Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

More mesothelioma lawsuits have been filled in Madison County, Illinois. These Illinois personal injury lawsuits are just a few of the many suits that have been filed throughout the United States by workers and families seeking to obtain compensation for illnesses and deaths due to exposure to asbestos at work.

Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring minerals that have been used in certain products and were present in many construction sites until the 1980’s. Some 2,000 to 3,000 mesothelioma cases are diagnosed each year.

Among the recent mesothelioma lawsuits in Madison County:

* The estate of George Charles Davis is suing 25 corporations because he was exposed to asbestos while working as an engineer in Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, and Texas from 1951 to 1983. Davis’s lawsuit accuses the defendant companies of negligence because they did not provide workers with instructions on how to work safely with asbestos. The estate is seeking at least $150,000.

* Mary Lindsey’s estate is suing 75 corporations for her lung cancer death. The lawsuit claims that secondary asbestos exposure caused her illness and that she was exposed to the toxic fibers from her husband's work clothes. Her estate is seeking at least $250,000.

* Illinois resident Franz Mueller is suing 75 companies after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma earlier this year. The plaintiff says that he was exposed to asbestos while working as a machine operator and a welder. His lawsuit contends that the defendants did not exercise reasonable care to ensure his safety on the job. He is seeking at least $150,000 for medical care, lost income, and legal fees.

* Geraldine Kruemmelbein says her husband, who died from lung cancer in 2006, got sick because of asbestos exposure at work. Robert Kruemmelbein was a Duncan Foundry laborer from 1950 to 1960, a maintenance worker for Dow Chemical in 1961, and a machine operator at Owens-Illinois Glass for over 30 years.

Geraldine is suing 74 defendant corporations. Her wrongful-death lawsuit contends that the defendants should have anticipated that exposure to asbestos would make her husband ill. She says her husband experienced great physical and mental anguish because of his cancer and that he spent large sums of money prior to his death for medical costs. The disease also prevented him from working and the family experienced the loss of his support and society.

Bunker Hill woman files asbestos complaint in husband's death, The Record, August 27, 2008

Several Mesothelioma Lawsuits Filed in Illinois, TransworldNews.com, August 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma and Asbestos Center

Eight people were taken to the hospital on Saturday after they got sick when nitroaniline was released into a Ro-Corp plant in Illinois. The exposure happened when a barrel filled with the chemical was dropped.

Contrary to earlier media reports, no one was killed from being exposed to the chemical during the work accident. Two hospital emergency rooms in Missouri had to be quarantined, however, because the workers sought medical help.

The chemical nitroaniline is often used in making antioxidants, dyes, gasoline, pharmaceuticals, and poultry medications. Exposure to the toxic chemical can lead to diarrhea, convulsions, irritability, vomiting, anemia, tachycardia, dyspnea, tachypnea, cyanosis, ataxia, methemoglobinemia, respiratory arrest, and chronic cumulative liver damage.

Work Injuries and Illnesses
The owners and managers of plants, factories, construction sites, and other areas where workers do their jobs are supposed to make sure that employees are equipped with the proper safety equipment, the proper safety procedures are followed, and there are no unsafe conditions that exist on a premise that can cause serious injury, illness, or death.

Workers that are injured on the job cannot sue their employers but they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, as well as personal injury compensation from liable third parties.

8 sickened by chemical exposure at plant in Ill., WTOP, August 31, 2008

Authorities: Did Ro-Corp. workers follow proper procedures?, BND, September 3, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Nitroaniline

US Department of Labor

Continue reading "Eight People Sent to Hospitals After They Are Exposed to Toxic Chemical at Ro-Corp Plant in Illinois" »

In Madison County Circuit Court, Illinois resident Mark McDonald is suing 92 corporations for his father’s wrongful death. Mark's father, Robert, worked for nearly 50 years as an auto body repairman, mechanic, and boiler worker at various places throughout the state, including Shell Oil Company.

Last September, Robert was diagnosed with lung cancer, which he died from in March. Mark says that his father got cancer because he was exposed to, ingested, and inhaled asbestos fibers while working and that the defendants should have anticipated that the exposure to the toxic substance would end up killing his father.

Mark says that in addition to suffering from the disease and experiencing physical and mental pain, his father spent a great deal of money on medical costs and other services to treat his illness. Because Robert was unable to work, he lost a substantial amount of income. Not only did Robert's family lose his financial support and companionship, but they spent a great deal of money to pay for funeral and burial expenses.

Mark is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is accusing Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of working with the defendants to misrepresent the dangers that come with exposure to asbestos.

If you or someone you love was injured on the job in Illinois, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. You also may be entitled to file personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against other negligent parties that may have been responsible for the work-related injury or disease.

Mesothelioma
This type of cancer can occur due to exposure to asbestos, with lung cancer being a leading cause of asbestos-related deaths. Asbestos are toxic fibrous minerals that have been used to make houses, schools, buildings, certain car parts, and many other products. In the event that a person ingests or inhales the fibers, asbestos can cause serious personal injury or wrongful death.

Illinois man sues 92 companies for father's lung cancer death, The Record, August 27, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Mesothelioma: Questions and Answers, National Cancer Institute

What is Asbestos, Osha.org

On Aug. 22, an OSHA officer, while driving by a Chicago-area residential construction site, observed employees working at approximately 30 feet above grade performing roofing work. He stopped at the worksite and saw an employee trip on a slide guard and nearly fell off the roof. Luckily, the employee caught himself on the side of a chimney. The officer initiated an inspection and asked the employer to cease work until employees were provided adequate fall protection.

This is just another example of construction companies disregarding safety to increase the speed of a project. Unfortunately, many construction companies are more concerned with completing a project on schedule than safety. In this case, it was quicker to allow employees to work without fall protection than to require them to wear a safety line or provide other fall protection.

If you are employed in the construction industry, you should demand compliance with all known safety regulations. In addition, you should report any safety violations to your foreman or general contractor. Working in safe conditions is your right, which must protected at all costs.

If you are injured at a construction site, it is important that you retain top quality legal representation. You should hire an attorney who has a track record of success in representing victims of construction negligence.

Malman Law has the skill and experience to handle construction site accident cases. We believe the key to success in construction cases is being aggressive and persistent. This type of aggressive representation has resulted in the recovery of millions of dollars for our clients.

One out of every 10 construction workers is injured every year. The most common accident at construction sites is falls causing more fatalities than any other construction activity. Ironworkers have the greatest likelihood of being injured on a construction site, more than any other trade.

We recently settled a case for an Ironworker who was injured in Rosemont, Illinois. Our client was helping a co-worker move a steel beam when the co-worker slipped and dropped the beam. As a result, my client was left holding the entire weight of the beam. The beam was so heavy that my client felt an immediate "pop" in his back causing immediate pain. He eventually was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back and underwent surgery to fuse his spine. We were able to prove that during a rain storm the general contractor ordered my client to move a steel beam. Our expert determined that the general contractor was negligent for failing to shut down the site and for ordering my client to perform work in unsafe conditions.

Construction site cases can be very complex. The most difficult aspect of these cases is determining all of the liable parties. If the injured worker is employed by the general contractor then we must determine what role, if any, the sub-contractors played in the injury. If the worker is employed by a sub-contractor, then we must determine the liability of the general contractor, the owner and other sub-contractors.

At Malman Law, we feel the best way to establish liability in a case is through the use of expert witnesses. We utilize construction safety experts who have worked for OSHA and understand government regulation of the construction industry. We are often able to uncover poor safety compliance and a disregard for government regulations.

A construction site is a very dangerous place. Construction companies are well aware of the dangers of the site but will often disregard safety for speed and profits. If you are injured, it is important to exercise your legal rights . By exercising your rights, you will bring to light to unsafe conditions which may help to prevent future injuries.