Chicago Workplace Safety Attorneys
Failures by employers or contractors to follow state and federal safety regulations too often result in death or injury to workers, or even to worksite visitors or passersby. That is why the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) inspects workplaces and investigates complaints about hazardous conditions.
Just last month, a regional OSHA news release announced that a Berkeley, Illinois industrial cleaning company was being fined for workplace safety violations after the death of a worker who fell from a ladder inside of a storage tank, apparently after inhaling toxic fumes at a chemical manufacturing facility on Nov. 29, 2012.
The company cleans cooking exhaust vents, storage tanks, silos, and other equipment at various industrial and commercial job sites, and was cited for numerous serious OSHA violations, including:
- Failing to develop and implement a confined space entry program;
- Failing to train workers on acceptable entry conditions;
- Failing to provide adequate safety testing and monitoring equipment;
- Failing to provide emergency rescue equipment;
- Failing to evaluate respiratory hazards;
- Failing to conduct medical evaluations on workers;
- Failing to provide effective safety garments and equipment; and
- Failing to provide information and training on dealing with specific chemicals, such as methylene chloride, the toxic chemical involved in the worker’s death.
Diane Turek, OSHA’s area director for the Chicago North Area office in Des Plaines, said that the cleaning company “failed in its responsibility to evaluate working conditions, and provide proper respiratory and personal protective equipment to workers cleaning storage tanks containing hazardous chemicals.”
These kinds of failures to maintain safe conditions at a worksite can affect not only workers, but workplace guests, contractors, and others. They can also form the basis of a legal claim for injuries resulting from negligence or hazardous conditions.
If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury because of hazardous conditions or possible safety violations at a worksite, warehouse, industrial facility or other site, you may have a right to compensation in addition to or outside of any workers’ compensation system claims. Whether or not you are an employee or contractor, you may have a claim when injured at a worksite; and you are not necessarily confined to the workmen’s compensation system if you are an employee, depending on the facts of your situation.
If you or a loved one has been in a worksite accident and need legal assistance, do not hesitate to contact our office at (312) 477-2500 to speak with a qualified personal injury attorney. You can also check out our Website for more information about our law firm, Cogan & Power, P.C.