Press Release
- December 23, 2004 -
Anesi Ozmon Wins Appeal for Injured Ironworker -- Firm Strengthens Worker-Safety Issues for Contractors in Moorehead vs. Mustang Construction
In a seminal decision, the Third District Appellate Court of the State of Illinois reversed the trial court and found that a general contractor should face trial to determine if it retained enough control of the construction site to owe a duty to the worker. Bruce M. Kohen, a partner in the law firm of Anesi Ozmon Rodin Novak & Kohen, successfully argued for the catastrophically injured worker. The case hinges on whether a general contractor controls the work of subcontractors' employees.
In its construction contract with an Illinois college, defendant Mustang Construction accepted responsibility for jobsite safety and placed a full-time superintendent on site. The court upheld that contract and returned the litigation's focus to safety, rather than the defense's limiting arguments about 'controlling the operative details.”
Bruce M. Kohen and Mark C. Murnane, explained the significance. "Several recent decisions by the courts have narrowly focused on whether a contractor controlled the methods of a subcontractor's work in order to impose a duty. The Appellate Court today returned to time-honored principles of safety and held that the defendant owed a duty to provide a safe place to work.”
At the time of the court's decision, Marc Taxman, partner of the firm of Anesi Ozmon Rodin Novak & Kohen remarked, "Whenever we can successfully turn back the trends of eroding the standards of worker safety in Illinois, it is a day to be hailed. Mark Murnane, who is working on this case and Bruce Kohen, who argued before the appellate court, have made important new law today.”
About Anesi, Ozmon, Rodin, Novak & Kohen Ltd. Anesi Ozmon is Illinois' leading law firm concentrating its practice in the representation of victims of personal injury and wrongful death. For half a century - since 1955 - working people, patients, and consumers have relied on the lawyers of Anesi Ozmon for help in the wake of a life-changing injury. The firm only represents injured plaintiffs and no other firm in Illinois combines the depth of its capabilities in both personal injury and in workers' compensation. The firm's services include representation in workplace injury and wrongful death, construction negligence, medical malpractice, products liability, auto collisions/vehicular negligence, premises liability, workers' compensation, and social security disability.
To contact the firm about this press release, please contact:
Marc A. Taxman
312-574-3378 Toll Free: 866-610-6219
mtaxman@anesilaw.com
