A variety of accident experts from different fields may be needed to determine the factual causes of a Chicagoland warehouse accident.
Working in a warehouse anywhere in the Chicago area comes with a shockingly high risk of serious or fatal injury in a work accident. Consider this: the National Safety Council, a worldwide leader in safety matters based in Itasca, warns that warehousing (and its transportation component) ranks as one of the four most dangerous industries in the United States.
For more, read: Chicagoland Warehouse Workers: Common Work Accident Injuries; and Growing Danger of Serious or Deadly Warehouse Accidents in Chicagoland.
There are lots of reasons why workers in any Chicago warehouse worksite face such danger. The machinery, equipment, and tools needed in most warehousing jobs come with hazards. Trucks, forklifts, and other vehicles can cause harm. Loading docks, scaffolds, assembly areas all come with risk. The premises may be failing in some way (think live wires or slippery floors). Even bad weather comes with danger to a warehouse worksite.
The speed and hubbub in most warehouse environments also contribute to the likelihood of accidents. Added to this are all the different types of companies and individuals who all have legal obligations of care and safety to keep people safe in these places (who may fail or breach those duties). Read, List of Possible Warehouse Third-Party Injury Claims in Chicagoland Work Accidents.
Legal Claims for Warehouse Work Accidents: Accident Victim Must Investigate and File
When someone does get seriously injured on the job in a Chicago area warehouse, there are laws in place to help them and their families. Personal injury, product liability, premises liability, and negligence claims for damages may be available to them where significant monetary damages may be awarded.
However, the warehouse worker victim cannot expect those who breached legal duties of care to step up and admit their liability. They have no legal requirement to do so. In fact, they are often very busy from within minutes of a serious or fatal warehouse accident working with insurance carriers to find ways to limit or block any financial exposure.
It will be the job of the warehouse worker, already facing the aftermath of a life-altering accident and its lengthy medical care, financial hardships, pain and suffering, psychological trauma, etc. to fight for right and not only investigate but file those third-party civil injury claims. It is here that an experienced personal injury law firm with a record of dealing with warehouse injury cases can be invaluable.
However, both the advocate and the worker will need help to meet their factual burden of establishing every detail of what happened that day (or night) and every individual and business that is culpable for factors that contributed to the accident and its harm.
Experts Investigating Warehouse Worker Accidents in Chicagoland
Just as there are a great many different types of warehouse operations in our part of the country, there will be all sorts of professionals whose expertise may be needed to assess and to confirm liability after a severe work accident in any warehouse facility. Different fields will bring different knowledge and experience to the table.
Of note, just as the warehouse work accident victim is building their case with the help of these experts, those with legal liability will be working with their own set of experts. They will try to minimize their particular exposure – or perhaps point the finger at others at the worksite as having a bigger contribution to the event.
List of Possible Warehouse Accident Experts
These warehouse job injury experts include the following:
- Safety Expert. These professionals are experts in the safety regulations and industrial safety standards that apply to all aspects of the warehouse workplace. They will understand the various regulations defined by federal law and how they apply in the particular circumstance. Was there a violation because of inadequate lighting at the accident site? Had the machinery or equipment not been properly inspected and maintained? Were warning labels or signs missing? Was PPE not provided?
- Product Expert. In some horrific accidents, the victim suffers bodily harm from some type of product, which might be as small as a power tool, to as large as a forklift or crane. These experts review the accident site as well as the product itself, and form an opinion on things like defective design, defective manufacture, failures in repair, maintenance, or replacement.
- Human Factors Expert. Given that so many workers are on the job in many of the Chicagoland warehouses at any given moment, there may be a need to bring in a human factors expert to explain how all these people may have impacted things either before or after the accident. These are experts in human behavior who can identify things like lack of training; insufficient training; pushing to deadline and resulting fatigue; and miscommunications which can all contribute to a serious on-the-job injury.
- Occupational Health Expert. Within the medical profession there are experts focusing upon the area of occupational health. They will be able to identify and explain not only the physical components of the injury suffered in the accident, but the severity of the bodily harm and how various failures in duties of care contributed to it. These health experts can also provide evidence on the long-term ramifications of the bodily injury on the worker’s ability to work in the future.
- Reconstruction Expert. These experts will review all the details of the event, from documentation and digital data to witness statements. They will also consider the determinations of other experts and the opinions they have reached regarding the incident. Together with their software capabilities, education, and experience these reconstructionists will determine second-by-second what all was going on in that jobsite both before and after the incident occurred. Their presentations can then be presented in court as needed.
Claims for Injury Damages After Warehouse Accident in Chicago
Successfully achieving justice after a serious or deadly warehouse injury while on the job in Chicagoland will involve (1) the worker-victim courageously fighting for right alongside (2) his loved ones, and (3) the involvement of a legal advocate as well as (4) invaluable experts whose opinions will define and explain those who have caused the accident and its consequences.
While each case is different, and deserving of individual respect and evaluation, it is generally true that one or more expert opinions will be necessary for the warehouse worker accident victim to meet the legal burden of proof and prove up their right to damages. The importance of determining what expertise is necessary, and what individual experts should be hired is vital to the victim’s pursuit of justice.
For more on damages, read:
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages
- 10 Types of Injury Damages That May Be Awarded to Accident Victims
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
Warehouse facilities, in all their variety, fill Chicagoland and provide many workers with a steady livelihood. Working in warehouse jobsites, however, is extremely dangerous. Any one of a number of duties of safety, if ignored or disrespected, can cause tragedy in a moment. Please be careful out there!
