Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

A worker fell to his death on Wednesday morning. Michael Clancy and Liseth Perez Almeida of Newsday and Hoy, respectively, described that the, "hard-working Ecuadorian immigrant fell 18 stories to his death Wednesday in a scaffolding accident."

The contractor had a permit to do facade work on the building, but did not have the special permits for the outrigging scaffold it was using, said Buildings Department spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. In addition, the scaffold requires a special supervisory foreman to be on hand at all times. There was no foreman on site, Givner said. In addition, all workers using this kind of scaffolding are required to get special training, which the victim did not have.

Injuries and accidents like this are especially egregious. Safety standards and construction laws exist to protect workers. Unfortunately, some contractors cut corners because compliance with these regulations costs more money. This particular contractor needs to be held accountable for this apparent egregious violation of the applicable laws and regulations.

A man was killed and three others injured in a construction accident earlier today (AP article). Unfortunately, accidents like this happen frequently, often with fatal consequences. There is no presently known cause of the accident, but the investigation is ongoing, and will likely reveal that the accident was preventable.

Construction accidents often occur as a result of poor communication between persons on the work site. Often, contractors mistakenly believe that they have delegated their responsibility for workplace safety to others, without clearly communicating their intent. Other times, general contractors allow subcontractors onto the site before the site is made safe. In construction accidents, the resulting injuries are often devastating to the worker and his or her family. Not only are the injuries severe and the medical bills substantial, but the injured worker is often unable to return to full employment.

At Hurley McKenna & Mertz, we take pride in the fact that by comprehensively investigating all of our cases, we are able to obtain maximum results for our clients. We will travel to all 50 states to represent those injured in construction accidents.