Warehouse Accidents

Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Helping Employees in Chicago

Work duties that require employees to remain in warehouses may include inventory management, labeling, assembly, loading trucks, and making other transportation arrangements. Employees who work in a warehouse may be at risk of serious injuries when performing their work-related tasks, and the losses caused by an industrial accident are often devastating. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured workers in their claims for workers’ compensation benefits. Illinois law protects workers hurt in a warehouse accident, providing a legal right to financial assistance. Our Chicago job injury attorneys make it a goal to use our experience and knowledge to advocate for maximum benefits. Providing compassionate and effective representation, we can help you file a claim or appeal a denial as needed.

Employees Have a Right to Benefits After Suffering Injuries in a Warehouse Accident

From fall injuries to truck accidents, workers moving materials from one place to another in a warehouse may be struck by vehicles, fall from ladders, or be injured at loading docks. Industrial lift trucks may also injure workers, as may falling loads. Forklifts are often used in warehouses to move or remove objects, and forklift-related accidents, such as overturning and crushing workers, sometimes lead to catastrophic injuries.

All workers are entitled to work in a safe environment and to assert their right to compensation provided by Illinois law. After suffering an injury in a warehouse accident, workers may file a claim with their employer’s insurance company or the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The purpose of filing a claim is to recover benefits for harm caused by the industrial accident. Compensation after a warehouse accident typically provides for medical costs, disability payments, and lost wages.

The types of workers’ compensation benefits that may be awarded to employees injured in a warehouse accident depend on the severity of the injury and whether a permanent physical loss has resulted. Temporary partial disability benefits are awarded to claimants who are healing and are capable of part-time work. Permanent partial disability benefits cover the loss of use of a body part, while the permanent loss of both feet or hands, for example, may entitle a worker to permanent total disability benefits.

If a warehouse accident has led to a fatality, death and survivor benefits are typically available under workers’ compensation laws. The primary beneficiaries of survivor benefits are surviving spouses of the fatally injured worker and their children under 18. Parents of the deceased worker, or others who depended upon the employee for financial support, may receive benefits. In most cases, benefits are calculated at two-thirds of the employee’s gross average weekly wage in the year prior to the fatal injury.

Warehouse accidents may be caused by heavy equipment, such as forklifts. If the forklift was defective, and the manufacturer failed to provide a safe product, they may also be held accountable in a third-party personal injury claim. Employees would be able to assert a separate case against this third party, in addition to their workers’ compensation claim. Damages in a third-party claim typically include compensation for pain and suffering, as well as lost income and other accident-related losses. In other words, a third-party claim generally provides for a larger extent of recovery than a workers’ compensation claim.

Retain a Dedicated Chicago Lawyer to Help with a Warehouse Accident Claim

If you or someone close to you has been hurt in an industrial accident in a warehouse, an experienced Chicago lawyer at Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca can help. Our workers’ compensation attorneys are skilled at advancing a strong case for benefits, based on medical documentation and testimony. For decades, we have asserted the rights of injured workers and their families, including people in Aurora, Champaign, Quincy, Rockford, Springfield, and other areas of Kane, Cook, Winnebago, Adams, Sangamon, and Champaign Counties. To schedule a free consultation with a lawyer, call us at 312-724-5846 or contact us online.