Articles Posted in Work Injury

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A recent Cook County personal injury lawsuit involving a railway worker who was injured at work exemplifies many of the typical components for worksite injury lawsuits. Not only were there several defendants involved whom the injured worker held responsible for his work injury, but the defendants alleged that the railroad worker was actually responsible for his own injury. It was up to the jury in James Barnicle v. Belt Railway Company of Chicago, 06 L 1325, to decide who was at fault for the railroad accident.

In order to determine who was at fault, the jury must first examine the case facts. At the time of the work accident, 48 year-old James Barnicle was working as a railroad switchman for The Belt Railway Company of Chicago. His duties involved switching railcars traveling in and out of the Exxon Mobil plant located off Cicero Avenue. However, as he was engaging a track switch, it unexpectedly jerked towards him, causing an injury to his lumbar spine.

Barnicle claimed that the specific track switch was defective and that Exxon Mobil had prior notice of this defect. Plaintiff’s lawyers attempted to establish the prior notice by submitting evidence that other employees had reported that the switch was difficult to operate and in need of repair. The idea being that if the jury believed that Exxon knew that the track switch was defective, but did nothing to repair the switch, then Exxon would be responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries.

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Typically auto accidents occur between two vehicles engaged in the driving process. It is fairly unusual for a driver to hit a parked car or standing vehicle without some contributing factors. Yet that is what happened in the Chicago bus accident that resulted in the Illinois personal injury lawsuit of Jose Maldonado v. Leona Meade, 09 L 6610 (Cook County).

In 2007, Jose Maldonado, a CTA bus driver, was sitting in his disabled bus. The bus was facing northbound on Chicago’s Sheridan Road, its flashers on. At the same time, the 89 year-old Leona Meade was driving her car northbound on Sheridan Road. Despite being on the opposite side of the street as the parked bus, Meade somehow managed to crash her car into the front of Maldonado’s CTA bus.

As a result of the Chicago car-bus accident, Maldonado suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The labrum is the area of cartilage around the shoulder socket that helps stabilize the shoulder joint. An injury in this area can require a lengthy recovery, during which time shoulder mobility is extremely limited.

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Under Illinois workers’ compensation laws, an employee cannot file a civil lawsuit against his or her employer for an injury that occurs within one’s work duties. However, workers’ compensation laws do not protect other entities from liability for injuries that occur in the workplace.

In Timothy McDonald and Judith McDonald v. Imperial Zinc Corp., et al., No. 09 L 1581, the plaintiff truck driver sued a manufacturing company after one of its employee’s negligence caused plaintiff’s work place injury. At the time of the personal injury, Timothy McDonald was loading his truck with goods from Imperial Zinc Corporation.

McDonald was standing on the loading dock when a forklift operator employed by Imperial Zinc Corp. backed over McDonald’s right foot. As a result of the work place injury, McDonald sustained a fractured foot, skin was torn off of his right foot, and a tendon in his left knee was ruptured. Despite extensive medical treatment, McDonald was unable to return to his prior job as a truck driver after this work place injury.

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As Chicago nears summer construction season, it becomes increasingly important for Chicago construction employees to practice good workplace safety. Unlike an office job, working construction provides numerous opportunities for accidents to occur. The Illinois personal injury lawsuit of James Zdanwic v. Gatwood Crane Service, Inc., 07 L 9570, is one such example.

In 2006, the plaintiff, James Zdanwic, was working as a tower technician for MDM construction. At the time of the Illinois construction site injury, Zdanwic was working on a job that involved retrofitting a cell tower in Medinah Illinois. The job required a crane, which was leased through Gatewood Crane Service, Inc.

While the Gatewood crane was being operated by a Gatewood Crane Service employee, Zdanwic was assisting the crane operator in the task of pulling out a 1,000 lb. jib. A jib crane is similar to a sailboat boom in that it swings from one side to the other. This 1,000 lbs. fell directly onto of the plaintiff, resulting in severe injuries. In fact, because of the severity of his injuries, Zdanwic has not been able to return to his position as a tower technician, although his employer was able to find him an alternative position as a construction project manager.

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A second jury verdict has been entered in a wrongful death lawsuit arising out of a Chicago construction site injury that occurred in 2006. The decedent, Charles Ingolia, had been assisting with renovations being made at a Chicago Brown Line El station located at 3360 N. Clark St. The 57 year-old was severely burned in an electrical explosion at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)’s substation and died of his injuries three days later. He was survived by his wife and four adult children.

A Chicago jury decided that negligence on behalf of Target Electric, Inc., the company overseeing the electrical components of the renovations, had contributed to Mr. Ingolia’s death and entered a jury verdict of $4.1 million in The Estate of Charles Ingolia v. Target Electric, Inc., 06 L 13106. A previous verdict of $6.3 million had been entered in a wrongful death case filed by Mr. Ingolia’s family against the CTA; Estate of Charles R. Ingolia v. CTA, et al., 06 L 013106.

Immediately prior to the electrical explosion, Mr. Ingolia had been cleaning a new switchgear cabinet as part of the modifications to the CTA’s Brown Line rectifier system. According to the Illinois wrongful death complaint, Ingolia believed that the cabinet’s power was off, which influenced his decision to raise his protective shield. When he did so, he essentially exposed himself to 12,600 volts of live electricity, which in turn caused the electrical explosion.

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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 across America, UPS employees are under pressure to increase productivity; however, at the same time UPS is pushing employees to reduce workplace injuries and workers’ compensation claims. These two goals seem contradictory, a point that is being made by both UPS employees and union officials who affirm that the longer hours and increased expectations has in fact resulted in more workplace injuries.

The local Chicago union is making a point to emphasize that their request to reduce employee workloads does not come from a desire to shirk their duties; rather, many UPS employees are committed to the company and applaud it as a good place to work. Take for example 45 year-old Joe Korziuk – he’s worked for UPS for over 20 years, performing a wide range of jobs, including driving tractor trailers, delivering packages, and even washing trucks. However, even this model employee has suffered work injuries, sustaining a concussion after a heavy box fell on him, and is experiencing the wear and tear of twenty years on the job in the form of knee and back pain.

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A $2.5 million settlement was reached in the Illinois wrongful death case of Estate of Shelty J. Jones v. Stimson Lumber Co., et al., No. 06 L 1611. The claim against was filed on behalf of a Home Depot employee who was injured at work in 2004 and then died five years later from a prescription drug overdose. The medication, Fentanyl, had been prescribed for pain associated with the worker’s 2004 injuries.

In May 2004, Jones was working at a Home Depot warehouse as a forklift operator. As he was attempting to load a thousand pounds of stacked lumber into a train boxcar, the lumber fell onto Jones. As a result, Jones suffered a severe pelvic injury, which required five surgeries.

During the course of Jones’s treatment and recovery he was prescribed Fentanyl to relieve his back pain. Fentanyl is an opiate analgesic that is typically prescribed to treat severe pain, but can sometimes be prescribed to treat chronic pain. Fentanyl is similar to morphine, but is more powerful.

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