Legal Question in Workers Comp in Illinois
exposure to harmful vapors
company makes a decision to evaporate waste cleaning compounds, coolants, ect. instead of paying to have them hauled off. i and several others were exposed with regularity; some daily; to these evaporated fumes. after 2 years some became ill; sinus surgery; sever bronchitas; i developed pnumonia; in intensive care for 24 days and almos died. the company did nothing to protect us from harmful fumes for over 2 years. can the be held liable for any thing other than work comp laws provide. we complained in safety meetings for better exhaust system. then when i almost die from pnumonia the installed better exhaust. the story is much more detailed than written. it seems to me they should be responsible for intetionl neglagence
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: exposure to harmful vapors
You may have a claim under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act or related Occuptational Disease Act. Feel free to contact my office for a free consultation at 312--357--1431.
Re: exposure to harmful vapors
As a general rule, workers compensation is the exclusive remedy for injuries that occur or arise out of your employment.
Workers' compensation laws are designed to ensure that employees who are injured on the job receive fixed monetary awards, without having to litigate their claims against their employers.
In this way, workers' compensation is an important safety net for employees when they are injured on the job or as a result of their job.
Most workers' compensation laws also provide employers and co-workers with a certain level of protection, by limiting the amount employees can recover from their employers, and prohibiting, in most cases, injured employees from suing their co-workers.
In essence, workers' compensation is a no-fault system, where an injured worker's own negligence, or the negligence of his or her employer or co-workers, is not put at issue; rather, the injured employee is simply covered for his or her work-related injuries.
Thus, workers' compensation is an injured worker's "exclusive remedy" with respect to a work-related injury, unless he or she can point to a third party who contributed to his or her injuries.
For example, because workers are often injured by products or machinery they use at work, they may, and often do, seek compensation from the manufacturers of such products.
Employers are generally not directly involved in the third-party claims of their employees, and such claims take place in civil actions, rather than in the workers' compensation system.
For an answer to your specific situation you would probably need to provide more details - for starters: what are the names of the compounds/chemicals, who was the employer, where did this occur, when did this occur, were there any federal laws broken.
Let me know and I'll be happy to give you a more detailed answer,
Matt Belcher
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