Chicago Construction Accident Lawyer
If you were hurt on a construction site in Chicago or the surrounding Cook, DuPage, Will, and Kane County communities, you may have two cases — not one. Workers' compensation covers some of your losses, but a separate third-party negligence claim against a general contractor, subcontractor, property owner, or equipment maker can reach the pain, suffering, and full wages that comp will never pay. At Ori Law Group, Joe and Kristen Ori personally handle every construction injury case from the first call through resolution.
A construction injury is rarely a single legal problem. Workers’ compensation will start paying some of your medical bills and a fraction of your wages, but it stops well short of making you whole — and it pays nothing for the pain, the lost ability to do your job, or the life you had before the fall, the collapse, or the machine that failed. The companies that run Illinois job sites know this, and so do their insurers. The question that decides the size of your recovery is whether anyone other than your employer was negligent, because that is what opens the door to a full third-party claim.
On most sites, the answer is yes. A general contractor is responsible for coordinating safety across every trade. Subcontractors control their own crews and equipment. Property owners decide what conditions workers are sent into. Manufacturers build the lifts, tools, and safety gear that are supposed to protect you. When one of them cuts a corner — an unguarded edge, a defective harness, a trench dug without shoring, a machine missing a safety guard — and you pay for it with a serious injury, Illinois law lets you hold that company accountable through a negligence claim that reaches your full wages and your pain and suffering. OSHA standards and any citations issued after your accident become part of the proof that the job site was not as safe as the law required.
One note on the law itself: Illinois repealed its Structural Work Act — the old “Scaffold Act” — back in 1995. If you’ve read an older article that talks about a special construction-injury statute, it’s out of date. Today’s framework is the one above: workers’ compensation under 820 ILCS 305 against your employer, and ordinary negligence and premises liability against everyone else who shares fault. Getting that distinction right, and running both tracks so the comp lien doesn’t erode your recovery, is where experienced handling matters most.
Ori Law Group is a women-owned boutique built around the idea that serious cases deserve the partners’ direct attention. Joe and Kristen Ori personally investigate the site, identify every company that may be responsible, and try cases when the defense won’t be reasonable — work that has helped recover more than $150 million for injured people across Cook, DuPage, Will, and Kane Counties. If you were hurt building Chicago, call us at (312) 621-0000 for a free case review and an honest read on what your construction injury claim is worth.
What to Do After Your Accident
- Get medical attention right away, even if your injuries seem minor — adrenaline masks serious harm.
- Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can; written notice protects your workers' comp claim.
- Photograph the scene, the equipment, any defect, and the surrounding conditions before the site changes.
- Get the names of co-workers and witnesses, and note which companies were on site that day.
- Preserve the equipment or tool involved — do not let it be repaired, discarded, or returned to a rental company.
- Keep every medical bill, pay stub, and record of how the injury affects your daily life.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer — including a contractor's insurer — before talking to a lawyer.
- Talk to an attorney before signing anything or accepting any settlement offer.
Common Causes & Types
- Falls from heights — from scaffolds, ladders, roofs, and unguarded edges — OSHA's leading cause of construction deaths.
- Scaffolding failures — collapses, missing planking, and improperly secured platforms.
- Electrocution — contact with live wires, energized equipment, arc flash, and unmarked power lines.
- Struck-by accidents — falling tools and materials, swinging loads, and vehicles in active work zones.
- Caught-in or caught-between — trench and excavation collapses, unguarded machinery, and being pinned between objects.
- Defective equipment — failed lifts, power tools, nail guns, and heavy machinery that malfunction on the job.
Who Can Be Held Liable
- A general contractor that controlled site safety and failed to enforce it
- A subcontractor whose crew created or ignored a hazard
- The property owner who allowed unsafe conditions on the job site
- A manufacturer of defective equipment, tools, or safety gear
- An architect or engineer whose design defect caused the failure
- A scaffolding or equipment rental company that supplied unsafe gear
- A negligent driver or delivery operator working in or around the site
Injuries We Handle
- Traumatic brain injuries from falls and struck-by impacts
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Amputations and crush injuries from machinery
- Burns from electrocution, fires, and chemical exposure
- Broken bones and orthopedic trauma
- Hearing loss and occupational lung disease such as silicosis
Illinois Law & Deadlines
Damages You Can Recover
- Past and future medical expenses, including life-care planning for catastrophic injuries
- Full lost wages and diminished future earning capacity — a third-party claim reaches your whole wage, not the partial benefit comp pays
- Pain, suffering, and loss of a normal life — damages workers' compensation does not cover at all, only available through a third-party negligence claim
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of consortium for a spouse or family
How the Legal Process Works
- Free consultation & site investigation
We review your case at no cost, identify every company that was on the job site, and move fast to preserve equipment and evidence before it disappears.
- Two-track claim strategy
We coordinate your workers' compensation benefits while building a separate third-party negligence claim against the contractors, owners, or manufacturers at fault.
- Demand & negotiation
We document the full extent of your losses, including the pain and suffering comp ignores, and negotiate for the complete value of your case.
- Litigation, if needed
If the defendants won't be fair, Joe and Kristen prepare the case for trial — and resolve the workers' comp lien so it doesn't eat your recovery.
| Workers' Compensation | Third-Party Negligence Claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed against | Your employer (no-fault) | General contractor, subcontractor, property owner, equipment maker, or negligent driver |
| Fault required | No | Yes — you must prove negligence |
| Pain & suffering | Not covered | Recoverable |
| Lost wages | Partial (TTD / PTD / PPD benefits) | Full lost wages and future earning capacity |
| Governing law | 820 ILCS 305 | 735 ILCS 5/13-202; 740 ILCS 130 |
| Deadline | 3 years from injury or 2 years from last payment | 2 years from injury |
| Where it's decided | Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (IWCC) | Cook or DuPage County Circuit Court |
Workers' Compensation vs. a Third-Party Claim: The Two Cases You Probably Have
In Illinois, workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer (820 ILCS 305). You don't have to prove anyone was at fault, but in exchange you generally cannot sue your employer directly — and comp pays only a portion of your wages and nothing at all for pain and suffering.
That is not the end of the story. Most construction sites are run by a general contractor, with subcontractors, a property owner, equipment suppliers, and delivery drivers all in the mix. When one of those companies — anyone other than your employer — was negligent and that negligence hurt you, you can bring a separate third-party personal injury claim. That second case reaches your full lost wages, your future earning capacity, and the pain, suffering, and loss of a normal life that workers' compensation will never pay.
OSHA's "Fatal Four" and How Safety Violations Become Evidence
OSHA tracks four causes that account for most construction deaths — the "Fatal Four." When OSHA cites a contractor for a violation tied to your injury, that citation is powerful evidence of negligence in a third-party claim, though it is not the whole case by itself.
- Falls — from scaffolds, roofs, ladders, and unprotected edges — the single leading cause.
- Struck-by — falling objects, swinging loads, and vehicles in the work zone.
- Caught-in / caught-between — trench collapses, unguarded machinery, and being pinned between objects.
- Electrocution — contact with live wires, energized equipment, and unmarked power lines.
How Ori Law Group Handles Construction Cases
Ori Law Group is a women-owned, two-attorney trial firm in Oak Brook. Joe and Kristen Ori personally handle every construction injury case — there is no intake team and no junior associate hand-off. Your calls reach the lawyers actually working your case.
We move quickly to preserve job-site evidence, identify every company that may share fault, and run your workers' compensation claim alongside your third-party case so the two work together. We also resolve the workers' comp lien — the employer's right to be repaid from a third-party recovery — so it doesn't quietly swallow your settlement.
Why Choose Ori Law Group
Ori Law Group is a women-owned, two-attorney trial firm that has recovered more than $150 million for injured clients. Joe and Kristen handle every construction case personally — they investigate the site themselves, run your workers' comp and third-party claims together, and prepare every matter to be tried, not just settled.
Case Results
Recovered for a construction worker injured when an electrical unit on the site caught fire.
Recovered for a construction worker who sustained back and knee injuries in a roadway accident on the job.
Awarded to a construction worker who sustained back injuries when a deck collapsed.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See more results →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a workers' compensation claim and a third-party lawsuit for a construction accident?
Workers' compensation is a no-fault claim against your employer (820 ILCS 305). It pays medical bills and a portion of your wages, but nothing for pain and suffering, and you generally can't sue your employer directly. A third-party lawsuit is a separate negligence case against someone other than your employer — a general contractor, subcontractor, property owner, or equipment maker — and it can reach your full wages plus pain and suffering. Many injured workers have both at the same time.
Can I sue if I'm already getting workers' compensation?
Often, yes. Receiving workers' compensation does not prevent a third-party negligence claim against another company that caused your injury. The two cases run on parallel tracks. If you recover from a third party, your employer's insurer typically has a lien to be repaid for some of the comp benefits it paid — part of our job is to negotiate that lien down so more of the recovery stays with you.
How long do I have to file a construction accident claim in Illinois?
For a third-party negligence claim, you generally have two years from the date of injury (735 ILCS 5/13-202). Workers' compensation has a different deadline — three years from the injury, or two years from your last benefit payment, whichever is later (820 ILCS 305/6(d)). The deadlines are not the same, and claims against a public works project can carry shorter notice requirements, so it's best to act well before any of them runs.
Can I sue my employer if I'm hurt on a construction site?
Usually not directly — workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer under 820 ILCS 305, with only narrow exceptions for intentional conduct. The more important question is who else was on the site. The general contractor, other subcontractors, the property owner, and equipment manufacturers are not your employer, and if one of them was negligent, you can bring a claim against that company.
Who else can be held responsible besides my employer?
A general contractor responsible for site safety, a subcontractor whose crew created a hazard, the property owner, the maker of a defective tool or machine, an architect or engineer behind a design defect, a scaffolding or equipment rental company, or a negligent driver in the work zone. We investigate which companies were present and which had control over the conditions that caused your injury.
Does workers' compensation cover pain and suffering?
No. Illinois workers' compensation pays medical care and a portion of lost wages through TTD, PTD, and PPD benefits, but it does not pay anything for pain, suffering, or loss of a normal life. That is one of the main reasons a third-party negligence claim matters — it is the only path to recover for the human cost of a serious injury.
What if OSHA cited the contractor for violations on the day of my accident?
An OSHA citation tied to your injury is strong evidence that a contractor failed to keep the site safe, and it can support a third-party negligence claim. It is not automatically decisive — we still have to connect the violation to what happened to you — but a documented safety violation often strengthens the case considerably.
I'm a union construction worker — should I just use my union's lawyer?
Union-preferred counsel often handles the workers' compensation side well. But the third-party negligence claim against the contractors, owners, and equipment makers is a separate case that deserves its own evaluation — and it is frequently the larger one. We're glad to review the third-party piece for you, whether or not someone else is handling your comp claim.
Will Joe or Kristen personally handle my case?
Yes. As a two-attorney boutique, Joe and Kristen work directly with you from the first consultation through resolution. You will not be handed off to a junior associate or an intake team.
Legally reviewed by Joseph and Kristen Ori · Last reviewed June 24, 2026. This page is attorney advertising and is for general information only — it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship.
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