An on-the-job accident claimed the life of a 47-year-old Berwyn man on Tuesday, according to authorities. The man died from multiple crush injuries after sustaining hits from multiple falling objects at M.S. International, his employer, in Elk Grove Village.
According to its website, M.S. International sells premium surfaces for floors, countertops, wall tiles, and outdoor hardscaping. Their products include tiles, countertops, slabs, and stones made out of marble, granite, quarts, stone, sandstone, and slate, to name a few. The location in Elk Grove Village is a distribution center and serves an unknown area with product. The details of the fatal incident are not yet clear but authorities have confirmed that the man was struck as several objects fell to the ground and that the man was pronounced dead at M.S. International early Tuesday morning.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, more commonly known as OSHA, confirmed that it is investigating the incident but it has yet to provide any more information.
Workplace accidents happen every day in Illinois and unfortunately result in the death or injury of thousands of workers each year. OSHA is charged with enforcing workplace safety and keeping statistics of work-related accidents, and they state that 4,609 workers were killed in accidents in the United States in 2011. This averages to nearly 90 workers per week or 13 workers every day. Of those national fatalities, 117 occurred in Illinois, 20 of which were caused by contact with objects and equipment. That is nearly two workers each month who are killed in this manner, leaving their families without the support they once provided.
Illinois law protects any worker who is injured or killed while on the job by providing workers’ compensation to those employees. This means that a worker who gets hurt is entitled to have their medical bills paid, to be paid for any time they miss work due to the injury, and other financial benefit, depending on the injury. If the worker is killed, then the worker’s family is entitled to compensation for their loss. This type of claim is fairly unique in Illinois because a worker or the worker’s family is entitled to this coverage regardless of who was at fault for the accident.
At first blush, workers’ compensation claims can seem manageable on their own. Often they become incredibly complicated with the employer and an insurance company denying valid claims and refusing to provide benefits. At Abels & Annes, P.C., we are Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers who have seen this time and time again and it is always the employee who suffers in the end.
We are in the business of protecting the rights of workers and we fight for our clients every day.
We make it our job to help injured workers or the families of workers who have been killed receive the benefits they are entitled to, including lost wages. We will make ourselves available to you 24 hours a day at (312) 924-7575 or toll free at (855) 529-2442 for a free telephone consultation. Regardless of what your injury is or how you were hurt, you may have a claim for your loss, so please call us today or contact us online and let us go to work for you.
Prior Blog Entries:
Wrongful Death Civil Suit Settled against Driver High on Chemical Fumes, Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 12, 2013.
Chicago Hit-And-Run Leaves Grandmother, Grandson in Hospital, Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, published June 11, 2013.
Resources:
Workplace accident kills man in Elk Grove Village, by Karen Ann Cullotta, Chicago Tribune, published June 12, 2013.
Fatal occupational injuries in Illinois, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, 2011.