ANESI OZMON partner Steven A. Berman  recently obtained an important appellate court victory for workers’ rights, setting a new first district precedent to better argue control in construction cases. The Illinois First District Appellate Court reversed the trial court’s ruling that granted summary judgment in favor of a general contractor, dismissing the case of an injured ironworker. The Appellate Court agreed with Mr. Berman’s position that the facts established during discovery created a genuine issue of fact as to whether the general contractor retained supervisory control over work safety on the jobsite and therefore had a duty to exercise that control with reasonable care.

John Foley, a Local 1 Ironworker, was working for a subcontractor, Chicago Town, on a Builtech jobsite in Chicago. Builtech was the general contractor for the new building project and had a full-time superintendent assigned to the project. Mr. Foley was injured when he attempted to pull a piece of rebar from a pile and injured his back. Evidence in the case showed that the rebar pile had been unsafely relocated on the site and stacked in a “tangled mess”.

Chicago Town, in its contract, agreed to be responsible for the...

ANESI OZMON partners Michael L. Teich and Steven A. Berman secured $10.03 million settlement in a construction negligence case on behalf of a 32-year old ironworker from Local 393 in Aurora, Illinois. Three defendants agreed to pay $9.55 million on August 23, 2019, after five days of trial before the Honorable Judge Ruben Castillo in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiff's employer, Lakeside Rack Installers (Lakeside), settled shortly before jury selection for an additional $486,000.  The settlement came after Mr. Teich and Mr. Berman rejected previous unreasonable pre-trial settlement offers that did not reflect the serious nature of the knee and wrist injuries that caused the loss of this ironworker’s career.

The plaintiff filed suit against Duke Realty Services, LLC. (Duke), Steel King Industries, Inc. (Steel King), and a third defendant for injuries he sustained during the construction of a warehouse distribution center.  He sustained severe injuries when a large steel rack system that was not anchored to the floor collapsed onto him after it was struck by an untrained and uncertified forklift operator.

Steel King was hired...

Anesi Ozmon Rodin Novak & Kohen Ltd. (Anesi Ozmon) announced that Patrick J. Blum has joined the firm as an associate.

Blum, an accomplished trial attorney with more than fifteen years of experience, brings a track record of success in a multi-faceted portfolio. He has successfully litigated federal and state personal injury and wrongful death claims relating auto and tractor-trailer crashes, police brutality, product liability, medical and dental malpractice, premises liability, violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act and violations of Section 1983 of the United States Code, and has achieved several six and seven-figure verdicts and settlements.

“Patrick is an excellent addition to our dedicated team of attorneys at Anesi Ozmon,” stated John Popelka, President/Managing Partner. “His proven track record, depth of knowledge, and legal skills will be a valuable asset as he represents our clients.”

Blum’s work has been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers who named him a Top 40 Under 40 attorney for three years. The National Trial Lawyers also named Blum to their list of Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and Leading Lawyers Magazine named him an Emerging Lawyer from 2015-2019. Blum earned...