For industrial workers and their families dealing with the consequences of a severe or fatal on-the-job accident, there must be the determination of every party who may have legal liability. Each case deserves individual consideration; no two accidents are identical.
Any workplace accident in Illinois or Indiana may result in a legal right to pursue a monetary claim for damages against an employer and any third parties responsible for what has happened. This may include the landowner; machinery or equipment manufacturers, designers, or maintenance companies; other contractors on the site; architects; engineers; and more.
Each on-the-job accident must be independently investigated to confirm the scope of responsibility under the law because discovered facts may reveal several different companies or individuals are liable.
The complexities do not end here. Determining potential defendants is a separate issue from confirming those who are suffering and to whom these defendants may owe financial redress.
People Who Can File Legal Damage Claims After an Industrial Work Accident
Determining everyone who can claim damages after a work accident is a question that must always be answered. Several people may be able to file claims. The injured worker will be a claimant, of course. Other claimants may be the spouse, children, parents, other family members, and possibly the official representative of the accident victim’s probate estate in the event of the worker’s death.
Things can get murky. The jurisdiction (federal or state); the type of law (e.g., workers’ compensation; wrongful death; personal injury); probate matters; employment status of the worker at the time of the accident; and the worker’s marital status and legally-defined familial relationships will all play a factor in determining who can claim damages after a work accident in Indiana or Illinois.
It is not always easy to answer the question of who may be eligible to file claims for justice after an on-the-job accident here in Illinois and Indiana.
The Legal Concept of Standing
Not everyone who suffers when someone dies or suffers catastrophic injuries in an industrial accident will be eligible for recompense, no matter how flagrant the wrongdoing of the defendants in the incident. Under state and federal law, only those with “standing” can file a legal claim for injury damages. If the claimant cannot prove standing, then the defendant will be able to get the claim dismissed.
What is standing?
Under federal jurisprudence and Illinois and Indiana state laws, limitations are created for who can, and cannot, seek civil injury claims after an accident. Those who can do so have “standing to sue.”
For instance, state laws have lists identifying who is eligible for workers’ compensation or personal injury claim benefits. The heartbroken surviving spouse in a fatal work accident will have standing in both Indiana and Illinois. A grieving girlfriend may not. Under federal law, there is a legal “injury-in-fact” test to determine who has standing to sue which the claimant must establish in a federal claim. For more, read Hall, Matthew, and Christian Turner. “The Nature of Standing.” Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 29 (2020): 67.
Therefore, under state and federal law, each person suffering after an industrial accident will have to confirm their standing to bring a claim for damages against the wrongdoers.
Workers’ Compensation or Personal Injury Claims
Many years ago, legislation was passed by both federal and state lawmakers to protect workers who are hurt or killed on the job in a work accident. These are known as “workers’ compensation laws.” Not only are there independent workers’ compensation statutes that apply in Illinois and Indiana but there are federal statutes that protect victims in worksite accidents here in some industrial situations.
In any work accident, defining who can file claims will involve referencing the workers’ compensation laws that apply to the industrial incident where someone got hurt. A railroad conductor injured on the job in Indianapolis, for instance, may have a federal injury claim under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (“FELA”). The railroad work accident will not be covered by state law.
For more, read:
- Workers Compensation in Indiana and Illinois: Work-Related Injuries and the Fight Against Corporate Greed
- Railroaders: Railroad Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- Work Injuries and On-the-Job Accidents in Indiana and Illinois With Federal Law Protections: FELA, Jones Act, LHWCA, DBA
Work accidents must also be investigated to see if claims exist outside of worker’s compensation. All too often, there will be incidents where legal liability involves third parties who are liable for their breaches of worker safety under personal injury laws. For example, the failure of a component in heavy machinery to protect against an explosion in LOTO repair may create a legal responsibility for payment of damages not only for the employer or the landowner, but for the manufacturer, designer, engineer, and others who were involved in the design, creation, and installation of that component and the machine.
For more, read:
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Lockout and Tagout (LOTO) Injuries on the Job: a Top Ten OSHA Safety Violation.
In personal injury matters, there will be different laws to reference to confirm which individuals may file as claimants for injury damages. These laws may provide redress for different people than those listed in the state or federal worker’s compensation statutes.
Who Are the Work Accident Claimants?
Once the accident has been investigated, the applicable laws researched, and those parties with legal responsibility recognized, then the claimants can be identified and the challenge of proceeding down their avenues for justice will begin. Among them:
The Injured Worker
The worker victim will file the primary claim in any work accident. This may be an injured worker who has suffered a severe or permanent bodily injury on the job. It may also be a claim filed on behalf of a worker who perished as a result of work accident injuries. The injured worker’s death does not bar the worker’s legal claim for justice against those whose wrongdoing caused the fatality.
Estate Representative
When a worker dies from bodily harm sustained in an on-the-job accident, then state probate law comes into play. The personal representative of the deceased worker’s estate will file the claim on behalf of the decedent. If the worker leaves a will, then it will name this person (“executor”). If not, state law will appoint someone to act as the estate’s legal representative (“administrator”).
For more, read : Death on the Job: Industrial Accident Fatalities in Illinois and Indiana.
The Independent Contractor
Sometimes, there will be a catastrophic industrial work accident where there is no employer-employee relationship under the law. Here, the worker victim may still file legal claims for justice against those responsible for the work accident as an “independent contractor.”
Companies do not have to provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage for independent contractors, which saves them money when on-the-job accidents happen. This can result in complicated legal fights, as seen in the national news coverage regarding ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft seeking to avoid injury responsibility under an “independent contractor” argument.
For more read:
- Chicago Uber and Lyft Ridesharing Accident Cases are Different from Other Illinois Motor Vehicle Accident Claims.
- Ridesharing and Traffic Fatalities: Driver Fatigue and Drowsy Driving as a Public Safety Risk
- Local Amazon Warehouses Under Federal Investigation for Both Worker Dangers and Fraudulent Conduct
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care.
Family Members Who Can Claim Damages for On-the-Job Accidents
In workers’ compensation statutes, family members may be given recognition for their suffering after an on-the-job accident. Spouses and minor children, for instance, may be provided benefits. Other family members may also be eligible as claimants if statutory considerations are met.
For instance, parents and dependent family members who financially relied upon the worker may also be claimants.
Death of the Worker
If the worker dies as a result of the injuries suffered in the accident, there may also be coverage for things like funeral costs to help the family. The statutes may also allow for things like lost earnings benefits to help the family, which may be provided as weekly payments in an amount that is calculated based upon the worker’s average weekly pay in the year prior to death.
Claims for Justice After Work Accident
Federal law and the state statutes of Indiana and Illinois all provide avenues for justice to workers who are hurt on the job and their loved ones. However, determining which laws apply to the accident will also involve identifying who can file as a claimant to seek redress against those responsible for the tragedy.
It can be complicated to determine the claimants with a legal right to damages after a worker has been seriously injured or fatally harmed in a workplace accident here in Indiana or Illinois. Dependent family members, spouses, minor children, and the personal representative of the deceased worker’s estate may all have legal rights to assert.
For more, read:
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- Workers Beware: BLS Reports Highest US Worker Death Rate in 5 Years.
In Indiana and Illinois, workers will work each day in some of the most dangerous and deadly working conditions of recent years. The danger of a serious on-the-job work accident is unacceptably great today. Allen Law Group serves victims in Columbia City, Chicago, Fort Wayne, Merrillville and most of Illinois and Indiana. Please be careful out there!
