Head injuries are one of the most serious types of injuries a person can experience, and unfortunately, head injuries at the workplace are not uncommon. If your head injury is caused by a misplaced object, poorly maintained work environment, or by another worker, it may have been preventable.

How Head Injuries Occur

Head injuries commonly occur in the workplace from the following causes:

National Distracted Driving Awareness Month is taking place this month. Every car crash resulting from distracted driving could have been prevented if the driver had given their full attention to the road. Despite this, distracted driving continues to be a significant cause of car crashes and resulting injuries. In 2013, a US Department of Transportation study found that distracted driving was related to 10 percent of all crashes resulting in death and 18 percent of crashes resulting in injury.

Types of Distractions

Distracted driving can include any type of mental, physical, or visual task that takes a person’s concentration away from the road. Common distractions include:

With the increased availability and use of ride-sharing services, the question of who is liable for an accident and injuries sustained during the accident is becoming more common. Pursuing a claim as a result of an automobile accident injury is something to consider carefully as part of ensuring the cost of medical treatment, future care needs and lost wages are covered.

Determining Who Is Liable

While the thought of pursuing a big claim against one of the country’s large ride-sharing companies, the likelihood of doing so is usually quite rare. In most cases one would file a suit with the driver of the vehicle:

We frequently use this space to present relevant information pertaining to work-related injuries and deaths, high-risk careers and other workers’ compensation related topics. The array of variables and nuances impacting this important social and legal issue literally fill pages and pages of books and require copious amounts of time both in and out of the courtroom. This time around we are taking a closer look at reports indicating high-risk worker groups.

Age and Gender Play a Role

As workers and employers strive to provide and sustain equal footing in the employment market for both men and women, some evidence suggests that there is an area in which women have an edge, especially as they get older. One Canadian study presented evidence that older women are more likely to sustain an on-the-job injury than their younger counterparts. Some of the findings included:

When workers are injured or become ill it is not uncommon for them to take advantage of disability leave time in order to mend and heal. However, in some cases, an employee is able to work while undergoing treatment for an illness or accept a light-duty role. In such scenarios, it is important to ensure employers are making reasonable accommodations despite one’s inability to perform their job at the same level as prior to the injury or illness.

Suburban Police Officer Battling Cancer and Employer

In one case, a suburban police officer is claiming his municipal employer is guilty of violating the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it terminated a light-duty assignment he was performing while undergoing and recovering from treatments for cancer:

Many have expressed the opinion that justice is available only to those who can afford it. While that is not what the founding fathers had in mind, the evidence supporting that view seems to be growing. However, with the availability of alternative legal support and limited scope representation the opportunities for pursuing rightful claims are expanding.

Ala Carte Legal Services Made Available

In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court made a decision that resulted in greater access to competent legal services for lower and middle-income residents who do not qualify for legal aid based on their income. The creation of limited scope representation services is seen to have leveled the playing field:

There may be fewer things more frustrating than sustaining an injury while on the job. While accidents happen, injuries caused by performing repetitive activity or motion to complete a required are no less harmful. Workers and employers alike must take steps to monitor for repetitive motion injuries, especially when they occur as part of one’s daily duties.

Common Types of Repetitive Motion Injuries

Arms and hands are the most common targets of repetitive motion injuries. While one might think these types of injuries are suffered only by those who perform physical labor as a career choice, these types of injuries also are suffered by those who work in offices or other non-physical roles. Here are descriptions of a couple of the most commonly occurring repetitive motion injuries.

At one time when an individual reached a certain age, often that age was 65, he or she would retire from the workforce, collect a pension, and move somewhere warm. However, as more and more people continue working into their 60s and even 70s, employers and workplace safety advocates have become aware that on-the-job safety has taken on new importance to protect an aging workforce from workplace injuries and accidents.

Age and Experience

Reports indicate that in 2010, workers age 55 or older represented more than 19 percent of the workforce and that is expected to increase to over 25 percent by the year 2020. Furthermore, by the year 2036, the number of “older” workers is expected to double. This anticipated increase is expected to affect drastically the cost of rehabilitation and compensation plans.

Because there is virtually no federal role in workers’ compensation the payments and costs related to workplace injuries vary widely from state to state. In fact, a recent study showed that medical payments were as much as 24 percent higher in Illinois than the median cost in all other states.

What Is the Cause?

It is no secret that expenses related to insurance premiums and workers’ compensation expenses are factors that many employers weigh when considering whether or not to locate an operation in a particular state.

It is a known fact that simply by getting out of bed in the morning a person risks injury. The same can be said for those who leave the house to go to their jobs. While workers’ compensation laws are in place to protect employees who are injured on the job, the knowledge that some types of employment are far riskier than others does not stop people from seeking those dangerous jobs.

Careers That Come with Built-In Risk

Despite the knowledge that some jobs come with an inherent risk or history of high incident of injury or death, it does not dissuade some, for whatever reason, for seeking out and filling those job openings. Sometimes it is due to a family connection, sometimes out of sheer need, but whatever reason, there are individuals who willingly fill employment positions that expose them to risks of bodily harm.

It is hard to imagine anything more distressful and heartbreaking than the sudden death of a loved one due to an accident or some kind of negligence. Pursuing a wrongful death suit often helps family members find some type of closure while requiring parties at fault to correct flaws in systems, procedures, manufacturing or other processes.

It Should Never Have Happened

When deaths occur due to accidents or some type of negligence, what everyone needs to realize is that these occurrences are not confined simply to the home or place of work. While wrongful deaths occur in these locations, recent news illustrates that tragedy can strike when one least expects it.

When a family member suffers a catastrophic injury the immediate reaction is often a mixture of grief and anger. This is especially true if incidents leading up to the injury include a number of unanswered questions. A recent news report illustrated how misunderstandings, miscommunication, and negligence can have tragic consequences.

Man Left Clinging to Life

An Illinois family has filed a lawsuit after a man was detained by Chicago police for what amounted to a clerical error, suffered a massive brain injury as a result of hanging while in police custody. The details of the case being reported are both sad and confusing.

No one ever goes to work and expects to die while on the job. Even those in high-risk occupations have a high expectation they will return home at the end of the day. Sometimes, however, seemingly safe occupations have tragic incidents, such as the drowning death of a man who was tending to swans on a pond in suburban Chicago.

Wife of Bird Tender Seeks Compensation

In 2012 a man drowned in a suburban pond when two swans he was checking on as part of his job attacked him. The attack caused the man’s kayak to overturn and he drowned when repeated attacks by the birds prevent him from swimming to shore. This is part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed late last year by the man’s wife. Among some of the details from the filing include the following:

Every year millions of fans across the country flock to baseball games to watch their favorite team and players. Most of those fans long for the chance to take home a foul ball or broken bat as a souvenir. However, what is a fan’s recourse if they are injured by a ball that is thrown or hit into the stands or a piece of bat that splinters and flies into the seats?

Some Believe More Netting Is the Answer

Incidents that occurred at Major League Baseball games during the 2017 season that resulted in fans suffering injuries from foul balls, called attention to the inherent danger of attending live sporting events, as well as steps team and venue owners could take to better protect those in attendance.

If your job requires you to travel and work off-site as a part of your employment, then it is possible for you to sustain a work-related injury while traveling. While sustaining an injury while traveling on business is a common occurrence, collecting on a workers’ compensation claim related to such an injury can be a little more complex than if the injury was sustained on site.

The Nuances of Work Travel

Some employees travel far more frequently than others who work for the same company. However, whether you travel once each month or just one time each year, if you are injured while on that business trip you are more than likely eligible to file a claim to help cover expenses and loss of income related to the injury. It is important to understand what is expected of you while traveling, and what you should do if injured while on the road.

During this current football season, and throughout the past year or more, much has been reported about the increasing evidence of head and brain injuries sustained by former professional football players. Even the two biggest manufacturers are getting involved as they look for ways to improve player safety.

Concussions and Worse

Until recently, getting one’s “bell rung” was a common injury sustained while participating in football that did not seem to require much concern. However, those involved in the medical diagnosis and treatment of head injuries brought to light the serious effects of sustaining a concussion. Through the course of these revelations, it was learned that many players, at all levels of the game, had sustained multiple concussions over the course of their playing careers.

There is nothing worse than being involved in a car accident and learning the driver at fault is uninsured. Even though Illinois requires all drivers to carry minimum coverage amounts, uninsured drivers still operate vehicles and collecting claim payments in the event of an injury due to an auto accident may be complicated.

What Illinois Requires

To be considered in compliance with Illinois law, you must have the following minimum coverages for any vehicle you own.

An Illinois family is claiming negligence by the employees of Six Flags Great America in a suit filed recently. The latest legal maneuver stems from injuries suffered at the hands of other park guests during a visit to the Gurnee theme park earlier this year.

The Attack

Three members of a family were allegedly attacked and beaten by what could be as many as 10 people when an incident escalated while park guests were waiting in line for one of the attractions. A woman, her husband, and their 12-year-old son all suffered physical injuries as a result of the altercation. Local 911 operators reported receiving more than one call from other park patrons who witnessed the melee. However, authorities have indicated that those alleged to have been responsible for the attack were permitted to leave the park before police could make contact.

As technological advances are made at increasingly higher rates, manufactures in a number of industries are racing to implement those advances to enhance the user experience of their products. Automobile makers are no exception, as the promise of self-driving cars appearing on roadways not only intrigues the public but has raised questions over matters of fault and liability stemming from injuries suffered in traffic accidents involving self-driving cars.

At This Point … More Questions Than Answers

While the roads are filled with vehicles that include a variety of semi-autonomous features such as parking assistance, blind spot detection and automatic braking, the vehicle that is fully self-driving has yet to hit the streets. As manufacturers work to introduce the self-driving car to the public, questions from drivers, law enforcement agencies and insurance groups relative to accidents and liability swirl.

Workers who earn a living doing physical labor are at risk of injury nearly every day they are on the job. Overland truck drivers and delivery drivers who maintain local routes are at no less risk for injury simply because they are behind the wheel much of the day.

Drivers’ Injuries Due Compensation

Truck drivers and delivery drivers experience injuries from more than just being involved in accidents. Some of the injuries occur from slips that occur getting in or out of the cab, lifting or loading and unloading cargo, raising truck hoods or cargo doors, and even falls on loading docks. Any of these can cause a number of serious injuries, which include: