Chicago Construction Accident Lawyer
The construction industry is vital to economic life and prosperity in Chicago. Construction is also a dangerous job; one in every five worker deaths in private industry occur in construction. Construction work does not have to end in tragedy, however. When workers are careful, properly trained and provided with working equipment and safety gear, accidents can be kept to a minimum. When site supervisors are negligent or don’t promote a culture of safety, accidents happen and people get hurt.
Chicago construction accident lawyer Mark Connolly is a former worker in the construction trades, a proud member of Laborers’ Local #4 who worked for years as a union laborer while earning his college degree. Now, as the founder and principal attorney of Connolly Injury Law, Mark combines his years of legal training with real-world experience in construction to help Chicagoland construction accident victims get medical care and financial help after an on the job injury, whether through workers’ compensation benefits or third-party claims of construction negligence.
If you’ve been hurt on a construction worksite in Chicago or Cook County and surrounding areas, call Connolly Injury Law for a free consultation, and find out how we can help you recover and get back on your feet.
Handling the Full Range of Construction Negligence Cases in Chicago
Property owners, developers and contractors are all responsible for ensuring safe work practices by training and supervising workers, inspecting equipment and providing the necessary safety gear. When co-workers or the people in charge are negligent, innocent people get hurt. Connolly Injury Law helps workers injured in any type of construction accident, including:
- Scaffold collapses
- Falls from heights
- Broken ladders and other unsafe equipment
- Getting struck by swinging, falling or rolling objects
- Forklift and crane accidents, including back-overs, tip-overs, and collapses
- Trenching and excavation accidents, including collapses, cave-ins and inadequate ventilation
- Caught-in or caught-between machinery or equipment
- Electrocution from underground or overhead power lines, ungrounded surfaces
- Burn injuries due to fires, explosions, heated equipment or chemicals
- Slips and falls on oily surfaces
- Trip and fall over extension cords or unsecured tools or equipment
- Toxic exposure
Recovery for Negligence, Workers’ Compensation, Third-Party Liability
Employees on construction sites are covered by workers’ compensation just like employees in other occupations. When an injury occurs on the job, injured workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits – payment for medical care and wage replacement – without regard to who was at fault in causing the accident. In exchange for this no-fault guarantee of benefits, employees cannot sue their employers, even when the employer’s negligence was to blame. Connolly Injury Law maintains a robust Illinois workers’ compensation practice and can help you get benefits, even when the employer and their insurance carrier are underpaying benefits, terminating benefits prematurely, or wrongly denying your claim for benefits.
Workers’ compensation only covers employees, yet many workers on a construction project have the status of independent contractors. Although independent contractors don’t get workers’ comp, they can sue for negligence when they suffered an injury that was not their fault. Being successful on a negligence claim requires proving that another party was to blame. Personal injury attorney Mark Connolly has over a decade of experience proving both workers’ compensation and personal injury claims.
Sometimes, employees might have both a workers’ compensation claim and a negligence claim. This situation arises when the accident happens on the job but is the fault of some third-party not connected to the employer. In these situations, the injured employee can pursue both avenues for compensation, and Connolly Injury Law can help with both claims. Examples of third-party liability situations include:
- A worker is injured in a car accident while picking up supplies, making deliveries, or traveling between job sites, or because a third party drives onto the site and strikes the worker.
- A worker is injured while performing construction on a third-party’s property, and the property had a hazardous condition that caused the accident unrelated to the construction work that was being performed.
- A worker is injured by a defective power tool or piece of equipment that was defective when it left the factory or store shelf.
Maximize Your Recovery After a Construction Accident in Chicago
Construction accident cases can be complex – the injuries are often severe, there may be multiple parties involved, the status of the worker as an employee or independent contractor may be complicated, and the cause of the accident might be in dispute. Trust your case to a dedicated Chicago construction accident attorney experienced in both workers’ compensation and personal injury claims to make sure your case is handled correctly and that you get the maximum recovery available.
In Cook County and throughout Chicagoland, call Connolly Injury Law for a free consultation at 312-780-0816. There’s no fee unless we win compensation for you.
