Hayward WI Workers' Compensation Law Blog

It's that time of year when we hear about students injured while participating in sporting events or other extracurricular activities.

In many cases, injuries occur while traveling to or from a school-sanctioned event or while otherwise participating in an organized activity. These cases are always best handled by an experienced personal injury law firm in Hayward or Winter.

Earlier this month, the USA Today reported a coach and a number of high school bowlers were injured after their bus crashed while returning to West Bend, Wisconsin from a competition in Campbellsport.

Just after Thanksgiving, ABC5 Eyewitness News reported a Girl Scout was released from the hospital after being critically injured in a traffic accident that killed three other scouts and a troop leader. The tragedy occurred when a pickup truck crashed into the group as they picked up trash on a county road. The 21-year-old driver faces four counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, as well as other charges. Authorities say he was huffing air duster before the crash.

Our injury lawyers in Winter and Hayward can best help you determine your rights after school injury or injury at an organized event. While schools and those engaged in organized sporting events often enjoy certain immunities from liability for resulting injuries, the laws are complex and such protections are far from absolute.

An explosion last spring at the Husky Energy refinery in Superior, Wisconsin occurred in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, federal investigators have determined.

The determination confirms what we reported in May on our Wisconsin work injury blog after the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board reported the explosion occurred during a process that heats crude oil to extract gasoline and other petroleum byproducts.

State and federal investigators have yet to determine why the FCC unit failed. The explosion caused the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The mayor of Duluth called on the company to remove hydrogen flouride from the refining process, after safety advocates determined a release of hydrogen flouride during the explosion could have caused a mass casualty incident. Despite those risks, ABC 5 Eyewitness News reported the refinery has never been inspected by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Our workers' compensation lawyers in Hayward and Winter know oil workers face some of the highest injury risks.

The roads aren't the only places snow and ice make more dangerous as winter descends upon the Upper Midwest.

We recently wrote about the risks of winter driving. However, in the coming months, snow and ice will create a number of injury risks, whether at home, school, work, or play.

Most injury "accidents," are not accidents in the strictest sense of the word. Failure to prepare, lack of safety education or equipment, failure to respect the risks, irresponsible behavior, or inadequate response are among the most common causes of winter-weather injury. Whether a damage claim can be made against another at-fault party will depend on the facts of an individual case. At-fault motorists, property owners, employers and city or government entities are among the most likely defendants when an action, reaction, or failure to take action results in personal injury or wrongful death.

Wisconsin construction workers like you often put yourself at risk just to do your job. Between the heavy machinery, dangerous equipment, and high scaffolding, the potential for accidents could lurk around any corner.

According to FindLaw, up to 65 percent of all construction employees are estimated to work on scaffolding with relatively high frequency. Because of that, scaffolding is also where many accidents tend to occur. These accidents tend to result in rather severe injuries, depending on the height you fall from. The type of injury you receive can also be varied, and may include:

• Concussions or head trauma
• Broken bones
• Spinal damage
• Nerve damage
• Paralysis