Articles Posted in Construction Accidents

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Pedro Flores, a 34-year-old laborer, was on a construction crew that was building a sensor median along several streets. While he was bent over fixing a plastic lane divider, the driver of a parked cement truck pulled forward several feet, hitting Flores. He suffered a labral tear to his hip, which required several surgeries.

Flores also suffered post-concussion syndrome, which had led to migraines and PTSD.

His medical expense totaled $204,000. His back and hip pain have prevented him from returning to his former job. He was earning $28 per hour at the time of this incident.

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John Rooney, 51, was performing masonry work on the Longfellow Bridge when he fell 5 feet through a 2-foot gap in the scaffolding. He fell onto a pile of concrete debris.

Three weeks later, he was diagnosed with disk herniation in his lumbar and cervical spinal regions.  Rooney underwent seven surgeries; he continues to experience chronic pain that affects his daily activities.

In addition, Rooney suffers from nerve damage to his bladder and bowels, resulting in incontinence.  Rooney had earned $79 per hour, but he is now disabled and cannot work.

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Keith Zabielski, 51, was working for a subcontractor on a retaining wall project at a private home. Martin Russell, owner of the general contractor Just Right Construction, was operating a backhoe to transport a 1,000-pound concrete block.

As the block moved, it slid out of its supportive strap and hit Zabielski’s right knee.

Zabielski required arthroscopic surgery and physical therapy. He is expected to require a total knee replacement procedure. Currently he has difficulty walking and experiences pain and mobility issues with his left knee and back.

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Dwayne Schultz was working as a carpenter’s assistant for a subcontractor on a home construction project for the general contractor, Atlas Homes LLC.  Schultz, who was 52 at the time, was framing the home on the second floor when he stepped backward to pull up a compressor hose and fell approximately 20 feet off the side of the building. He suffered thoracic and lumbar spinal fractures and four fractured ribs.

As a result of the injuries he suffered, Schultz underwent open reduction internal fixation surgery, which included a 3-level spinal fusion. Schultz continues to experience pain and discomfort and has difficulty standing, walking, or sitting for extended periods of time. His medical expenses were $177,000.

He sued Atlas Homes and its owner, alleging they chose not to comply with OSHA standards by providing fall protection and temporary railings at the work site. The lawsuit did not claim lost income.

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Blinderman Construction Co. was hired by the Public Building Commission of Chicago to be the general contractor for a construction project at an elementary school. Blinderman hired JM Polcurr Inc. as a subcontractor to do the electrical work on the project.

Following the contract, Polcurr purchased an insurance policy that named Blinderman as the additional insured from Hastings Mutual Insurance Co.

On July 19, 2011, Robert Woods, an employee of Polcurr, fell from a ladder while working at the school. He was rushed to a hospital; unfortunately he did not regain consciousness until a month later. He has not been able to work since that time due to his injuries.

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Teresa Mroczko was employed by A & R Janitorial to do custodial work.  On Aug. 17, 2012, she was injured while working at an Illinois Blue Cross/Blue Shield building. A desk, which had been moved during the renovation of the building, fell on her and she was injured.

Pepper Construction Co. had been hired to renovate the building and had subcontracted for replacing the carpets to another defendant in this case, Perez & Associates. Perez had moved the desk in the course of replacing the carpets.

Mroczko filed a workers’ compensation claim against A & R Janitorial, her employer and was granted relief, although the claim is currently being reviewed on appeal.

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New construction in the U.S. is at an all-time high. According to the 2017 Rider Levett Bucknall Crane index, Chicago makes the top three, along with Seattle and Los Angeles, among cities with the most cranes in operation in the U.S. at the start of 2017.

In many of the construction sites as one travels into the Chicago Loop and surrounding area, you will see many towering cranes in operation. However, it has been noted by insurance specialists that when cranes are being moved on and off a job-site is the riskiest time because that is when most injuries or damages occur. Most of the cranes in operation in the Chicago area are mobile cranes.

Most of the insurance policies written for liability are on mobile cranes. In order to bring such a mobile crane to a construction site, particularly in Chicago’s Loop and surrounding areas, transporters use large flatbed trucks — usually those with 16 wheels or 12 wheels. To assemble the crane at the job-site, tower cranes and larger cranes have to be dismantled, trucked in and then reassembled on site.

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A lineman working for an electrical contractor identified in this confidential settlement and lawsuit as Mr. Doe was hired to install a new electrical switch and cross arm at the top of a wooden utility pole. Mr. Doe climbed the pole and then strapped his work-positioning belt around himself and the pole. While Mr. Doe was adjusting his position, the belt came up over the top of the pole causing him to disconnect from it. Mr. Doe fell 60 feet to the ground and suffered catastrophic injuries.

Doe, 28, sustained a severe traumatic brain injury affecting his brain stem, spinal fractures resulting in incomplete quadriplegia and other orthopedic injuries.

Mr. Doe now has memory loss and other cognitive problems, including speech and vision deficits, lost sense of smell, severe headaches, spasticity in all four limbs and neurogenic bladder and bowel issues.

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Joanne Turner, an electrician, was working on a roof of a community college building that was under construction. As she climbed a 20-foot roof access ladder, she slipped and fell about 15 feet to the concrete floor below.

Turner was 53 years old at the time. As a result of this fall, she suffered an L-2 burst fracture, a fractured right femur and foot and bilateral knee injuries.

Turner underwent open reduction internal fixation of the femur fracture. She also required the implantation of a retrograde nail in her right knee. She was hospitalized for about a week. She spent twelve days in an inpatient rehabilitation facility and remained off her leg for about two-and-a-half months. She was also required to wear a back brace for an additional three months.

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Ignacio Maravilla was working as a laborer during a River North construction project at Wabash Avenue and Superior Street for Holy Name Cathedral on March 27, 2012. He was employed by Benchmark Construction Co.

As a 72-inch precast concrete flat-top slab was being hoisted, one of its imbedded steel lifting loops failed and broke off the slab, which struck Maravilla in the head and face.

The concrete slab with the imbedded loop inserts was designed and manufactured by the defendant Welch Brothers Inc. This lawsuit was for the injuries suffered by Maravilla because of the product defect of the concrete slab hoisting device.

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