Steel Mill Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Civil Liability for Outside Contractor Worker’s Injuries
Steel mills are some of the most dangerous workplaces in the world. When an accident happens, employees for the mill itself as well as workers for all sorts of industrial contractors on site can be severely injured or killed in an instant.
The horrors of a steel mill cobble, for instance, are infamous within the industry. For more, see a video of molten steel erupting in a cobble on Reddit, and read the details of this type of steel mill accident at “Extreme manufacturing danger: the steel mill cobble,” written by Mark Benson and published by Mechanical-Engineering.com on October 6, 2017.
All Kinds of Contractors Working at Steel Mills
Steel pays the bills for workers in both Illinois and Indiana, but the Hoosier State is home to some of the country’s major plants (think Cleveland-Cliffs’ Indiana Harbor and U.S. Steel’s Gary Works). And at all these local steel mills, operations would come to a halt without the contributions of a network of specialized companies contracting to deliver specific types of services to the mill itself.
These companies are known legally as contractors to the steel mill corporation. They do things like provide millwrighting; heavy mechanical installation; structural steel fabrication; plant maintenance; and shutdown support.
Workers in a steel mill may be hired by one of these steel mill contractors where operations involve things like:
- Electrical Contractors, where their employees work with electricity and do things like oversee power distribution in the steel mill as well as industrial electrical needs on site;
- Environmental Service Contractors, with workers who handle things like industrial cleaning; testing for hazards; remediation; etc.;
- Machinery and Rigging Contractors, where employees are specialized in doing things like assembling and handling huge steel mill ladles, vessels, and other heavy machinery needed in steel production;
- Structural Contractors, whose workers undertake the responsibility of building, maintaining, and repairing the mill structures (think concrete foundations, or crane rails); and
- Outage and Turnaround Contractors, whose tradespeople skilled in steelwork as welders, pipefitters, etc. work in teams to handle lockout/tagout scenarios when things need to be fixed like heavy equipment components on a furnace.
For instance, some of the biggest steel mill industrial contractors in our part of the country include Superior Construction (structural contractor) and Atlas Industrial Contractors (rigging and machinery).
Injured When Working at a Steel Mill and Employed by a Contractor
For anyone who is hurt on the job while working for a contractor at a steel mill in Indiana or Illinois, their first help usually comes from the workers’ compensation insurance policy the contractor must maintain pursuant to state law. This provides the injured contractor employee with benefits as they are defined by statute. A claim is filed for benefits; no fault need be shown for the cause of the injury. For more, read 10 Types of Workers Compensation Benefits After a Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana.
However, any worker hurt in a steel mill accident has the right to investigate the event in order to determine all the reasons for what happened and to learn if there are any third parties (individuals or businesses) that have legal liability for the worker’s injuries.
Working with accident reconstruction experts and legal advocates, the employee of a contractor for a steel mill that suffered bodily harm in a work accident may have civil personal injury claims against one or more parties.
These include the following:
1. Owner and/or Lessor of the Facility Premises (Steel Mill Corporation)
All the entities who have possession, custody, or control of the steel mill premises may have legal culpability if there were failures in their duties of care involving things like failing to warn about hazards or dangers on the site itself; not maintaining the premises in a reasonable and prudent manner; or having some say in work procedures or protocols that were risky or dangerous (kept some say over the operations or work zone).
2. Manufacturers, Designers, Repair Companies
Steel mills are filled with complex equipment, machinery, and tools. They are industry-specific and designed to do things like bear the extreme heat of the work environment as well as the high temperatures of molten metal. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be carefully designed, made, and maintained in order to keep workers safe in steel mills, as well.
Product design defects or failures involving any of these products can be the basis of a personal injury claim based upon product liability law.
3. Other Contractors at the Steel Mill
In the constant hubbub of an operating steel mill, all sorts of workers employed by a variety of contractors will be on the job at the same time. If there is a severe work accident, the injured employee of one contractor may learn that their work accident injuries were the result of another contractor’s breach of a duty of safety and care that creates legal liability under negligence law. The other contractors are responsible for making sure their work and their employees are operating at all times in a reasonable and prudent manner that protects against anyone getting hurt at the mill.
Civil Injury Claims for Steel Mill Contractor Employee Hurt on the Job
Claims for injuries sustained in a steel mill work accident may involve demands for significant damages defined under the law for both the worker victim and their loved ones. Things like medical care and expenses; rehabilitation costs; psychological treatment (PTSD may result after a severe steel mill accident, for instance); lost wages; lost earning capacity; pain and suffering; etc. may be the responsibility of the contractor(s) or facility owner or operator who is determined to have caused the harm. For details, read Work Accident Injury Claims in Illinois and Indiana: Things to Know About Monetary Damages.
Steel mill workers may seek redress against the mill owner or various contractors to that facility for their harm. They may also have legal claims against other parties, too. Each case must be given individual respect and consideration.
For instance, in some instances the facts may reveal that architects and engineers breached legal duties of care and committed professional malpractice; or safety inspectors or consultants may have failed in their responsibilities to identify and block hazards at the steel mill facility that would have prevented the accident. For more, read 7 Different Parties Who Can Be Liable for Indiana Steel Worker Injury.
When an accident happens at a steel mill in Indiana or Illinois, the employee of a contractor hurt on the job may think their only option is filing a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. However, they have a legal right to investigate that steel mill accident and their reconstruction experts teamed with legal advocates may find that there are civil claims for liability against one or more parties based upon things like premises liability, product liability, or various types of negligence (e.g., negligent supervision, negligent hiring, etc.).
For more on steel mill accidents, read:
- Worker Dangers in the Steel Mills and Steel Factories of Indiana
- Steel Mill Workers Risk of Injury on the Job: Equipment, Working Conditions
- Mini-Mill Steelworker Work Accidents: Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Claims
- Steelworkers’ Dangers on the Job: Top Five Steel Industry Hazards
- The Steel Industry is Dangerous: How Can Personal Injury Attorneys Help Steel Workers Hurt on the Job?
Steel mills are highly dangerous worksites. Anyone on the job in one of these facilities, no matter its size or scope, is at constant risk of being hurt or killed in a work accident. The complexities of contractors simultaneously working on facilities owned by steel mill corporations is complex in terms of legal liability. Please be careful out there!
