Search
 

Workplace Injury Case Results

$3.8 Million Verdict - Construction Accident

An electrician was hit with a ten foot long cement hose that was dropped from a third floor building. The hose struck the plaintiff on the right shoulder, which resulted in right shoulder impingement and a torn labrum. The plaintiff later developed lateral epicondylitis and ulnar neuritis of the right elbow. This award was the highest Illinois verdict for an adult shoulder injury.

$3.32 Million Verdict - Construction Site Fall From Height

This was a jury verdict on behalf of the family of a construction worker who died as a result of a fall from a residential construction site. The worker was forced to perform his construction duties near an unprotected edge on the third story of the building because his workspace was impeded by improperly located and unnecessary scaffolding. Paul L. Salzetta tried this matter before a Cook County jury and explained that the general contractor failed to initiate and maintain a safety program, failed to appoint a qualified safety manager to the site, and failed to prevent or eliminate fall hazards created by the unnecessary placement of scaffolding near the unprotected edges of the building. Prior to the beginning of trial, the plaintiff also settled with a sub-contractor for $37,500.00. The verdict was upheld by the Illinois Appellate Court.

$2.7 Million Settlement - Construction Accident

A 51-year-old excavator was buried alive and died when the dirt mound he was working on collapsed. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant construction manager controlled the manner of work because they required scrapers to haul dirt rather than bulldozers, which caused the dirt mound to be unstable.

$1.6 Million Settlement - Amputation Injury

A 51-year-old woman was working on a 60-ton punch press that cycled without being activated when she was retrieving a finished product, crushing her right hand and requiring the amputation of three fingers. It was later discovered that a recall had been issued for the equipment three years prior to the incident, and the press contained defective components that caused it to fail.

$1.58 Million Verdict - Ironworker Injured in Fall

Partners John F. Winters, Jr. and Daniel E. O'Brien obtained a verdict from a Cook County jury on behalf of an ironworker injured while working on the "Revive Wacker Drive" construction project. The plaintiff was forced to walk on rebar while carrying a heavy load of construction materials because the general contractor failed to keep the walkways on the site free of obstructions. The rebar was also slippery due to the contractor spraying water in the area, causing the plaintiff to slip and fall, causing injury to his knee and shoulder. This case, where the verdict was reduced to $788,297 due to contributory negligence, is one of the many cases where Winters Salzetta O'Brien & Richardson, LLC represents ironworkers and other construction workers injured on the job.

$1.52 Million Settlement - Construction Worker Fall Injury

Our client, a 17-year-old who was working a summer job as a roofer, tripped and fell through an unbarricaded skylight onto a concrete floor. He fell about 20 feet and suffered head injuries, fractured ribs, and a lacerated liver. He also experienced deficits in brain processing speed, memory problems, and behavioral changes. Our attorneys alleged that the building owner and the construction company responsible failed to provide proper fall protection and ensure that the skylight was properly barricaded.

$1.5 Million - Steel Worker Injured on the Job

This recovery from a general contractor was for a 49-year-old steel construction worker who fell from an unsecured ladder, injuring his right ankle and prohibiting him from engaging in his trade. The general contractor claimed it lacked notice of the condition, but investigation and discovery established that the defendant had enough knowledge of the work site so that it should have known of the dangerous condition.

$1.4 Million Settlement - Construction Injury

Will County, April 2, 2007 - Attorney Timothy Richardson - A 30-year-old male ironworker sustained multiple lumbar disc injuries (herniation at L3-4 and re-herniation at L4-5 with retrolisthesis requiring three level fusion surgery) while lifting a 132 pound beam during construction of a new high school in Wilmington. He incurred $367,816 in medical expenses and claimed $2,057,690 in lost work time since he was unable to resume ironwork. Allegedly, the defendant construction manager failed to provide a crane and removed a co-worker from the assignment at issue. The settlement was paid by Arch Insurance for both defendants. A $674,482 workers’ compensation lien was also waived.

$1.3 Million - Construction Accident

This case was on behalf of an electrician who fell 40 feet from an elevated platform, suffering multiple fractures to both legs. The general contractor contended that the plaintiff was responsible for his own injuries in failing to secure his safety harness. Despite having no recall of the fall and no eyewitnesses, Winters Salzetta O'Brien & Richardson, LLC was able to reconstruct events to show that the plaintiff was likely transitioning between tie-offs, requiring him to detach his harness at the moment he fell.

$950,000.00 Settlement - Workplace Fall Injury

The plaintiff was contracted by the defendant, a sole proprietor, to perform window washing work on the Rosemont Convention Center. The defendant had a monthly contract to clean the convention center windows but hired the plaintiff for a cash payment to do the work. The cherry picker that the defendant provided to the plaintiff to wash windows at elevated heights was 47 years old and had not been properly inspected and maintained. One of the anchor pins that connected the elevating tower to the mount of the truck bed was malaligned, and as result, the tower collapsed while the plaintiff was working at about 45 feet.

$771,022 Verdict - Construction Accident

The plaintiff, a 38-year-old carpenter, was hit in the knee with a load of trusses by a crane operator and sustained a torn meniscus requiring two arthroscopic procedures.

$500,000 Settlement - Workplace Injury

A 66-year-old woman suffered a fractured knee cap and fractured arm when she tripped over wires at the nursing home where she worked. The defendants’ employees were installing the wires in a hallway of the nursing home at the time of the incident. They failed to demarcate and isolate their work zone and also failed to keep their work orderly. Due to the wires being strewn on the hallway floor, the plaintiff was injured while doing her job.

American Association of Justice American Board of Trial Advocates Illinois State Bar Association Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
Back to Top