlement were two trucking companies, a truck driver, and a railroad company. The plaintiff, Ortiz, was a mechanic working at a railroad yard on…