When does the law help workers and their loved ones suffering in the aftermath of a job injury caused by an employer’s safety failures?
Some of the most dangerous jobs in the entire country are found here in Illinois and Indiana, where every day workers face unacceptably high risks of catastrophic bodily injuries or death in the best of conditions. Working construction, driving large semi-trucks, warehousing: these are inherently dangerous worksites. However, as safety organizations and those who advocate for worker victims and their loved ones understand all too well, employees are at even greater risk. See, What are the Most Dangerous Jobs in Chicagoland? and What Is The Most Dangerous Job in Indiana and Illinois?
Far too many employers, as well as others with legal duties of safety and care for workers on the job, are failing in meeting their responsibilities regardless of mandate. Their decision may be based upon neglect or even an intentional decision to put profits over people.
Workers are getting hurt or killed on the job because of the failures of those in power, possession, or control of their jobsite to obey safety laws.
And when this happens, there is only one avenue for justice available to these work accident victims to obtain financial recompense, although there are three ways that the wrongdoers can be held accountable under the law.
1. Criminal Action Against Those Responsible for the Accident
There are times when state or federal prosecutors actually file criminal charges based upon a work accident where one or more workers have been seriously hurt or killed. Usually, these are tragic events where someone has died in an egregious manner.
For instance, after a construction worker was killed in a crushing accident involving over 1000 pounds of cinderblocks and metal sheeting falling on top of him, three contractors were indicted for manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in a 2023 New York case. A trench collapse on a Connecticut construction site resulted in criminal charges of reckless endangerment in 2021. And, a semi-truck driver was charged with battery and criminal mischief after an arrest for driving under the influence in wrong-way interstate crash in Arkansas on October 3, 2024.
For injured workers and those advocating for worker victims, the idea that horrific work accidents should be considered for criminal action is reasonable. However, should these cases be successfully prosecuted, they will not help the victim and their families to recover from the accident’s aftermath. While there may be some access to victim’s assistance, the goal of these cases is to punish for violation of criminal laws. Success is defined in sentencing, not financial compensation for those who have suffered.
2. Government Penalties and Fines
Most workers in Chicagoland, Illinois, and Indiana are well aware of federal safety regulations overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) as implemented by our local OSHA State Plans. For details, read Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
The government has the power to investigate work accidents and impose financial penalties upon those found to be in violation of safety laws.
These penalties can be significant. For example, the horrific death of a sawmill supervisor in a caught-in-between accident involving a woodchipper in August 2023 resulted in OSHA proposed penalties totaling $2,471,683 for both the company employer as well as its two owners. Read, “US Department of Labor proposes nearly $2.5 million in penalties for Alabama sawmill, finds willful disregard for safety led to fatality,” released by OSHA on February 22, 2024.
And in January 2025, these civil monetary penalties were increased by the federal government. They will apply to all citations issued on or after January 16, 2025, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act.
Of importance to worker victims and their loved ones, these penalties, once collected in sum or in payment plans, are not forwarded to those who have suffered injury or death caused by the federal safety violations. Instead, the monetary penalties are deposited in the U.S. Treasury General Fund.
3. Civil Damage Claims
For victims of an on-the-job accident in Illinois or Indiana, the harm that not only the worker suffers, but the consequences experienced by their loved ones can be excruciating and extensive. Family members are harmed, too, when a worker is hurt or killed on the job.
In today’s system of justice, the way that these victims can seek redress from those responsible for the accident is through civil personal injury laws based upon things like negligence, premises liability, product liability, and the like. Specific statutes and court case precedent provide details into the things that they can seek in recompense.
These are distinguished from the benefits that can be found under state workers’ compensation laws where employer liability insurance policies cover certain claims. For more, read: The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois and Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages.
Worker victims and their loved ones have the legal opportunity to independently investigate the incident, determine the causes for the event and those responsible for those causes, and pursue legal action against them for damages. Damages will be defined by law and provided not only for the worker but for specified family members under statute.
To learn more about damages, see:
- 10 Types of Injury Damages That May Be Awarded to Accident Victims
- Damages are Different: Workers Compensation vs. Third Party Personal Injury Claims
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
The worker-victim has the duty to file these personal injury claims within a certain timeframe set by law, called the “limitations deadline.” Even if the defendants know they caused the victim’s harm, they have absolutely no legal obligation to help the victim or the victim’s family. In fact, advocates understand that most of these claims will be met with denials of responsibility and often shockingly aggressive attempts to avoid financial liability for what they have caused.
The bottom line here is that in Illinois and Indiana, work accidents cause life-altering harm and overwhelming financial impact which only injury claims and lawsuits address. Criminal cases are great, but the victims do not get help for their very real medical expenses, lost wages, etc. And safety violations may result in penalties, but those payments go to the government not the accident victim.
Justice for Worker Victims After a Serious Job Injury in Illinois or Indiana
While many voices argue against things like “nuclear verdicts” when injured victims are awarded significant amounts in verdicts against wrongdoing companies, the reality is two-fold.
For one thing, the only avenue for justice provided to these workers and their families is in civil lawsuits seeking monetary damages for wrongful acts. Those who caused the harm should pay for what they have done: it’s the right thing to do — and usually they have to be forced by law to do so.
Secondly, the sad truth is that too many employers, and others with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the workplace, do not place worker safety at a high enough priority on their sites. Consider the reality that the basic fall protection safety regulation has been the top violation found by OSHA for over the past dozen years. Read, Fall Protection on the Job Remains Top OSHA Safety Violation for 12th Straight Year.
For most employers who disrespect or disregard safety on the jobsite, money is a language they understand. It is through personal injury claims, settlements, awards, and judgments that companies may finally heed the need to protect those people whose daily work provides them with their revenues and profits.
To learn more, see:
- 10 Types of Workers Compensation Benefits After a Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana
- Accident Reconstruction Experts and Injury Claims
- Why a Lawyer who is a Trial Attorney Is Important for Accident Victims in Personal Injury Cases
- Deadlines for Injury Victims to File Lawsuits: Statutes of Limitations
- Chicago Road Construction Worker Accidents: List of Third Parties Potentially Liable for On-the-Job Injuries
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Semi-Truck Crashes: Who Can Be Held Legally Responsible for Commercial Trucking Accidents in Indiana and Illinois?
Civil work injury claims provide avenues for justice to worker victims and their families where they can get financial recompense for on-the-job accidents. Too many employers are putting workers at risk of harm here in Illinois and Indiana. Please be careful out there!
