Chicago Road Construction Accident Lawyer
The workers who built, repair, maintain, or renovate roads, bridges, overpasses, and other such infrastructure items have a much higher risk of injury than other construction workers. Road crews must work around large, earth-moving equipment. Furthermore, cars usually whiz past these workers at high speeds. Making matters worse, many road construction crews are on the job at night, when driver visibility is limited.
Just like you, the dedicated Chicago road construction lawyers at Connolly Injury Law understand the importance of things like hard work and commitment. Every time we work on your case, we give our best effort and our best attitude. Furthermore, everything we do is geared toward fair compensation for your serious injuries. This simple and straightforward approach usually produces results that exceed our clients’ expectations.
Types of Injuries
Like most workers in Chicagoland, road construction workers must deal with trauma injuries and occupational diseases.
Trauma injuries happen suddenly and without warning. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Fatal Four trauma injuries cause most fatal construction accidents. The Fatal Four are:
- Falls: Road construction workers are at risk for slip-and-fall injuries as well as falls from a height. Uneven surfaces, like an under-construction road, are difficult to navigate, especially at night. Furthermore, most highway overpasses are more than four stories high. Falls from this height are usually fatal.
- Struck By: If a worker in a high place drops a hammer or other object onto someone three or four stories below, the resulting head injury is usually catastrophic, even if the victim was wearing a hardhat.
- Caught Between: Most of these accidents involve runaway motor vehicles. For example, a construction worker could get caught between a large vehicle and a retaining wall. Full compensation is normally available even if a pre-existing condition contributed to the caught between injury.
- Electrocution: Normally, electricians join a project while the road work continues. Many non-electricians have trouble telling the difference between a live wire and a dead one. During these accidents, the arc blast produces heat that’s almost as hot as the sun.
As for occupational diseases, hearing loss is a significant problem for road construction workers. The passing traffic is often almost as loud as the construction equipment on the site.
Benefits Available
When trauma injuries or occupational diseases strike, workers’ compensation usually replaces lost wages and pays medical bills.
Most temporarily disabled victims receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage until their doctors clear them to return to work. Incidentally, this doctor is usually a physician of the victim’s choice as opposed to a company doctor. Workers’ compensation benefits in Illinois usually last up to five years, so victims have plenty of time to fully recover.
Workers’ compensation also pays all reasonably necessary medical expenses. The ability to choose one’s own doctor is a major advantage in this area as well. If the insurance company refuses to pay these expenses straightaway, a Chicago construction accident attorney can usually arrange for top-notch medical treatment at no upfront cost.
Count On an Experienced Cook County Job Related Injury Lawyer
Job-related injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced road construction accident attorney in Chicago, contact Connolly Injury Law. We routinely handle matters in Lake County and nearby jurisdictions.
