Romanucci & Blandin and Costa Ivone secure $14 million settlement for temporary worker injured while operating a metal fabrication machine
CHICAGO (January 4, 2024) - Romanucci & Blandin and Costa Ivone, LLC announce a $14 million settlement on behalf of a middle-aged female worker who had multiple fingers amputated while operating a metal fabrication machine at a factory in the Chicago area. Plaintiff alleged she was sent to a factory by her employer, a temp agency, to package boxes. Instead, the factory had the woman operate a metal fabrication machine, which requires a properly trained and experienced operator, and instructed her to fabricate small pieces of metal so the factory could meet a deadline for one of its customers. The woman was provided little training on proper and safe operation of the machine. Moreover, the machine safeguards had been disconnected and disabled. Shortly after she began operating the machine, the Plaintiff sustained serious injuries to her hand, including multiple finger amputations.
The Plaintiff filed a civil suit against numerous defendants, including the factory that placed her on the machine and a maintenance company charged with servicing the machine. Plaintiffs alleged the defendants were liable for: putting an inexperienced operator on a dangerous piece of machinery without adequate training; failing to supervise; failing to adequately maintain and repair the machine; and alleged negligent post-sale service and support of the machine. The factory defendants contested liability, arguing among other defenses that Plaintiff was their borrowed employee under Illinois law and thus her only remedy was limited to compensation through her worker’s compensation claim. The maintenance company also contested liability, alleging that the factory was solely responsible for the woman’s injuries, and that its post-sale service and repairs were adequate.
The settlement resolved claims with the factory defendant for $10.5 million and with the maintenance company defendant for $3,000,000, as well as a confidential settlement with the other remaining defendants for $500,000.
The case was mediated by Hon. Elizabeth M. Budzinski (Ret.) of ADR Systems.
The Plaintiff was represented by Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Stephan D. Blandin and others, and Costa Ivone, LLC Founding Attorney Julio A. Costa.
“Our workplace injury legal team takes tremendous pride in holding employers accountable for the safety of all workers at all times and we commit ourselves to transforming how companies of all sizes create and enforce standards of safety. This settlement is another message of that type of accountability that we hope is heeded in the Chicago area and around the country,” said Founding Partner Stephan D. Blandin, Romanucci & Blandin.
“This settlement speaks loudly to the point that temporary workers are deserving of the same levels of safety and training as full-time employees. The lack of those protections for our client cost her dearly, led to life-changing injuries and a highly traumatizing experience. We hope this provides some degree of justice and a path to improve her quality of life,” said Founding Attorney Julio A. Costa, Costa Ivone.
About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death through impact litigation. For more than 25 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars or record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors distinguish our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation, and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We differ from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. Our clients’ experiences often inspire us to commit resources to transforming lives and communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit: www.rblaw.net.
About Costa Ivone LLC
Costa Ivone LLC is one of Illinois’ preeminent Workers’ Compensation firms with an exclusive focus on catastrophic work injury cases. Partner Julio Costa played a critical role in the overall recovery by zealously fighting the insurance carrier for cutting edge medical treatment, including state-of-the-art prosthetics which helped our client regain functional deficiencies in her bilateral hands.
