Articles Posted in Construction Accident

An East Chicago man is facing four felony counts of drunk driving and leaving the scene, in the wake of a car accident in a construction zone that has claimed the life of an Indiana man.

A judge on Tuesday denied a request by the defendant to be released from jail to take a final exam, according to ABC 7.

As we reported earlier this week on our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, the worker was flown by medical helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in critical condition with head and leg injuries. He died Sunday as a result of his injuries. Charges against the defendant have since been upgraded as a result of the worker’s death.

A Gary Indiana man was arrested recently and charged because of his involvement in a Chicago car crash that injured a construction worker last summer, WGN News reported.

The Chicago construction zone accident occurred when an SUV slammed into a highway worker closing the gate on his truck along the Dan Ryan Expressway. The defendant was ticketed but failed to appear in court. A warrant issued for his arrest in Cook and four surrounding counties failed to locate him until media reports were broadcast nationwide.

The highway worker was severely injured. A year later he is finally walking again. The worker said he hopes his story provides a lesson to law enforcement and is pushing for nationwide warrants to be issued in cases where highway construction workers are injured.

National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 6 to 10 and will include multiple public awareness efforts by Illinois Work Zone Safety Partners and the Illinois Department of Transportation.

In 2008, fatal Illinois road construction accidents claimed 31 lives and injured 1,985 people. A total of 7,813 traffic accidents were reported in Illinois construction zones. Last month, our Chicago Car Accident Lawyers blog reported about a fatal construction zone accident that occurred recently in northwest Indiana, about 30 minutes south of Chicago.Scott’s Law, named for a firefighter who was killed after being struck by a vehicle while responding to an accident on a Chicago expressway, requires vehicles to slow down and change lanes, whenever possible, for emergency, construction and maintenance vehicles displaying oscillating, rotating, or flashing lights.

A violation of Scott’s Law carries a mandatory court appearance, a fine of up to $10,000, driver’s license suspension and, in cases of an accident causing property damage, injury or death, a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Illinois work zone traffic facts:

-Construction workers do not have to be present to receive a speeding ticket in a work zone.

-State law lowers speeds in construction zones from 65 mph to 55 mph or from 55 mph to 45 mph. Lower speed limits may be posted.

-Increased fines for speeding in work zones are set at a minimum of $375 for a first offense and a minimum of $1,000 for a second offense.

-Court appearance is mandatory for a work-zone speeding violation.

-A motorist who causes a fatal work zone accident may be charged with reckless homicide, which can carry a penalty of 3 to 14 years in prison.

-Photo enforcement may be used to increase work zone safety.
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A worker was killed last week and another injured in a Chicago construction accident that occurred in the Loop, ABC 7 reported.

The victims are employees of People’s Energy and were conducting an underground test at Jackson and Wacker Drive when the Chicago work accident occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday afternoon. They were testing a 20-inch main when a steel pipe slipped and struck both workers, who were in a construction hole across the street from the Willis Tower.

Three ambulances responded to the scene at 1:45 p.m. after reports of workers trapped following an explosion, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

A total of 7,813 Chicago construction zone accidents and accidents in work zones throughout Illinois killed 31 people and injured 1,985, according to the release of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s annual crash statistics report.

The Chicago car accident lawyers at Abels & Annes want to remind motorists to use caution when traveling in work zones.

For Illinois construction workers injured on the job, a Chicago construction accident attorney or an Illinois workers’ compensation attorney may also be able to assist in securing compensation for your injuries.

The state reported Illinois construction zone accidents occurred almost exclusively in urban areas, which accounted for 7,360 of the 7,813 accidents. The most accidents (3,827) occurred on the Interstate, followed by 1,511 on city streets and 1,217 on state routes.

IDOT’s site for work zone safety reports an average of more than 7,000 crashes a year. Motorists face a minimum $375 fine for violating the 45mph speed limit in work zones. Hitting a construction worker carries a penalty of 14 years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

The state offers the following tips to motorists to avoid Illinois construction zone car accidents:

-Understand where a work zone begins and ends and reduce speed accordingly.
-Slow down whether or not workers are present. Speeding penalties apply whether or not workers are present.
-The law requires motorists to move over to the next available lane or slow down when approaching emergency or highway maintenance vehicles with flashing lights.
-Don’t tailgate. One of the most common Illinois work zone accidents is a rear-end collision. Additionally, traffic in work zones frequently makes sudden stops.
-Expect the unexpected. Traffic patterns change frequently. Workers are often present. Lanes may be uneven or unmarked.
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In Chicago, Illinois two construction workers were injured on the job Sunday after a trench collapsed.

Fire crews spent four hours digging the two men out of the trench after the sides collapsed, trapping them, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Chicago construction accident trapped the men up to their waist in dirt at the bottom of a six-foot-deep hole in an alley on North Dover Street after the sides collapsed about 2 p.m., according to a fire department spokesman.

A boy was crushed to death this week in a Chicago construction accident after he fell from a front loader being driven by his father, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Bystanders were alerted by the father’s shouts at the South Side building being converted to condos. Investigators believe the boy, Valente Torres, 9, fell from his father’s lap atop the front loader and was killed by the front loader’s falling bucket of dirt.

He was still on his feet when his father rushed to his aid shortly before 10 a.m..

A Chicago area worker was injured when he fell 25-feet to the bottom of an empty tank at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant Tuesday afternoon, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center.

The male worker was apparently sandblasting a section of tank when he fell into the empty tank. He was alert and conscious when rescued. Co-workers noticed the accident and called for help about 1:45 p.m., according to Stickney Fire Chief Larry Meyer.

A team of firefighters used ladders to rescue the worker from the tank and he was taken to Mount Sanai Hospital in Chicago with undisclosed injuries.

In Chicago Heights, Illinois a man was killed by a crane accident at a steel plant, according to the Chicago Tribune. The victim, Heladio Ramirez, 32, a Calumet City resident, was operating a crane on Monday at Highway Steel Inc., when part of the crane fell and hit him. He was taken to St. James Hospital and Health Center in Chicago Heights, Illinois and he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The cause of the accident has not been reported. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

According to the United States Department of Labor, 5,488 workers were killed on the job last year throughout the country. 392 workers were killed in manufacturing jobs, and 20 of those workers were killed in primary metal manufacturing jobs, such as iron and steel mill occupations.

A construction worker was killed on Monday at the Trump Soho in New York City when a wooden mold used to set concrete collapsed and he fell 42 floors to his death, according to the New York Times. The worker who died in the construction accident was decapitated in the fall and landed in an alley on the west side of the site. Another worker was thrown from the 42nd floor, but was caught by a safety net on the 40th floor.

The cause of the work accident is still under investigation. The New York City Buildings Department has issued a stop work order on the project until the General Contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, can show that work will continue in a safe manner. Bovis was issued four safety violations as a result of the accident. There have been 11 previous building code violations at the project site.

This accident happened just weeks before the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago is scheduled to open. Five floors of the hotel are scheduled to open on January 30, 2008, according to the Chicago Tribune. The hotel will occupy floors 14-27, and the remaining levels are supposed to gradually open through the spring.

What is interesting is that as the hotel operates, there will still be a large construction project going on overhead as crews work to complete the 92 story tower. You have to question if Chicagoans will feel safe entering the hotel in light of the N.Y.C. accident. The hotel was originally scheduled to open December 3, 2007 but Trump was delayed in obtaining a city occupancy permit due to still having to complete fire safety work. Continue reading

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