Southern Illinois Construction Accident Attorneys
Hurt on the Job Site? We Pursue Every Source of Recovery.
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Construction Injuries Are Different: You May Have Two Claims, Not One
If you were hurt on a construction site in Illinois, you may be able to recover in two ways at once: a no-fault workers’ compensation claim against your employer, and a separate injury lawsuit against any other company whose carelessness caused your injury. The second claim is where pain and suffering and full lost wages come from.
A construction site is one of the most dangerous places to earn a living. A single fall, a swinging load, an unguarded trench, or a piece of equipment that should have been locked out can end a career in seconds. When that happens, most injured workers are told one thing: file for workers’ compensation. That advice is not wrong, but it is only half the picture, and the half that gets left out is usually the more valuable one.
At Olson & Reeves, we represent construction and trade workers hurt across Southern Illinois, from the highway work zones along I-57 and I-64 to the wind and solar projects rising across our farmland, the refinery and plant shutdowns, and the everyday commercial and residential job sites in between. Our job is to look past the workers’ compensation claim and find every other party whose negligence put you in the hospital. We take injury cases on a contingency fee, so the call and the case review cost you nothing, and you owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you.
The two claims work very differently. Understanding the difference is the difference between collecting a fraction of your losses and collecting all of them.
| Workers’ Compensation Claim | Third-Party Injury Lawsuit | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you file against | Your employer | Any other party whose negligence caused the injury |
| Do you have to prove fault? | No, it is a no-fault system | Yes, you must prove negligence |
| Medical bills | Paid in full | Recoverable |
| Lost wages | Partial (about two-thirds of your wage) | Full lost earnings, plus future earning capacity |
| Pain and suffering | ✗ Not available | ✓ Available |
| Loss of a normal life & disfigurement | Limited | ✓ Available |
| Typical defendant | Employer’s comp insurer | General contractor, subcontractor, property owner, equipment maker |
Most seriously injured workers should pursue both. The two claims are coordinated, not in conflict, and pursuing them together is usually how an injured worker recovers the most.
Workers’ Compensation: Your Baseline, No Matter Who Was at Fault
Workers’ compensation is the floor under every injured Illinois worker. It is a no-fault system, which means you do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong to receive benefits. It pays for all reasonable medical treatment related to the injury, a portion of your lost wages while you cannot work, and compensation for any permanent disability the injury leaves behind. It applies whether the accident was the employer’s fault, your own, or nobody’s.
There is a trade-off built into that bargain. Because benefits come without proving fault, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer. Under 820 ILCS 305/5 and 820 ILCS 305/11, you generally cannot sue your own employer for negligence, and comp does not pay for pain and suffering. That is the gap a third-party claim is meant to fill. For a full explanation of comp benefits, deadlines, and how the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission process works, see our Southern Illinois workers’ compensation attorneys page.
The Third-Party Claim: Where Full Compensation Comes From
Construction sites are crowded with separate companies. A general contractor runs the project. Subcontractors handle the electrical, the steel, the concrete, the roofing. A property owner owns the land. Equipment makers supply the lifts, saws, ladders, and machines. Any of them, except your own employer, can be sued directly if their carelessness caused your injury. That is the third-party claim, and unlike workers’ compensation, it allows you to recover the full value of what you lost, including pain and suffering, disfigurement, the loss of a normal life, and every dollar of lost earning power.
A general contractor is a common defendant. Illinois follows Section 414 of the Restatement of Torts, which holds that a company that keeps control over the safety of the work can be liable when it fails to use that control with reasonable care. If the general contractor set the schedule, ran the safety meetings, controlled the work area, or had the authority to stop unsafe work and did not, it may share the blame for your injury. The table below shows the parties we look at in every construction case.
| Potential Defendant | Why They May Be Responsible |
|---|---|
| General Contractor | Retained control over site safety and failed to use it with reasonable care |
| Another Subcontractor | A different trade’s crew created the hazard that hurt you |
| Property / Premises Owner | An unsafe condition on the land or building caused the injury |
| Equipment / Machinery Maker | A defective tool, machine, or safety device failed (a product liability claim) |
| Architect or Engineer | Negligent design, or a safety responsibility the firm took on by contract |
When a defective machine, power tool, ladder, lift, or missing guard caused the injury, the manufacturer can be held responsible under product liability law. Those claims often run alongside the rest of the case. You can read more on our Southern Illinois product liability attorneys page.
Whatever Happened to the Illinois “Scaffold Act”?
The Illinois Structural Work Act, often called the “Scaffold Act,” was repealed effective February 14, 1995. There is no longer a special construction-injury statute in Illinois. Today, construction accident cases are brought under ordinary negligence law, using the same fault principles that govern other injury claims.
This trips up a lot of injured workers, and even some out-of-date websites still mention the Scaffold Act as if it were live law. For most of the twentieth century, the Structural Work Act gave construction workers a powerful, near-automatic path to sue contractors and owners. When the legislature repealed it (740 ILCS 150, repealed by Public Act 89-2), that path closed.
It did not leave injured workers without a remedy. Illinois courts now decide construction cases under common-law negligence and the retained-control rule of Section 414 of the Restatement of Torts. The result is that these cases turn on the facts: who controlled the work, who created the hazard, and who had the duty and the power to keep the site safe. That makes a careful, early investigation more important than ever, because the evidence of who controlled what disappears quickly once a job site moves on.
Common Construction Accidents We Handle
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration points to four hazards, often called the “Focus Four,” that cause most construction deaths: falls, struck-by incidents, caught-in or caught-between incidents, and electrocutions. Together these account for roughly three out of every five construction fatalities, and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction makes up close to one in five workplace deaths in the country. Falls remain the single leading cause. The same hazards that kill workers also cause the serious, life-changing injuries we see most often. You can review the federal construction safety standards at OSHA’s construction page (29 CFR 1926).
Falls From Heights
Falls from roofs, scaffolds, ladders, aerial lifts, steel, and unprotected edges are the leading cause of construction deaths and a frequent cause of spinal cord injuries, head trauma, and broken bones. OSHA requires fall protection at six feet or more in construction, and the failure to provide guardrails, harnesses, or a safe working surface is often where another company’s negligence shows up. A serious fall can cause a traumatic brain injury that changes a worker’s life permanently.
Struck-By Objects and Equipment
Workers are struck by falling tools and materials, swinging loads, flying debris, and moving vehicles and equipment. A dropped wrench from several stories up, an unsecured load on a crane, or a backing dump truck in a tight work zone can all cause fatal or catastrophic harm, even to a worker wearing a hard hat. These cases often involve a different contractor’s crew or a separate equipment operator, which is exactly where a third-party claim comes into play.
Caught-In or Caught-Between Accidents
These are among the most violent construction injuries. They include trench and excavation collapses that bury a worker, getting pinned between equipment and a fixed object, and limbs caught in unguarded machinery. Trenching deaths are largely preventable with proper shoring, sloping, and a competent person inspecting the site. When those steps are skipped, the responsibility frequently belongs to a company other than the injured worker’s direct employer.
Electrocutions and Burns
Contact with overhead power lines, exposed or energized wiring, and equipment that was not locked out causes electrocutions, severe burns, and falls triggered by a shock. Energized work that should have been de-energized, missing lockout and tagout procedures, and unsafe placement of equipment near power lines are common failures. Electrical injuries often cause deep tissue and nerve damage that is far more serious than it looks at first.
Machinery, Equipment, and Tool Injuries
Forklifts, skid steers, nail guns, saws, presses, and heavy machinery cause crush injuries, amputations, and lacerations. Sometimes the cause is an operator’s negligence. Other times it is a defective machine or a removed or missing safety guard, which can support a product liability claim against the manufacturer in addition to the rest of the case.
Fires, Explosions, and Toxic Exposure
Construction and industrial work, including the refinery and plant turnaround work common in our region, carries the risk of fires, explosions, and exposure to dangerous chemicals and fumes. These events can injure many workers at once and often involve several companies sharing a site, which means several potential sources of recovery for the people who are hurt.
How Fault Is Proven and Divided
A third-party claim rises or falls on negligence: showing that a company owed a duty to keep the work reasonably safe, broke that duty, and caused your injury. Violations of OSHA construction standards, the project’s own safety plan, and industry practice are powerful evidence of that carelessness. So are the contracts that show which company controlled site safety, the daily reports, the inspection logs, and the accounts of the workers who saw what happened.
Illinois uses modified comparative negligence. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, you can still recover as long as you are not more than 50 percent at fault, but your award is reduced by your share of the blame. A defense lawyer’s main goal is often to shift fault onto the injured worker, which is one reason it matters to have your own advocate building the record from the start.
When more than one company is at fault, 735 ILCS 5/2-1117 decides who pays. A defendant found 25 percent or more at fault is jointly and severally liable for all of your non-medical damages, meaning you can collect the full amount from that company even if another responsible party cannot pay. A defendant under 25 percent pays only its own share. Notably, your employer is left out of that calculation, which can raise the share assigned to the other companies on the site.
What Your Claim Can Recover
Workers’ compensation pays your medical bills, about two-thirds of your lost wages, and a sum for permanent disability. It does not pay for pain and suffering or for the full value of a shortened or limited career. A third-party claim can recover all of it: full past and future lost earnings, the full medical expense, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and the loss of a normal life. When a worker is killed, the family’s Southern Illinois wrongful death claim can recover for that loss as well.
The two claims have to be coordinated, because the money overlaps. When you collect workers’ compensation and then win a third-party recovery, your employer’s comp insurer holds a lien on that recovery for the benefits it paid. Under 820 ILCS 305/5(b), that lien is reduced by a 25 percent attorney fee and the insurer’s share of the costs, so the worker keeps more than the raw lien suggests. Handling the comp claim and the lawsuit together, with the lien in view from the start, is how the net recovery is protected.
Deadlines: Don’t Let the Clock Run Out
Construction injuries can involve several deadlines at once, and they are not the same. Missing one can end that part of your case for good. The most important deadlines are below.
| Type of Claim | Deadline | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party injury lawsuit | 2 years from the injury | 735 ILCS 5/13-202 |
| Workers’ compensation claim | 3 years from injury, or 2 years from the last comp payment, whichever is later | 820 ILCS 305/6(d) |
| Wrongful death | 2 years from the date of death | 740 ILCS 180/2 |
| Claim against a city, county, or public body | 1 year | 745 ILCS 10/8-101 |
| Defective equipment (outer limit) | 12 years from first sale, or 10 years from delivery to the first user, whichever is earlier | 735 ILCS 5/13-213 |
The one-year deadline for a claim against a government body deserves special attention, because road and public-works construction often involves a public entity, and that clock runs much faster than the others. Deadlines for injured minors can be different under 735 ILCS 5/13-211. Because more than one deadline can apply to a single accident, the safest course is to have the facts reviewed early rather than assume which clock controls.
Construction Injuries Across Southern Illinois
We represent injured construction and trade workers throughout the region, on highway and bridge projects, the growing wind and solar developments, plant and refinery work, and commercial and residential building. Wherever the job site is, we can come to you.
| County (Key Cities) | Local Construction & Industrial Activity |
|---|---|
| Jefferson (Mt. Vernon) | I-57/I-64 interchange work zones, distribution and manufacturing build-outs |
| Williamson (Marion, Herrin, Carterville) | Route 13 corridor commercial construction, manufacturing plants |
| Marion (Centralia, Salem) | Route 50 and Route 161 highway work, oilfield and industrial sites |
| Jackson (Carbondale, Murphysboro) | University and hospital construction, residential and commercial building |
| Franklin (Benton, West Frankfort) | I-57 corridor projects, mining-adjacent and energy construction |
| Madison & St. Clair (Metro East) | Refinery and plant turnarounds, steel and heavy industrial work |
| Effingham (Effingham) | I-57/I-70 interchange work, distribution and warehouse construction |
| Wayne, Clay & surrounding counties | Wind and solar farm construction, rural highway and bridge projects |
What to Do After a Construction Site Injury
The hours and days after an injury shape both claims. Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can, and get medical care right away, both for your health and to document the connection to the accident. If you safely can, photograph the scene, the equipment, and the hazard before the site changes, and write down the names of everyone who saw what happened. Keep the contractor names and any company logos you remember, because identifying the other companies on the site is the first step in finding a third-party claim. Be careful about giving a recorded statement to any insurance company before you have talked to a lawyer, because those statements are used to shift blame onto the injured worker.
Why Injured Workers Across Southern Illinois Call Olson & Reeves
We were raised in Southern Illinois, and the workers we represent are our neighbors. We know the job sites, the courts, and the way these cases are built. Most of all, we run both tracks at once. We protect the workers’ compensation claim that keeps your household afloat while we investigate and pursue the third-party case that pays for everything comp leaves out, and we keep the comp lien in view so the two recoveries work together instead of against each other. The case review costs you nothing, and on the injury claim you owe no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.
Construction Injury FAQ
Your Claims and Who Pays
Can I sue my employer for a construction injury in Illinois?
Usually no. Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer under 820 ILCS 305/5, so you generally cannot sue your own employer for negligence. In exchange, you receive no-fault benefits. But you can still sue any other company whose carelessness caused the injury.
Narrow exceptions exist, and the more important point is that your employer is rarely the only party at fault on a construction site. The general contractor, other subcontractors, the property owner, and equipment makers are all fair game for a separate claim.
Can I collect workers' comp and file a lawsuit at the same time?
Yes. If someone other than your employer caused your construction injury, you can pursue a no-fault workers’ compensation claim and a separate third-party injury lawsuit at the same time. The lawsuit can recover pain and suffering and full lost earnings that workers’ compensation does not pay.
Pursuing both is how seriously injured workers usually recover the most. The two have to be coordinated, because the employer’s comp insurer will hold a lien on the third-party recovery, but that is a manageable part of the process, not a reason to skip either claim.
Does workers' compensation pay for pain and suffering?
No. Illinois workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering. It covers medical care, about two-thirds of lost wages, and compensation for permanent disability, but not the physical pain, the emotional toll, or the loss of a normal life. Those are only recoverable through a third-party injury claim.
This is the single biggest reason to look beyond the comp claim. On a serious injury, pain and suffering and full lost earnings can be worth far more than the comp benefits, and they are only on the table in a claim against a negligent outside party.
What is my construction accident case worth?
There is no standard figure. The value depends on the severity and permanence of the injury, your lost income and future earning power, your medical expenses, the strength of the liability evidence, and the insurance available. A serious injury with a strong third-party claim can be worth many times the workers’ compensation benefits alone.
Anyone who promises a number before reviewing the facts is guessing. We evaluate the medical picture, the lost-earnings picture, and who was at fault before giving you an honest assessment of the range.
Liability and Fault
Who can I sue besides my employer after a construction accident?
You can sue any party other than your employer whose negligence caused the injury. The most common defendants are the general contractor, other subcontractors on the site, the property or premises owner, and the maker of defective equipment or machinery. An architect or engineer can be liable in some cases too.
Finding these defendants is the heart of the case. It takes a fast investigation into who controlled the work, who created the hazard, and what equipment was involved, because the evidence fades quickly once the project moves forward.
Is the Illinois Scaffold Act or Structural Work Act still in effect?
No. The Illinois Structural Work Act, known as the “Scaffold Act,” was repealed effective February 14, 1995. There is no special construction-injury statute in Illinois anymore. These cases are now handled under ordinary negligence law and the retained-control rule of Section 414 of the Restatement of Torts.
Some older sources still refer to the Scaffold Act as if it were live law. It is not. The practical effect is that construction cases now turn on proving who controlled the work and who failed to keep it safe, which makes early investigation essential.
Do OSHA violations help my construction injury case?
Yes. A violation of OSHA construction standards (29 CFR 1926) is strong evidence that a company failed to keep the site reasonably safe. While an OSHA violation does not automatically win a civil case, it can be powerful proof of negligence and often points directly to which company was responsible.
OSHA citations, the project’s safety plan, daily logs, and inspection records all help establish fault. We gather these as part of building the third-party claim and use them to show how the injury could have been prevented.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident?
You can still recover as long as you were not more than 50 percent at fault. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, Illinois uses modified comparative negligence: your award is reduced by your share of the blame, and only a worker found more than half at fault recovers nothing.
Defense lawyers routinely try to pin fault on the injured worker to cut or defeat the claim. Having your own advocate building the record early helps keep the blame where it belongs.
Deadlines and Special Situations
How long do I have to file a construction injury claim in Illinois?
It depends on the claim. A third-party injury lawsuit generally must be filed within 2 years (735 ILCS 5/13-202), a workers’ compensation claim within 3 years of injury or 2 years of the last payment, and a claim against a public body within just 1 year (745 ILCS 10/8-101).
Because road and public-works projects often involve a government entity, the one-year deadline can sneak up fast. When more than one deadline applies to the same accident, the earliest controlling date is the one that matters, so it is worth getting advice promptly.
Will the workers' comp insurer take part of my injury settlement?
Yes, in part. Under 820 ILCS 305/5(b), the employer’s comp insurer holds a lien on your third-party recovery for the benefits it paid. But that lien is reduced by a 25 percent attorney fee and the insurer’s share of the costs, so you keep more than the raw lien amount.
Handling the comp claim and the lawsuit together, with the lien accounted for from the start, protects your net recovery. This coordination is one of the main reasons to have one firm manage both.
I'm an undocumented worker. Do I have any rights after a job injury?
Yes. In Illinois, an injured worker can generally pursue both workers’ compensation and a third-party injury claim regardless of immigration status. The right to benefits and the right to be compensated for harm caused by another’s negligence do not depend on citizenship or documentation.
We handle these matters with discretion. If you were hurt on a construction site, you should not let concerns about status keep you from learning what you are owed.
I was paid on a 1099 or called an independent contractor. Can I still recover?
Possibly, and the label is not the final word. Illinois looks at the actual working relationship, not the paperwork, to decide whether someone is truly an employee. Misclassification is common in construction, and being treated as a “1099 contractor” does not automatically bar a workers’ compensation claim.
Your classification also affects the third-party side, because a worker who is genuinely independent may have an even wider field of companies to pursue. The relationship is worth having reviewed rather than assumed.
What if a loved one was killed on a construction site?
The family may have two claims. Workers’ compensation pays death benefits to a surviving spouse and minor children, and if a negligent outside party caused the death, the family can also bring a separate wrongful death claim under 740 ILCS 180/2 that can recover much more.
A wrongful death claim must generally be filed within two years of the death and is brought by the representative of the estate. We can evaluate both the comp death benefits and the wrongful death case together. Learn more on our Southern Illinois wrongful death attorneys page.
Talk to a Southern Illinois Construction Accident Attorney
If you or someone you love was hurt on a construction site, do not wait while deadlines run and the job site changes. Call Olson & Reeves for a 100% free case evaluation at (618) 316-7322. On your injury claim, you pay nothing unless we win. From Mt. Vernon and Centralia, we represent injured workers across Southern Illinois, and we can come to you or set up a free virtual consultation. To learn how this fits with the rest of our injury work, visit our Southern Illinois personal injury attorneys page.