Construction work in the Metro East region keeps communities moving. Rebuilding stretches of I-255 through St. Clair County, improving interchanges along I-64 near O’Fallon and Shiloh — these are real people doing genuinely dangerous work every single day. And when something goes wrong on a job site, the consequences can be severe and long-lasting.
At Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, we have spent decades helping injured construction workers across St. Clair County and the surrounding Metro East area navigate what comes next. If you’ve been hurt on a job site, understanding what kind of accident occurred matters, because it shapes what legal options may be available to you. Illinois law provides protections for injured workers, and in many cases those protections go beyond basic workers’ compensation. Our team handles Illinois construction accident claims involving a range of serious injuries, and we want you to understand the landscape before you make any decisions about your case.
Three types of accidents come up again and again in construction injury cases. Falls from heights. Trench and ditch collapses. Injuries involving construction vehicles and heavy equipment. Each one carries its own set of risks, its own legal considerations, and its own set of questions about who may be responsible.
Falls from Scaffolding, Roofs, and Other Heights
Falls are, by a significant margin, one of the leading causes of serious injury and death on construction sites nationwide. That’s not a surprise to anyone who has spent time around job sites. What surprises people is how often these falls happen even when safety rules are clearly in place.
Federal safety standards require employers to provide fall protection when workers are operating at certain heights. Guardrails, safety nets, and personal fall arrest systems are among the required protections. Scaffolding platforms that are more than ten feet above a lower level must have guardrails on all open sides. A qualified person is required to inspect scaffolding before each work shift. These aren’t suggestions. They’re requirements with teeth.
And yet, violations related to fall protection are among the most frequently cited safety infractions on Illinois construction sites year after year. Scaffolding that isn’t properly anchored. Roofing jobs where harnesses aren’t provided. Platforms that haven’t been inspected. The thing about Illinois winters — actually, let me back up. It’s not just the weather. Even in mild conditions, a scaffold that hasn’t been checked, or a roof edge without a proper guardrail, can result in catastrophic injuries in a fraction of a second.
Falls from roofs, scaffolding, ladders, and elevated platforms can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, broken bones, and internal injuries. Many of these injuries require lengthy recovery periods. Some result in permanent disability. Workers who suffer these kinds of falls may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under Illinois law, which operates as a no-fault system. That means you generally don’t have to prove your employer caused the accident to pursue benefits. The focus is on whether the injury arose out of and occurred in the course of employment.
But workers’ compensation often doesn’t tell the whole story. If a third party, such as a scaffolding manufacturer whose equipment was defective, or a subcontractor who failed to install proper guardrails, contributed to the fall, a separate personal injury claim may also be available. Illinois law generally allows two years to file a third-party construction accident lawsuit against the party responsible for the harm. That window can move faster than people expect when they’re focused on recovery.
Getting Trapped in a Trench or Ditch Collapse
This one is hard to overstate. A cubic yard of soil can weigh well over a ton. When trench walls collapse, workers can be buried under thousands of pounds of earth in seconds. Survival often depends on how quickly rescue crews can respond, and in many cases, even a rapid response isn’t enough.
Trench collapses are not freak accidents. They are, in a very real sense, predictable events that happen when safety requirements aren’t followed. Federal standards require protective systems for trenches deeper than five feet. These systems include shoring, shielding, sloping, or benching. A competent person is required to inspect trenches daily and whenever conditions change, such as after heavy rain or nearby soil disturbance. Spoil piles must be kept at least two feet from the edge. Egress routes must be available.
Illinois has seen these failures play out in real cases. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 39 workers were killed in trench collapses in 2022.
Illinois workers’ compensation may cover medical expenses and a portion of lost wages after a trench collapse. But when the injuries are severe, and they often are, workers’ comp alone rarely accounts for the full impact of what happened. Pain and suffering, full wage loss, and long-term disability aren’t covered by the workers’ compensation system. Those damages may be recoverable through a third-party claim, depending on the circumstances.
Injuries Involving Construction Vehicles and Heavy Equipment
Construction sites in the Metro East area involve a lot of moving machinery. Excavators, dump trucks, forklifts, cranes, concrete mixers, and heavy transport vehicles operate in close proximity to workers on foot. That combination creates serious risks, and injuries from construction vehicle accidents can be among the most severe on any job site.
Workers can be struck by vehicles that operators can’t see clearly. They can be pinned between a piece of equipment and a fixed structure. They can be caught in machinery during loading or unloading operations. On highway construction projects, for example, stretches of I-64 or Route 159 in Fairview Heights, workers are also exposed to passing traffic, which creates a separate category of risk entirely.
Consider a scenario where a worker is directing traffic near a road construction zone and is struck by a distracted motorist who drifted into the work zone. That worker may have a workers’ compensation claim against their employer and a separate personal injury claim against the driver who caused the accident. Illinois law generally allows both claims to proceed at the same time. The workers’ comp system covers medical bills and partial wage replacement. The third-party personal injury claim can pursue compensation for pain and suffering, full wage loss, and other damages that workers’ comp doesn’t address.
Equipment defects are another hazard. When defective tools, equipment, or vehicles cause a workplace injury, there is potential for a claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or even a rental company that provided the equipment. If a crane malfunctions because of a design defect, or a forklift’s braking system fails, the injured worker may have options beyond what workers’ compensation provides.
Taking timely legal action is important. Illinois law generally provides two years to file a third-party personal injury lawsuit. Workers’ compensation claims have their own separate notice and filing deadlines. These timelines can overlap in ways that create real complications, and missing a deadline can mean losing the right to pursue certain forms of compensation entirely.
What Illinois Law Provides for Injured Construction Workers
Illinois law requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance, and the system is designed to provide injured workers with access to medical care, wage replacement, and disability benefits without having to prove fault. Notice to your employer is generally required within 45 days of the injury, and there are separate deadlines for filing a formal claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Workers’ compensation is often just the starting point. Illinois law also allows injured workers to pursue third-party claims against parties other than their employer when those parties contributed to the accident. Subcontractors, general contractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, and other drivers are among the parties who may bear responsibility depending on the circumstances of the accident.
Most people hire lawyers too late. By then, half the evidence is gone. Job sites get cleared. Equipment gets repaired or replaced. Witnesses become harder to locate. We’ve seen cases where a quick response made a significant difference in what could be recovered for a client, and cases where delays complicated things substantially.
If you or someone you care about has been injured in a construction accident in St. Clair County or anywhere in the Metro East area, we want to hear from you. Contact Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP for a consultation. We’ll take the time to understand what happened and help you figure out what options may be available.