Chicago Injury Attorneys Blog

April 12, 2022

AMAZON WORK INJURIES ARE ON THE RISE

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

A new report is showing little to no change in safety since Amazon pledged to become a safer company. During the early days of the pandemic, it was determined that for every 100 Amazon warehouse workers, 5.9 serious injuries were sustained. (source via CNBC) This was about 80% higher than the serious injuries suffered outside of Amazon’s warehouses. A new report indicates that Amazon employs 1/3 of all U.S. warehouse workers, but accounts for half the injuries. (source via Business Insider) Thus, it comes as no surprise that the recent pushes to unionize at Amazon facilities is driven more by safety concerns and far less by pay increases. (source via Yahoo News) Clearly, unionizing is on the rise at Amazon and it shows no signs of slowing. (source via Fox Business)

It appears that Amazon plans to introduce more robots, AI, and automation to make the warehouses safer for its employees. However, it seems more likely that Amazon only plans to spend money on automation to replace its workers one day. Until then, Amazon has a problem with its robotic warehouses being more dangerous than they need to be. At the Monee facility, 40 workers suffered severe injuries in 2018, and 25 were injured just during the holiday “peak” season, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. If you’ve been hurt in a workplace accident – at your Amazon warehouse job in Cicero, McKinley Park, Pullman, Humboldt Park, Maywood, Joliet, or elsewhere – be sure to reach out without delay to an experienced Chicago workplace injury attorney to discuss your case and find out your legal options.

[um-iframe src=”https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m12!1m8!1m3!1d95125.10825796555!2d-87.6876829!3d41.8356268!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!2m1!1sAmazon!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1649783383896!5m2!1sen!2sus” width=”400″ height=”300″ style=”border:0;” allowfullscreen=”” loading=”lazy” referrerpolicy=”no-referrer-when-downgrade”></iframe]

April 11, 2022

Un servicio de entrega de alimentos se enfrenta a una demanda en Illinois después de que un conductor atropella a una mujer del lado norte

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

Recientemente, hemos escuchado mucho sobre los peligros que representan los conductores inseguros que conducen para servicios como Uber y Lyft. Si bien la amenaza que representan los conductores que nunca debieron haber sido autorizados por sus servicios de viajes compartidos sigue siendo muy real, el problema va más allá de los conductores de viajes compartidos. Además de esos conductores, también existe un peligro similar que plantean ciertos conductores de entrega de alimentos (que conducen para servicios como Uber Eats, Door Dash y Grubhub), como lo ilustra un incidente aquí mismo en Chicago. Si un conductor de entrega de alimentos lo lastimó y no debería haber estado conduciendo para ese servicio, es posible que pueda iniciar una acción legal y recuperar la compensación que tanto necesita. Comuníquese con un abogado experto en lesiones de Chicago para obtener más información.

En este caso de Chicago, la plataforma que se llevó a los tribunales fue Grubhub. La víctima era un trabajador del restaurante Lake View East que fue atropellado y drogado por varios pies por un hombre que conducía para Grubhub. La mujer lesionada sufrió varias fracturas de huesos, según el Chicago Sun-Times . Esos incluyeron una pelvis rota, dos brazos rotos y fracturas en ambas piernas. También sufrió daños en los nervios de ambos brazos y requirió cirugía en ambos, según sus abogados.

En su demanda contra Grubhub, afirmó que contribuyó al gravísimo accidente por su negligencia. La aplicación de Grubhub supuestamente permitía al conductor, que no tenía licencia para conducir y (según Grubhub) no era uno de sus conductores autorizados, acceder a la plataforma a través de la cuenta de otra persona que era un conductor autorizado.

April 7, 2022

Desde los vehículos ‘totalmente autónomos’ de Tesla hasta las camionetas sin conductor de Waymo… Lo que puede significar para usted un accidente causado por un vehículo tecnológicamente mejorado en Illinois

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

Los coches autónomos vuelven a ser noticia. Según se informa, Uber está en negociaciones con un competidor, Aurora, en las que Uber vendería su Grupo de Tecnologías Avanzadas (que incluye la unidad de vehículos autónomos de Uber ) a Aurora. Además, Tesla está expandiendo lo que llama ” beta de conducción autónoma completa “. Las furgonetas Waymo sin conductor se hacen públicas en Arizona. Si bien todo esto puede parecer muy emocionante, queda el problema de la seguridad y los accidentes causados por los vehículos autónomos. Cuando eso sucede, y alguien resulta herido, ¿quién es responsable? Para obtener respuestas a esta y otras preguntas importantes, asegúrese de obtener la información que necesita de un abogado experto en accidentes automovilísticos de Chicago.

En algunas circunstancias, la ley puede dictar que la persona en el automóvil sea la responsable de las lesiones que sufrió, incluso si el vehículo estaba equipado con tecnología de conducción autónoma. Si, por ejemplo, la tecnología dentro del vehículo era meramente un programa de “asistencia al conductor” y el accidente ocurrió porque el humano no estaba prestando atención a la carretera, entonces esa persona será la que cargará con la mayor parte o la totalidad de las responsabilidades legales. responsabilidad.

Sin embargo, hay varias situaciones en las que un accidente causado por un vehículo equipado con tecnología puede ofrecerle más oportunidades legales más allá de solo demandar a la persona detrás del volante. Por ejemplo, las furgonetas autónomas de Waymo en el área de East Valley de Phoenix serán completamente sin conductor. No habrá ningún ser humano detrás del volante cuyo trabajo sea ayudar al vehículo. En un escenario en el que una furgoneta de Waymo provoque un accidente, entonces obviamente podría haber una oportunidad de emprender acciones legales contra Waymo y/o Alphabet, Inc., de los cuales Waymo es una división. (Las divisiones de Alphabet también incluyen a Google). En octubre, Venture Beat informó que los autos Waymo sin conductor estuvieron involucrados en 18 accidentes en 20 meses.

March 25, 2022

Settlements are completed much faster with CompFile and much better with Katz Friedman

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

We are lawyers and we pride ourselves on doing things the old-fashioned way and dotting every “I” and crossing every “t”. Lawyers have been using legal pads since the 19th century. We now live in an age of computers. Our office size will eventually shrink as we have less paper to store. We already scan all medical records we receive, and we send most correspondence by e-mail. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission now has all documents filed electronically through their CompFile system.

In the years since Harold Katz and Irv Friedman became partners in 1954, we have seen the advent of the fax machine and computers for typing letters and then for storing data. We have gone from fishing in our pockets for change to call a client to relay a settlement offer to making that call on a cell phone and then texting or emailing the terms to our secretary in the office.

We strive to retain the accessibility of the old-fashioned country lawyer who will meet you in your town, at your union hall or even in your home while keeping current and using technology to make life better for our clients.

March 21, 2022

Volkswagen recalls over 246,000 SUVs due to unexpected braking

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

Volkswagen is recalling more than 246,000 SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because faulty wiring harnesses can make them brake unexpectedly, sometimes while in traffic.

The recall comes three days after The Associated Press reported that 47 people had complained to U.S. safety regulators about the problem, some reporting nearly being rear-ended by other vehicles. Many reported that warning lights and alarms would go off, the driver’s side windows would roll down and the SUVs would suddenly brake while in traffic.

Volkswagen says in documents posted Friday by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the recall covers certain Atlas SUVs from the 2019 through ….

March 21, 2022

Recent Studies show SUVs, pickups hit pedestrians more often than cars do

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

DETROIT — Drivers of bigger vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs are more likely to hit pedestrians while making turns than drivers of cars, according to a new study.

The research released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety points to the increasing popularity of larger vehicles as a possible factor in rising pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads. The authors also questioned whether wider pillars holding up roofs of the larger vehicles make it harder for drivers to spot people walking near the corners of vehicles.

“The link between these vehicle types and certain common pedestrian crashes points to another way that the increase in SUVs on the roads might be changing the crash picture…

February 22, 2022

What Happens If Your Employer’s Insurance Company Claims it Has No Duty to Defend Your Workers’ Compensation Claim?

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

— KFEEJB Persuades Illinois Appellate Court to Stop Insurer from Ducking its Obligations….

The 1st District Appellate Court recently reversed a finding that a workers compensation insured lacked coverage due to the insured’s lack of cooperation with the insurer’s investigation of an employee’s alleged injury.

The case is Country Mutual Insurance Co. v. Under Construction & Remodeling, Inc., 2021 IL App (1st) 210600 (Dec. 22). The injured worker, an employee of Under Construction, was represented by A-R Igbadume and David Barish of Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca P.C.

February 22, 2022

Landmark legislation to combat sexual harassment in the work place

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

On February 10, 2022, Congress voted in favor of the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021”. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law in the near future. Just as the title indicates, this Act allows victims of sexual harassment and/or assault in the workplace to file lawsuits in state or federal court, ending the commonly used practice of employers forcing these types of claims into mandatory, confidential arbitrations. The law further renders any prior agreement to waive the right to proceed as a class or joint action unenforceable.

Typically, in Illinois when an employee is subjected to sexual harassment and/or assault at work, he or she will file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee and/or the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the state and federal agencies assigned to investigating these types of charges. If the charge is not resolved during that process, he or she will have the right to proceed to file a lawsuit in state or federal court. However, prior to this law’s passage, if the employee had signed an employment agreement prior to the incidents in question, he or she may have waived the right to file a lawsuit in court. Instead, the only option is to proceed to a private, confidential arbitration. It is estimated that over 60 million workers in the United States have waived this right as part of their employment contracts.

Most of the time, employers want to keep these types of lawsuits out of the court system and in private arbitration. These arbitrations typically proceed quickly, allowing for less time to prove the facts, and are less expensive for employers. Arbitrators often award lower damages than judges or juries award. The appeals process is typically much more difficult after arbitration than it is after a trial in court, and most cases end after the arbitrator’s decision has been rendered. If there are multiple victims of sexual harassment and/or assault pursuing their claims against the same employer, they must pursue those claims in separate arbitrations instead of as a class or jointly. Finally, and very importantly, arbitrations are almost always confidential, meaning that neither the general public, nor other victims, will know the outcome of the arbitrations. After the #MeToo movement, this is arguably very important to many employers.

February 16, 2022

Approaching a Workplace Injury Case in Illinois Where There Are Multiple ‘Intertwined’ Entities That All May Be Liable to You

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

Sometimes, in marketing material, an auto accident attorney might advertise a commitment to getting you “everything you deserve.” That may refer to things like seeking forms of damages beyond just lost wages and medical expenses, like pain-and-suffering or punitive damages. If you are someone who was injured in a workplace accident, you also have a strong need for an aggressive Chicago injury attorney to help you get “everything you deserve” as, in your case, it may involve much more than pleading alternate forms of damages.

In your workplace accident lawsuit, reaching an outcome where you get a full recovery may involve doing the right “digging” to spot all the people or entities who, despite being less than obvious, still owed you a duty and are still liable to you.

Take, for example, J.F.’s unfortunate forklift accident at work. J.F. was significantly injured when, as she operated her forklift, “a storage rack filled with merchandise collapsed” onto her and her forklift, causing her injuries.

January 31, 2022

Could Work Injury Rates in Amazon Warehouses in Illinois be Dramatically Higher when Robots are Utilized?

by Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, PC

According to Amazon, the introduction of robots and other AI devices was supposed to make things easier and safer for the human workers in the mega-corporation’s warehouses. In fact, Amazon still asserts that exact same thing. The statistics, though, don’t seem to mesh with that conclusion, as they point to much higher injury rates at warehouses with robots as opposed to those without robots. What we can definitely deduce from these statistics is that, at these warehouses with robots, injuries are occurring at a very high reported rate that greatly exceeds the industry average. If you’ve been hurt in a workplace accident – at your Amazon warehouse job or elsewhere – be sure to reach out without delay to an experienced Chicago workplace injury attorney to discuss your case and find out your legal options.

Back in 2019, Amazon’s CEO of consumer business told PBS that robots “make the job safer.” The Center of Investigative Journalism did an in-depth analysis of the accidents reported at Amazon’s warehouses across the country and it found that those accident reports told a much different story.

The Center, on its RevealNews.com website, revealed that Amazon’s accident reports showed that, at Amazon warehouses that ship small- to medium-sized packages, “the rate of serious injuries from 2016 to 2019 was more than 50% higher at warehouses with robots than ones without. Even when faced with those numbers, Amazon continued to stress that robots made “jobs safer and more efficient.”