Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll filed a lawsuit today against Hulcher Services, Inc. alleging negligence in a December, 2008 rail yard incident wherein Plaintiff, Michael Haddix, sustained serious injuries causing him to lose all five toes on his left foot.

At the time of the incident, Haddix, a trainmaster, was a 16-year veteran with the Belt Railway Company of Chicago. At the rail yard, two train cars were locked together when a pin lifter on the coupling became jammed. Hulcher Services, Inc. brought in a hi-rail crane to uncouple the train cars. The crane was improperly supported and shifted causing Plaintiff's severe injuries.

Continue reading "CRANE INJURY ATTORNEY FILES LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF INJURED RAILROAD WORKER" »

For the first time in Illinois, the findings of the Illinois Department of Transportation's bridge inspections can be viewed online. The data found in the website reveals details about the deficient state of many of Illinois's bridges. Most glaringly, a part of the Congress Parkway Bridge over the Chicago River received the lowest possible rating for a span allowed to remain in service.

Chicago Tribune transportation writer, Jon Hilkevitch, recently wrote a telling article about the state of bridge safety in Illinois. The article reported that of the 26,276 total bridges in Illinois, 4,393 have been ranked as structurally deficient (supposedly safe, but no longer able to hold the weight for which they were originally designed) and/or functionally obsolete (not meeting current design standards).

Over the next six years, Illinois plans to spend roughly $2.5 billion on bridge rehabilitation and the construction of new bridges. The funds will come from a new state capital improvement plan as well as federal stimulus packages. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has allocated approximately $25 million to rehab the Congress Parkway Bridge, beginning next year and running through 2015.

Federal regulations require bridges to be inspected every 48 months. Federal bridge inspection regulations were developed as a result of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, which required the Secretary of Transportation to establish National Bridge Inspection Standards to ensure the safety of the traveling public. The IDOT website provides information on state-maintained bridges only. It does not include any data on the more than 18,500 bridges under the jurisdiction of municipalities, townships, counties, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority or the Chicago Skyway.

As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago, I have represented many clients who were diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These individuals who experienced traumatic events, such as a being in a car accident, received compensation for their injuries related to their PTSD. Although PTSD is not always visible like a broken arm or leg, the injury and pain is very real.

For more information on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, please review the following online resources and consult a psychologist or a psychiatrist:

PTSD Facts on Google Health
National Institute of Mental Health - PTSD
Mayo Clinic defines PTSD

Continue reading "PTSD: A SERIOUS CONDITION DESERVES SERIOUS COMPENSATION" »

A 9-year-old boy was tragically killed this past Tuesday after being crushed under a front-end loader of a Bobcat at a construction site on the south side of Chicago. The boy's father was converting a three bedroom flat into a condominium and had been performing work at the site for weeks. Witnesses had seen the boy and his brother at the site with their father on a number of occasions.

The boy was riding on a Bobcat when the tractor hit a pile of dirt causing the boy to be thrown from the cab of the front-end loader. The Bobcat then fell over onto the boy, crushing him. The boy was rushed to the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

My most heartfelt condolences to this family.

Spectators at a Fourth of July fireworks show in Merrillville, Indiana, were injured on Saturday night when a pedestrian bridge collapsed as thousands of people were leaving Hidden Lake Park. The bridge, which is reported to have had the capacity to handle 40 people, had twice as many people on it at the time of the collapse. Although the Merrillville Police Department positioned officers at either end of the bridge to control crowds, a rush of people leaving the Park after the show may have contributed to the bridge collapse.

The structural integrity of the bridge is also under suspicion, as a preliminary investigation revealed a cracked foundation in one of the bridge's steel supports. Investigators will review the bridge's construction and inspection records before making a final determination.

It is reported that between 50 and 120 adults and children fell about ten feet into the lake below the bridge when it collapsed. Rescuers pulled frantic injured swimmers from eight-foot deep waters. Approximately 25 injured people were treated at hospitals with the most serious injuries known to be a fractured collarbone and a broken leg.

Hidden Lake Park's Annual Fourth of July Celebration attracts over 15,000 visitors over a two-day period. Hidden Lake Park is part of the Ross Township Park System. The Park, which was temporarily closed after Saturday's tragedy, re-opened earlier this week.

Safety is extremely important on construction job sites. Unfortunately, five people were recently hospitalized while working on a 65-foot column of reinforced steel rods that collapsed at a McCarran International Airport construction site in Nevada. The five people were trapped underneath the wall for an unspecified amount of time. All five were pulled alive from under the rubble and rushed to the hospital.

Continue reading "CHICAGO CONSTRUCTION INJURY ATTORNEY URGES SAFETY ON JOB SITES" »

A Chicago Park District worker died after falling into a sewer on the city's southeast side this past Tuesday. The 59 year old man was doing maintenance work in Mann Park when the accident happened.

Police are still investigating the accident. An autopsy report is pending.

My condolences to the family and friends of this man.

A severe thunderstorm in Dallas on Saturday knocked down an air-supported, metal frame canopy that covered the Dallas Cowboys' practice field. About 70 people, including more than two dozen of the team's rookies, were in the facility when it was blown down.

A total of 12 people were injured in the incident, including Rich Behm, a scouting assistant, who suffered a broken back, leaving him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis fractured a cervical vertebra and Greg Gaither, an assistant trainer, suffered two broken bones in his leg.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement that "Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply. We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time."

The Illinois Supreme Court issued an opinion last week on a case involving four ironworkers who plummeted from a collapsed platform to a river below. One of the four men died in the accident.

The four men worked for Midwest Foundation Corporation, a construction company that had entered into a joint venture with Halverson Construction Company, Inc. to repair the McCluggage Bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria. Under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, an injured employee may not sue his employer for injuries sustained on the job. Instead, an injured worker must file a workers' compensation claim against his employer. The workers and their survivors collected workers' compensation benefits from Midwest, and then attempted to sue Halverson and the joint venture.

Unfortunately for the ironworkers and their families, the Supreme Court has decided that their case may not proceed. Justice Karmeier, writing on behalf of the Court, concluded that the same immunity afforded to Midwest, the workers' employer, must also be afforded to Halverson and the joint venture because both Halverson and the joint venture are "agents" of Midwest. Under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, an employee may not sue the agent(s) of his employer. The court found that Halverson was an agent because it was Midwest's partner and partners are agents of both the partnership (or in this case, the joint venture) and of one another for purposes of the busienss. Similarly, the court found that the joint venture was also shielded by the Workers' Compensation Act because, according to the terms of the joint venture agreement, the joint venture was ultimately responsible for payment of the workers' compensation insurance premiums. As such, the ironworkers may not recover for their injuries from either Halverson or the joint venture. Their exclusive remedy is workers' compensation benefits.

Justice Kilbride filed a dissenting opinion with which I agree. Justice Kilbride highlighted the fact that neither Halverson nor the joint venture produced conclusive evidence that they paid or contributed to the workers' compensation premiums before the accident. Allowing Halverson and the joint venture, neither of whom appear to have paid anything toward the injured employees' workers' compensation benefits, to nevertheless invoke the Workers' Compensation Act's immunity to escape tort liabiltiy for the employees' injuries is like letting them collect lotto winnings without ever buying a ticket. It's unfair for them to shield themselves with a law that is intended to protect employers who have PAID premiums for insurance. If neither of these entities have contributed to the payment of these premiums, why should they get the protection the law affords?

Continue reading "ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT DECIDES 2000 BRIDGE DEATH CASE" »

The Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll has settled a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of Donald M. Dolph, 51, for $1.1 Million. The settlement also includes waiver of a workers' compensation lien, which was in excess of $500,000. Judge Haddad in the Circuit Court of Cook County entered the settlement order on December 8, 2008.

The lawsuit arises out of the February 7, 2004 incident wherein Mr. Dolph, a union ironworker, was operating a scissors lift at a warehouse project in Romeoville, IL. It was Mr. Dolph’s first day on the job site. The scissors lift, which was extended to 40 ft., fell over as it entered a 22x22x1.5 ft. excavation that was covered with snow. Mr. Dolph did not see the snow-covered excavation and fractured his left ankle and right heel bone. As a result of the severe injuries, Mr. Dolph contended that he was unable to continue working as an ironworker. The settling defendants were Kajima Construction Services, Inc. and A.A. Conte & Son, Inc.

The lawsuit alleged that the defendants should have warned Mr. Dolph of the excavation by placing barricades, marking or backfilling the excavation. If the excavation had been barricaded, this career-ending accident would not have occurred.

It is imperative that construction sites be maintained to ensure safety for all of the workers. When there are a number of trades working on a site, it may be unclear what hazards have been created; therefore, the general contractor and the creator of the hazard have to take measures to make the site safe for all of the workers.

Continue reading "CONSTRUCTION INJURY CASE SETTLED BY KROLL FOR $1.1 MILLION" »