Work Injuries

It is far too common for workers of kinds of trades to be injured on-the-job. Injuries for workers are numerous and varied. Many times the Kreisman Law Offices team of investigators will find that a work-related injury resulted from a defective product that was being used in the workplace. These cases first appear to be worker’s compensation claims, but come to be also as case of a third-party responsibility because of the defect in the design, manufacture and/or distribution of a product that was used as a part of the equipment and related to this work injury. Illinois workers have an exclusive remedy as to employers because of the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Act. This is an exclusive remedy dealing with the employer only and thus bars a civil lawsuit directly against a worker’s employer with few exceptions.

However, injured workers also have a possible common law claim against responsible parties for allowing dangerous equipment to be used in the workplace that was a cause of the worker’s injuries. This would include manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers and others that make the dangerous product available for use by third parties. Cases against these different entities are sometimes referred to as product liability cases. The dangerous equipment may be responsible for the work injury which might include catastrophic injuries, deaths, amputations that occur because of the defective product used at the time of the incident.

Another type of on-the-job liability might arise when a worker is injured because of defective machinery due to the negligence of a third-party. At Kreisman Law Offices, we handled a case for a young worker whose fingers were amputated in operating the machine that was being used without the appropriate safety guard in place. Not only did our client recover for worker’s compensation, but he also recovered against the product manufacturer for the injuries that he sustained.

In another case, a young man working at a box and container manufacturing facility was killed when the machine started in motion while the worker was threading paper through an opening. This plant made shipping boxes with the use of very large rolls of heavy paper that then threaded through a press that corrugated the paper into long sheets, and then re-formed into various sized shipping boxes. While the worker was up and into the machine’s pressing device, it began to run without warning and unfortunately crushed the worker, killing him. The case was brought against the maker and designer of the machine who settled before trial. It was found by our electrical engineer who inspected the machine’s safety protocols, that it was inherently dangerous to users because of the lack of an electrical automatic stop button.

It was vitally important in that case that we were engaged very soon after the man’s death to immediately file the lawsuit and allow for the inspection to take place. OSHA was involved as well. The machine was taken out of service on our motion as a way to preserve the evidence and allow for the thorough investigation that followed and ultimately uncovered the very dangers that caused our client’s husband’s terrible death.. In that case, not only was the surviving wife and children allowed to recover from worker’s compensation, but they also recovered a considerable amount of compensation for the wrongful death and survival action from the manufacturer of the defective manufacturing machine for the loss of a loving husband and father who was needlessly killed.

Workplace injuries can also include industrial diseases such as asbestoses and mesothelioma. Workers are often also exposed to chemical burns, chemical injuries, and lung injuries, and many other kinds of injuries all because of an unsafe work environment or because of the use of defective equipment or machine.

If you or someone you know has been injured or suffered on-the-job injury, you may be entitled to compensation, please call us for an immediate free consultation.

Robert Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been handling work injury cases and product defect injury cases for more than 40 years. Kreisman Law Offices has prevailed in trials and settlements in Chicago, Illinois and surrounding communities and has successfully resolved cases for those injured or killed in product defect cases.

With our 40 years of experience in trying and settling work injury cases and product defect cases, Kreisman Law Offices provides the best possible services to our clients and have achieved unsurpassed results. Our service is unmatched. Please call us 24 hours a day at 312.346.0045 or toll free 800.583.8002 for a free and immediate consultation, or complete a contact form online. There is no charge for a consultation that will include an evaluation of your case, assessment of damages such as lost income, lost wages, medical and hospital bills, past and future pain and suffering, loss of normal life and wrongful death.