Situation:
Was Construction Worker Entitled to Compensation for Stress and Fears About his Job?

Our construction accident client had spent almost half of his life (he was 31 at the time of the construction accident) working in construction as a cement finisher and had become one of most sought-after workers in his field. One day, he was working on his hands and knees smoothing out a concrete lower deck at the Soldier Field renovation project when an iron worker, working 40 feet directly above him, dropped a 7-pound steel pin that was headed directly for our client.

Just before the pin hit, our client’s coworkers yelled for him to watch out and our client tried to scurry out of the way but the pin hit his leg causing relatively minor soft tissue injuries. Even though his physical injuries were not severe, our client was scarred emotionally from the construction accident with the realization that he could have very easily been killed in this mishap.

We sued the general contractor and first established that they were at fault for scheduling the iron workers to work directly above the cement finishers, a clear violation of OSHA. We then met with and took depositions of our client’s doctors because the general contractor refused to pay compensation for “mental suffering” such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Our client’s doctors, especially his psychiatrist, testified that our client had all of the signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, that his fears in returning to work in the same capacity were justified and that the mental injuries he had suffered due to the construction accident had dramatically changed his life.

Successful Resolution: $600,000+

When the construction accident case was only days away from the start of trial, the insurance company for the general contractor finally agreed to settle for $500,000.00 as well as a waiver of most of our client’s workers compensation lien (almost $130,000.00).

If you or a loved one is experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of an injury obtained at work, you may have a case. From our office in Chicago, Illinois, our team of experienced personal injury attorneys are here to speak with you about your injury.