Construction workers who live in the greater Chicago area truly put their lives at risk every day they go to work to support their families. While there are lots of rules and other precautions in place to protect them, the reality is construction sites are dangerous places. Even a little carelessness on the part of an employer or other party can mean a construction worker does not come home alive after his or her shift.
When this happens, families have a right to expect that those responsible for the death of their loved ones do what they can to make the situation right. This means among other things that families should get fully compensated for the financial losses they suffer because of the untimely death of their relative including lost wages, medical bills, funeral expenses, and other expenses. They should also get some financial acknowledgement for the anguish and suffering they have to endure as a result of the tragedy.
It is true that the vast majority of construction workers are covered by their employers’ workers’ compensation insurance, and these benefits are helpful, particularly with respect to medical bills and funeral expenses. However, it would not be fair to say that workers’ compensation, standing alone, gives full compensation to families who have lost loved ones.
This is why our law office makes it its mission to help families recover full compensation from those who are at fault for an untimely death. Our approach is to investigate each accident fully and identify all parties who bear some of the blame for the accident. To the extent possible, we hold general contractors, landowners and even sub-contractors accountable for their role in a fatal construction accident.
