Motorcycles and Trucks are an Unfair Match

Injured Iowans with legal claims can learn more about their rights at the Lombardi Law Firm website or call 515-222-1110 or email: sdlombardi@aol.com.

Plant Blast At Iowa ADM - Worker Safety Issues

Injured Iowans with legal claims can learn more about their rights at the Lombardi Law Firm website or call 515-222-1110 or email: sdlombardi@aol.com.

Another Iowa worker injured from fall while on the job

Workers falling from heights and working without fall protection are asking for trouble and for OSHA to hand them a nice big fine. Steve Lombardi 515-222-1110

Fire in La Porte City, Iowa is very strange

Iowa Workers Compensation - Benefits - Fire - Convenience Store - Exit - Escape

Corn bin worker lucky to be alive

Involved in an Iowa work accident and need answers? Try the Lombardi Law Firm website. www.lombardilaw.com or 515-222-1110.

Floyd County Jail Ceiling Collapsed due in part to heavy rains

Iowa property damage claims can result from insurance delay tactics. Call or visit the Lombardi Law Firm website for further information. www.lombardilaw.com

Passengers live and die with driver decisions

Iowa I-80 collision claims can result be difficult to adjust. Call or visit the Lombardi Law Firm website for further information. www.lombardilaw.com

Two-car Crash and Rollover in Monticello on 151

Iowa Rollover Crashes - Attorney studying the rights of passengers with drivers who lose control or drive too fast. visit www.lombardilaw.com for further info.

Your Worker's Comp Case takes Patience and Skepticism

Questions about your Iowa workers' compensation case? Call Steve Lombard, attorney at 515-222-1110 or 515-360-7583.

Ask a lawyer: Iowa Workers’ Compensation Claims

Do you know what you’re doing handling your own workers’ comp claim or are you guessing. If you want some help call Steve Lombardi @ 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com.

How do I select (pick) a workers’ compensation attorney in Iowa?

I’m not sure exactly how to answer this question without indicating arrogance on my part versus trying to help, but it’s been asked before and it’s time once again to try and answer it. Start off with who the lawyer has been in the past. Do you know the lawyers reputation for the work they do? Do you have a friend or co-worker you can speak to about their experiences? How about a friendly lawyer that is willing to talk and can vouch for the lawyer’s reputation. Like real estate law is local; meaning laws are govern by state, county and city and since lawyers are licensed for matter such as these by state bar associations you need to know the local reputation of the lawyer.

The business-related benefits test in workers’ compensation

If you attend a work sponsored activity, like bowling, are you covered under workers' compensation if you get hurt? In this case the answer was no.

Are widows and OTR truckers from other states, entitled to Iowa workers’ compensation benefits?

At the Iowa Farm Progress Show near Boone a Cessna 150 plane with just the pilot onboard crashed and the pilot died. The plane is registered to Drake Aerial Enterprise from Genoa, Ohio. The FAA is investigating. The plane was towing a very large advertising banner when it crashed. There is nothing in the report about the company or product being advertised at the time of the crash. I can’t think of a worse impression for people to have of your product.

Is your injury while working covered under workers’ comp a third-party suit?

Workers who are injured while working may have more than a workers' compensation claim to consider. Those who say this is wrong to sue don't understand the law and what is required of those injured and receiving benefits under Iowa's Workers' Compensation statute. Iowa law allows the workers' compensation insurance company to recover benefits it pays to injured workers. The law gives the paying company a lien on third-party benefits and they can require the injured worker to sue the at-fault third party or else the workers compensation carrier can do the suing.

People who don't understand the law often times draw conclusions that aren't supported by the law. So if you're injured in a work related accident you simply need some good legal advice to know your rights. It's your choice, but the law may require you do something to protect yourself and if you don't those rights may ... for lack of a better term... run out.

Did the Sioux City Sewer Pipe Workers Receive Confined Space Training?

Yesterday we covered a confined space accident that took the life of a young man helping with getting a boat into the water. Today we provide links and information about confined spaces available on YouTube.

Was it the wind that caused this construction site wall to collapse and injure the worker?

Was wind the cause; or was it improper bracing? We know about wind. Wind across a construction site isn’t something to be unexpected. Blairsburg, Iowa – This is Hamilton County in, Iowa where a 57-year-old man died after a concrete block wall collapsed. Apparently there is a school addition being constructed at the Northeast Hamilton Elementary School. The wall was 18 feet tall and reported to be at least 12 feet wide.

Anderson Erickson Accident Claims Life of Long-Time Employee Manager

A 45-year-old Anderson Erickson worker died from what is described by the Polk County Medical Examiner as traumatic asphyxia. Why aren’t there more details as to how the accident happened? What’s so secret about making milk and ice cream? Are other workers at risk? Doesn’t the public have a right to know?

11 Iowa City Workers Treated for Anhydrous Ammonia Inhalation

Iowa City, Iowa – Sixteen (16) meatpacking workers were taken to an area hospital after suffering inhalation injury from an anhydrous ammonia leak at a West Liberty plant. The tank is on the roof and according to the report it came into the plant area. Workers were treated for minor to moderate inhalation injury. The leak was caused when a suction header failed allowing 30 gallons or liquid ammonia to fall onto the roof. The value was shut off after approximately 10 minutes. Both reports identified the plant as the West Liberty Foods plant that processes turkeys.

Workers Compensation Injuries in Iowa

This is an interesting workers’ compensation case that may or may not have a third-party case attached. When different companies cause injury in your workplace it's probably a reason to consider a third-party case. Property managers refer to them as vendors, workers probably call them subcontractors and employers probably refer to them in both ways. When you consider that workers have no say in who comes into their place of employment while putting them at risk of injury or death it’s a good idea to hear the opinion of a lawyer to say if there should be an investigation.

Is your workplace safe?

How can a work related death, such as this one occur? Perhaps there are a lot of reasons, none which seem very satisfying and none are definitive.

Bulldozer slips off jacks and kills operator, widow's benefits at stake

What caused a bulldozer to slip off the jacks and kill 60 year old Patrick O’Shaughnessy? That will be the question his family is asking after an accident at a construction equipment company in Ossian in northeast Iowa on October 14^th 2009. His co-workers tried to save him by using a crane to life the bulldozer, however it was too late and Mr. O’Shaughnessy was pronounced dead at the scene. Workplace accidents happen every day and most are avoidable; could this accident have been avoided?

Hopefully, if he's married she is covered under a workers' compensation policy of insurance. That should pay her a lifetime benefit. She can commute the amount and should seek a consult with an attorney to determine her rights under Iowa's workers' compensation laws. What widows and widowers of workers killed while doing their jobs, need to know is that the workers' compensation carrier isn't your friend. You are in an adversarial relationship. That means they have no duty to advise. Heed the warning and see an attorney; we are happy to assist when asked.

We wish the family well.

Iowa Highway Patrol and Iowa's Policemen and Women Have A Dangerous Job

What do you get when you take 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles, 46,876 miles of highway, and a man with a badge? This is not the opening line of a clever joke with a cute punch line. In this scenario, it's pretty clear that in a confrontation between two ton vehicles traveling more than a mile a minute and a patrolman on the highway battlefield, man loses to machine. When a 3,000 pound car hits someone on foot there is no contest.

Unfortunately for those who work on the highway, there is no way to protect against cars on the road. The safety of any construction worker, tollbooth operator, or police officer rests on the margin of human error. The only thing standing between a patrol worker and disaster is a driver's safe operation of his or her vehicle. Distracted drivers are a major hindrance to a State Highway Patrol Officer being safe in his working environment.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving an inattentive driver. On a given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by drivers talking or texting on cell phones. Distracted drivers are one of the leading causes of highway fatalities, and the risk is even greater for those who work on the nation's highways regularly.

The NHTSA has taken certain measures to ensure the safety of road workers. For example, when you drive through a construction zone, you probably notice a litany of bright orange signs warning you to drop your speed on pain of doubled speeding fines. Some states enforce a minimum penalty of $375.00 for speeding in a work zone, regardless of the base fine, regardless of whether workers were present or not. The penalty for hitting a worker is usually around $10,000 and jail time, depending on the state and extent of the worker's injuries. Work zones are also secured (in the loosest sense of the word) with temporary fences, flashing lights, light board signs, cones, and barrels, offering at least a visual alert to approaching. However, common sense dictates that if a car suddenly swerves out of its lane, the power of the Mighty Plastic Orange Cone isn't going to do much to protect Joe the Construction Worker from injury or even death.

Even so, construction workers are better protected than state troopers and patrolmen on duty on the nation's highways. While workers have zones blocked off and marked, officers have to pull onto the shoulder of the road to write a ticket, regardless of visibility or weather conditions. There are no threats of fine's posted in patrol zones, no blocked lanes, and most of the time, vehicles barely change speeds when passing a pulled over car. With no fluorescent vests or signs warning drivers to be careful two miles in advance, officers have no reliable protection against stray vehicles on the highway as this video demonstrates:

Take for example the case of Des Moines Police Sgt. Larina Blad. On August 15, Sgt. Blad was struck by a 4,800 pound Dodge Durango driven by a man with three prior OWI convictions. The driver, who later tested at more than two times the legal blood alcohol limit, dragged her more than a block and a half before stopping. The radio dispatch as reported by Radio Iowa indicates just how tough is this officer.

"What happened?" the dispatcher asked. "I’ve been run over," Blad replied. "I’ve been run over." The dispatcher sent "all units" to the scene. "I’ve got medics rolling already," the dispatcher told a policeman who had arrived at Blad’s side. "Is it a hit and run?" the officer asked.

The dispatcher replied: "It definitely sounds that way, yes." The suspect, 24-year-old Irving Cartagena, was allegedly driving drunk and his license had been revoked. Cops caught up with the suspect who was driving a white Chevy Tahoe. "Subject in custody?" the dispatcher asked.

Sgt. Blad, who vowed to return to work by the end of the week, was lucky not to have suffered more severe injuries in the accident. However, the same cannot be said for the roughly 70 officers who are killed in traffic related incidents each year while in the line of duty. According to the National Law Officers Memorial Fund, the majority of officer deaths for the past 11 years have been traffic related.

We can all help prevent these tragedies by driving safely and remaining alert for the sake of Iowa Highway Patrol officers, workers, passengers, other drivers, and ourselves. Leave your cell phone in your purse or pocket until you are safely parked. Avoid driving while tired or intoxicated, and always exercise caution when you see highway workers of any kind. Beyond that, it may be time to petition lawmakers to instate harsher penalties for repeat offense OWIs so that the roads are safer for everyone.

What do you get when you take 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles, 46,876 miles of highway, and a man with a badge? The answer depends on how safely we drive. Do your part to protect the safety of highway patrol workers.

Highway Patrol Work is Dangerous

(go to 1:10 of the video)

Newton, Iowa Construction Site Wall Collapse Injures Three Workers

Three construction workers were injured on a job site in Newton, Iowa as a wall collapsed and causing the scaffolding to do the same. KCCI news reporters watched a videotape taken by a security camera from across the street at Dave’s Wholesale. The security camera footage shows the collapse, to what degree isn’t known or disclosed. The men worked for Boucher Masonry Co. from Boone, Iowa. IOSH is investigating the incident.

Worker Safety Never Takes a Holiday, Chock the Wheels

Chocking the wheels and setting the parking brake would probably have saved the life of this liquid asphalt truck driver. OSHA fined a trucking company $9,100 for failing to use precautionary measures that allowed a truck loaded with liquid asphalt to roll, crushing the worker between two trucks. The driver was 62-year-old Brian Cellar.

If married at the time or if he had dependent children they would be provided with workers’ compensation benefits in Iowa. What most people don’t appreciate is even if the worker is from another state they can sometimes get Iowa benefits if the accident occurred in Iowa or they normally live and work in Iowa but the accident happens in another state.

Chocking the wheels is a simple thing, setting the parking brake even simpler. Sometimes we forget the little things that make a big difference. There are no holidays from safety. Be smart and go back to the basics. Shortcuts may lead to a disaster. General IOSH or OSHA safety rules are covered under Chapter 10 in Iowa.

Construction site photographs of the utility pole may be necessary to prove the case or why it fell over when struck by the Bobcat

In what can only be described as a tragedy, a construction worker today was killed after a utility pole was knocked over striking and killing him. The utility pole was backed into by a fellow worker operating a Bobcat with a bucket on it. The worker that died was 32 years-old and his fellow worker was 57. The accident occurred at 10:15 a.m., just south of S.W. 26^th Street and Watrous Avenue in Des Moines. The younger man was pronounced dead at the hospital.

There are several interesting legal points to this story. First, the younger man leaves two young children behind. Hopefully this young man’s employer had workers’ compensation coverage that will pay these children benefits through college or at least through high school (age 18). It’s not unusual that smaller contractors don’t have coverage; that’s not legal, but lawyers see it often in the construction industry.

Second, the dependents of this young man would have a claim for the workers’ compensation benefits and also may have a claim against the owner of the pole. The Des Moines Register article includes a reference to a spokesperson from MidAmerican Energy Co who said the pole was not one of theirs and did not carry electrical lines. Mediacom said they commonly rent poles and Qwest hadn’t yet commented. So who owned that pole? This pole is interesting in that it was caused to fall down when the Bobcat backed into it; a scenario unlikely to normally happen. It should take a lot of pressure to cause a utility pole to fall down. Normally they snap. And that’s the rub, as I like to say, of this case investigation.  Why did it fall down so easily?

Which leads me to the third and final point; the case investigation to preserve valuable evidence. I remember driving towards Des Moines on Grand Avenue one day many years ago when I noticed a pole that had been struck by a car. The power company had a truck on location and was in the process of setting up to take the pole down and set it father away from the street. A client lived at that location so I pulled in to talk with him; he was standing on the sidewalk watching. Immediately I took out a camera and began taking photographs, which later were sent to the attorney representing the man whose legs were apparently pinned between the pole and a car bumper in the accident. Had I not taken photographs the pole would have been removed taking with it any chance of knowing what it looked like. It’s important to gather and preserve the key evidence in the case; in this case the pole. Someone needs to take photographs of the pole and the accident investigation site. Whoever is in charge of the dependent children needs to hire someone to get in there and photograph the location before the owner removes and destroys the pole. How that pole was seated in the ground may be a very important fact and pictures a sometimes worth a thousand words.

Owners don’t sit around waiting for injured people to complete their investigation. Owners need to get busy cleaning up the mess to make sure someone else isn’t injured or killed. Justice waits for no one.

So act, don’t sit around wondering. If you know Andrew Clark’s guardian tell them to get some legal advice and quickly; their future may depend upon it.