“I had only been on the job two weeks when a barrel crushed my foot. The company said they barely knew me. My lawyer said the law doesn’t work that way.”
The Origin of the Claim: Workplace Accident at a Cicero Manufacturing Plant
A 29-year-old temp worker, assigned by a staffing agency to a manufacturing plant in Cicero, Illinois, suffered a crush injury to his right foot when a 55-gallon industrial barrel broke free from a pallet during a warehouse maneuver in February 2023. The diagnosis revealed fractures of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th metatarsals and compartment syndrome requiring emergency fasciotomy to save the foot. The surgical intervention was extensive: internal fixation of the fractured metatarsals plus the fasciotomy to relieve compartment pressure. The worker spent 6 weeks non-weight-bearing and another 8 weeks in physical therapy relearning to walk without a limp. Although the fractures healed, he was left with chronic pain when standing for more than 2 hours — a significant disability for someone whose livelihood depends on physical work.
Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, temporary workers are covered from day one — there is no waiting period, no seniority requirement. Both the staffing agency and the company where the accident occurred can be held liable. The IWCC has clearly established that temporary workers have exactly the same rights as permanent employees. This type of workplace injury is far more common than employers admit.
The Obstacles: Agency vs. Company — Nobody Wants Responsibility
The staffing agency argued the accident occurred on the plant’s premises — not theirs — and that the manufacturing company bore responsibility. The company, in turn, argued the worker was on the agency’s payroll and that the agency’s insurer should respond. The worker was trapped in the middle, with neither party accepting responsibility for his medical bills. For 3 months, he received not a single compensation check.
The insurer Gallagher Bassett eventually offered $8,500 to “close the case” — a figure that didn’t cover half the surgery cost. The worker, facing eviction from his Cicero apartment, was being squeezed into accepting a fraction of what his claim was worth. The strategy was transparent: exhaust the worker financially until he accepts anything.
Legal Strategy: Joint and Several Liability for Temp Workers
The attorneys at Illinois Compensation filed an IWCC claim naming BOTH parties as jointly and severally liable: the staffing agency (as nominal employer) and the manufacturing plant (as the de facto employer where the accident occurred). In Illinois, when a temporary worker is injured, both the agency and the client company can be held responsible under the “dual employer” or “borrowed servant” doctrine. By scheduling a Section 19(b) hearing with both parties summoned, the attorneys forced the agency and the plant to define their positions before an arbitrator. Neither wanted a formal IWCC determination of liability — that would set a precedent for future accidents at the plant. The pressure of the imminent hearing broke the negotiation logjam in under 2 weeks.
The Victory: $54,000 for the Cicero Temp Worker
The case settled for $54,000 through a joint agreement between the agency’s and the plant’s insurers. The settlement covered the emergency surgery and physical therapy, retroactive temporary total disability (TTD) dating back to the accident date, and permanent partial disability (PPD) calculated on 18% foot impairment. The final figure was more than 6 times the $8,500 initial offer. Beyond the money, the case established that neither the agency nor the plant could evade responsibility by pointing fingers at each other. A worker with just 2 weeks on the job received the same legal consideration as a 20-year veteran.
With the compensation in hand, the worker paid his debts, kept his Cicero apartment, and — once rehabilitation was complete — found employment in a position that doesn’t require prolonged standing, protecting his foot from reinjury.
Are you a temp worker who got injured on the job? It doesn’t matter if you had 2 days or 2 years — Illinois workers’ compensation covers you from the first minute. If the agency and the company are passing responsibility back and forth, our firm puts both of them before the IWCC arbitrator and forces them to answer. Your injury is not worth less because you’re temporary.
Call us today for a free consultation. We don’t back down — and neither should you.
