Construction Workers Face Serious Spinal Cord Injury Risks
Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the country. Workers climb scaffolding, operate heavy machinery, work at extreme heights, and handle loads that weigh thousands of pounds. When something goes wrong, spinal cord injuries are a common result.
Chicago has one of the largest construction industries in the Midwest. High-rise buildings, highway projects, residential developments, and commercial renovations keep thousands of workers on job sites throughout the city. These projects create daily opportunities for accidents that can damage the spine.
If you suffered a spinal cord injury in a Chicago construction accident, you may have multiple legal options for compensation beyond workers’ compensation alone.
How Construction Accidents Cause Spinal Cord Injuries
Falls from Heights
Falls are the leading cause of death and serious injury in construction. OSHA reports that falls account for more than one-third of all construction fatalities. Workers fall from scaffolding, ladders, roofs, elevated platforms, steel structures, and open floor holes.
A fall from even 6 to 10 feet can cause a spinal fracture. Falls from greater heights frequently cause catastrophic spinal cord injuries including paraplegia and quadriplegia. The force of impact compresses, fractures, or dislocates vertebrae and damages the delicate spinal cord inside.
Struck-By Accidents
Construction sites have heavy objects moving overhead constantly. Beams, pipes, tools, building materials, and equipment can fall from upper floors or be dropped from cranes. When a heavy object strikes a worker in the head, neck, or back, the spinal cord can be severely damaged.
Caught-Between Accidents
Workers get caught between heavy equipment, between equipment and fixed structures, or in trench collapses. The crushing force can fracture multiple vertebrae and compress the spinal cord. Trench collapses are particularly dangerous because the weight of the soil pressing on the body can cause burst fractures of the spine.
Equipment and Machinery Accidents
Forklifts, cranes, excavators, backhoes, and other heavy equipment cause spinal injuries through rollovers, collisions, and malfunctions. A forklift tipping over can throw the operator and cause the vehicle to land on them. Crane failures can drop loads onto workers below.
Electrocution
Contact with live electrical lines or equipment causes violent muscle contractions that can fracture vertebrae. Electrical burns can also damage the spinal cord directly. Falls caused by electrical shock add a secondary mechanism of spinal injury.
Who Is Responsible for Construction Spinal Injuries?
Construction sites involve multiple parties, and more than one may be responsible for your injury:
General Contractors
General contractors control the job site and are responsible for overall safety. When they fail to enforce safety rules, provide proper fall protection, or maintain safe working conditions, they can be held liable for injuries to subcontractor employees.
Property Owners
Property owners who maintain control over construction activities on their property can be liable for unsafe conditions. In Illinois, a property owner who retains control over safety aspects of the work may be responsible for injuries that result from their negligence.
Equipment Manufacturers
Defective scaffolding, faulty safety harnesses, malfunctioning equipment, and defective tools cause construction accidents. If a product defect contributed to your spinal cord injury, the manufacturer may be liable under Illinois product liability law.
Subcontractors
Other subcontractors on the job site may cause accidents through their negligent actions. If another trade’s workers create a hazard that leads to your injury, that subcontractor’s employer may be liable.
Engineers and Architects
Design defects in structures, inadequate shoring plans, and engineering errors can create conditions that lead to collapses and falls. Design professionals can be held accountable when their errors cause construction injuries.
Workers’ Compensation vs. Third-Party Claims
Workers’ Compensation
Illinois workers’ compensation covers medical expenses and partial wage replacement for injured construction workers. You do not need to prove fault to receive workers’ comp benefits. However, workers’ comp has significant limitations:
- It pays only two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a cap
- It does not compensate for pain and suffering
- It does not compensate for loss of enjoyment of life
- It does not pay the full value of your future lost earnings
For a spinal cord injury that causes permanent disability, workers’ compensation alone is not enough.
Third-Party Personal Injury Claims
If someone other than your direct employer caused or contributed to your injury, you can file a third-party personal injury lawsuit. This claim is separate from workers’ compensation and can provide compensation for:
- Full lost wages and earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Full medical expenses (past and future)
You can pursue both workers’ compensation and a third-party lawsuit at the same time. If you recover from a third-party lawsuit, your workers’ comp insurer may have a lien for benefits already paid. Your lawyer will handle this lien to maximize your net recovery.
OSHA Violations as Evidence
OSHA sets mandatory safety standards for construction sites. When an employer violates OSHA standards and a worker gets hurt, the violation can be used as evidence of negligence in your lawsuit. Common OSHA violations that lead to spinal injuries include:
- Failure to provide fall protection at heights above 6 feet
- Inadequate scaffolding construction
- Missing guardrails on elevated platforms
- Failure to protect open floor holes
- Inadequate trench protection
- Failure to train workers on fall hazards
- Missing or defective personal protective equipment
Your lawyer can obtain OSHA inspection reports and citation records for the job site. These documents often contain valuable evidence about the conditions that caused your accident.
The Structural Work Act (Scaffolding Act)
Illinois repealed the Structural Work Act in 1995. Before its repeal, this law provided strict liability protection for construction workers injured due to scaffolding and structural failures. Today, construction injury cases must be proven under ordinary negligence principles. However, an experienced construction injury lawyer knows how to build strong negligence cases using safety standards, OSHA regulations, and industry practices.
Compensation for Construction Spinal Cord Injuries
Construction spinal cord injury cases in Chicago can result in significant compensation. The value depends on the severity of the injury, the victim’s age and earning capacity, and which parties are liable.
Cases involving permanent paralysis from construction falls regularly settle or receive verdicts in the millions of dollars. Cases involving multiple liable parties with substantial insurance coverage tend to produce the largest recoveries.
Time Limits for Filing
Illinois personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the accident. Workers’ compensation claims must be filed within three years of the accident or two years from the last payment of benefits, whichever is later. Do not wait. Contact a lawyer as soon as possible to protect your rights.
Get Legal Help Now
If you suffered a spinal cord injury in a Chicago construction accident, you need a lawyer who understands both workers’ compensation and third-party construction injury claims. Phillips Law Offices has decades of experience helping injured construction workers get the full compensation they deserve.
Call Phillips Law Offices at (312) 346-4262 or contact us online for a free consultation. We will investigate your accident, identify all responsible parties, and fight to get you every dollar you are owed.