The leaking of some type of liquid at a chemical company in Kankakee, BASF Corp., this morning causing the evacuation of the facility.

According the chief of the Kankakee Fire Department, a response team composed of hazardous material specialists responded to the call in order to determine what the liquid was and to clean up the spill.

The department was called just before 8 a.m. when the leaking liquid was noticed near a staircase. An investigation into the accident will be done whenever crews decide that the area is safe.

If you or a loved one has been injured after because of negligence in the workplace, you need experienced representation on your side that may be able to help you secure the benefits that you deserve. Contact the Kankakee workers’ compensation lawyers of Spiros Law, P.C., today by calling 815-929-9292.

A worker in Kankakee was killed after a construction accident occurred while working on a road restructuring project near Lockport.

According to officials, the 28-year-old Kankakee man was killed when he stepped off of an asphalt roller and was struck by a semi-truck.

The accident is currently being investigated at this time, but the driver of the semi-truck was ticketed for backing up improperly.

The man was a contracted employee with the Illinois Department of Transportation, but it is not known if the semi-truck driver was also an employee. The accident occurred on Illinois 17 just after 9:30 a.m.

Workplace accidents can occur when least expected. Our deepest condolences are with the friends and family of the victim.

Fire gutted a 90,000 square foot building on Grinnell Road in Kankakee that was the home to three businesses. The strong winds of Friday, September 2, 2011 propelled the fire that caused explosions and fifty foot high flames. Smoke from the fire was seen ten miles away.

The fire started in the southern section of the building that was home to River Valley Recycling around 1:30 p.m. At times the sounds of muffled explosions were heard and were thought to be caged propane tanks used at the recycling plant.

The tanks were apparently the cause of the high flames.

Kankakee Fire Chief Ron Young was told that no one remained in the building and no firefighters were hurt while containing the blaze. However, the building housed two other businesses – Tru –Cut Machinery and a tannery – that have lost equipment in the fire.

Not all workplace fires end injury free. If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured in a workplace fire, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to explore your legal rights. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A single “boom” on August 16, 2011, loud enough for neighbors to think a tree had fallen on their own house, indicated that an explosion had occurred at the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America plant in Herscher in southwest Kankakee County.
 
Five people were hurt in the mid-morning explosion that caused a fire. Bonfield resident Richard Wildman, 36, was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood after suffering burns and had been listed in critical condition. According to Ken McCabe, spokesman for the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office, the other four workers were treated at local hospitals in Kankakee and released on Tuesday.
 
It is unknown as to what caused the explosion and the investigation may take some time. Damon Hall, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, stated that one inspector was on site as of  Tuesday and two more inspectors were expected by Wednesday. The Herscher plant has had explosions in the past but has a clean safety record for the past ten years.
 
When explosions happen at the workplace, injuries can be long lasting.

If you or a loved one knows someone who has been injured at the workplace, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to explore your legal rights. Visit the website at wwwspiroslaw.com.

A coal processing plant in West Virginia undergoing renovations was the site of the death of a worker by electrocution on July 27th.

State and federal officials are investigating how 40-year-old Jason Stacey, a welder with 12 years of experience, died while working in the plant in Maitland, West Virginia. Superior Processing Plant was not currently processing coal at the time.

Mr. Stacey was at the plant in the evening doing welding work when he was electrocuted.

The Superior Processing Plant is owned by the Mike Dover Corporation, based in Marion, Illinois. Mr. Stacey worked as an independent contractor for Dover and had 15 months of experience at the Maitland mine, according to state officials with the Office of Miner’s Health, Safety and Training of West Virginia.

Work accidents can be minor or deadly. If you or a loved one has lost someone from an accident at the worksite, call Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal options. Visit our website at  www.spiroslaw.com.

A Momence man was killed last week after he fell off a roof in a workplace accident.

The man was a laborer at Silva International Inc. and was working when he fell last week. The Kankakee County coroner pronounced him dead at 4:52 p.m. The investigation shows that injuries from the fall caused the man’s death.

It was stated by officials that it was not a mechanical defect, he fell from a roof while working on it.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is still investigating at this time.

Our deepest condolences are with the friends and family of the victims at this time.

A man was killed during a plow truck fire at the Kankakee County golf course due to carbon monoxide  intoxication.

The 71-year-old man was the groundskeeper for the Minne Monnesse Golf Course shoveling snow on the course after a blizzard when the truck caught on fire.  The inhalation of the “smoke and smoot” was found to be the cause of his death after an investigation was done by the County Coroner’s Office.

Workplace accidents can happen unexpectedly and cause serious injury to anyone involved, our thoughts are with the friends and family of the man.

Police and fire crews were dispatched to a factory that manufactures keypads for electronic devices after employees became exposed to acetone on March 14, 2011.

Grayhill, Inc. in LaGrange, Illinois, was the scene of the acetone spill. Firefighters ventilated the area as a precaution even though the scene had been cleared. Eight employees were sent to Advocate LaGrange Memorial Hospital after complaining of nausea and dizziness.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), acetone is a colorless liquid that has a distinctive smell to it. Acetone is used to make plastics, fibers and drugs as wells as to dissolve other substances. When inhaled, acetone can cause irritation to the lungs, nose, ears, throat and eyes. Headaches and light-headedness can also be cause by over-exposure to acetone.

Chemical spills can lead to injuries covered under Workmen’s Compensation guidelines. If you or a loved one has suffered from a chemical spill, contact Spiros Law at 815-929-9292 to find out your legal options. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

A fire at the Prairieview Mobile Home Park has been linked to a faulty space heater. The mobile home park is located at 1995 S. Schuyler Avenue in Kankakee.

 
Three mobile homes were damaged by the fire. One trailer was engulfed in flames when the firefighters arrived according to Captain Mike Casagrande. Two other nearby homes suffered from heat damage.
 
A firefighter was hurt after falling through a floor while investigating the scene. Suffering only minor injuries, that firefighter was treated and released from a local hospital. No residents were injured as a result of this fire.
 
If you or a family member has been injured by a fire caused by a faulty product, call Spiros Law to find out your legal options at 815-929-9292. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.

Toxic fumes in a storage tank at a biotechnology plant in Atwater Village, a neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles,  killed one man and left two others in critical condition. The incident occurred at the Baxter International Inc. plant on January 21, 2011.

The men were cleaning the four-foot-tall and five-foot-wide tank with detergent when they were overcome by ethanol fumes. The tank stored blood product and ethanol is used to separate blood plasma.  One man was outside of the tank and had called 911 several times before succumbing to the fumes.

Firefighters called to the site arrived and were able to revive one man. They remove the men from inside the tank. One man would later die at the hospital but it is unknown if that was the man who was revived. A hazardous materials team was sent to the site.

Baxter International Inc. is based in Deerfield, Illinois. According to their website, the global bioscience corporation makes a variety of medical products from vaccines to dialysis materials. Its plasma-derived products include clotting factor for hemophiliacs and treatments for immune system deficiencies, burns and shock.

A simple task can change to something complex in an instant in the workplace. If your family has lost of loved one due to a workplace accident, call Spiros Law to explore your legal options at 815-929-9292. Visit the website at www.spiroslaw.com.