When a worker for the City of Chicago was electrocuted on the job he turned to Ankin Law and attorney Scott Goldstein. In arbitration Mr. Goldstein was able to secure a favorable decision. This, in spite of the injured man having two separate Independent Medical Exams which tend to favor the respondent, not the injured party. Mr. Goldstein was able to show that the worker sustained his injuries in the course of his employment and workers’ compensation benefits were appropriate.
The Arbitrator awarded the electrocuted worker:
1. Temporary total disability benefits of $1,302.15/week for 40 2/7 weeks
2. Payment for reasonable and necessary medical services already provided
3. Future Medical Care for Electrocution Injury with a facility that specifically treats these type of injuries
4. Lumbar epidural steroid injections and a left interlaminar epidural steroid injection.
[Read the full arbitrator decision here]
The injured worker had been employed in the City of Chicago’s water department for approximately eight months and was working as a construction laborer. His duties involved preparing pipes for placement into excavation holes while working outdoors in the street. On the day of the accident the injured laborer was working at Keeler and Fillmore Streets preparing a pipe to be lowered into a hole by crane. He testified that while holding a cable and grabbing a hook attached to the crane, he was electrocuted after the crane’s boom came into contact with an overhead high-voltage power line during heavy rain. He described hearing and feeling electricity travel through his body from head to feet, experiencing muscle spasms, and being unable to let go. He further testified that once the crane moved away from the power line, he was thrown backward. Following the incident, he experienced tingling in his right arm and fingers, confusion, disorientation, and pain in his hand, back, and head.
After he was electrocuted he was unable to continue working and drove himself home and he sought medical treatment the following day. He explained to the arbitrator that he did not seek immediate treatment because his foreman sent him home and because he remained in shock and disoriented after the incident. He testified that on the day after the accident he continued to experience pain, confusion, and symptoms related to the electrical shock injury.
Below is a summary of the treatment the electrocuted man went through up until the arbitration hearing:
On May 29, 2025, the petitioner (Injured worker) sought emergency treatment after suffering an electrical shock at work. He reported pain, numbness, and tingling in his right arm, along with a worsening frontal headache, disorientation, and generalized discomfort. Emergency physicians found no acute abnormalities on a brain CT scan and determined that his symptoms were likely related to the electrical shock, although peripheral neuropathy was considered. He was discharged in stable condition and kept off work until June 2, 2025. In the following weeks, he began treatment with Dr. B at a Pain Center, reporting persistent neck pain, back pain, headaches, speech difficulties, visual disturbances, and radiating numbness and tingling in both his arms and legs. Dr. B prescribed medications, ordered multiple MRIs, recommended physical therapy, and continued to keep him off work.
Diagnostic testing during June and July 2025 revealed a mixed picture of ongoing symptoms. MRI studies showed multiple cervical disc bulges and protrusions with neuroforaminal narrowing, as well as lumbar disc herniations and mild degenerative changes in the right hip. Despite these findings, brain MRI studies remained normal. The worker reported some improvement through physical therapy but continued to experience significant neck and back pain, speech difficulties, headaches, and neurological complaints involving his extremities. Dr. B repeatedly recommended continued therapy, medications, neurological evaluation, and epidural steroid injections while maintaining work restrictions.
The worker also underwent neurological evaluation at a medical services clinic beginning in July 2025. He reported headaches, dizziness, balance problems, visual disturbances, and memory difficulties following the electrical injury. Physician Assistant “A” diagnosed him with concussion, post-concussive syndrome, post-traumatic headaches, dizziness, and memory impairment, concluding that the symptoms were causally related to the workplace accident. Additional testing, including Video Nystagmography (VNG), balance assessments, neurocognitive testing, and EEG monitoring, generally supported complaints of vestibular dysfunction and post-concussive symptoms, although brain imaging and EEG studies remained normal. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy was recommended and later provided, resulting in some improvement in headaches and dizziness.
Throughout the remainder of 2025, the injured worker continued treatment for persistent symptoms involving neck pain, low back pain, headaches, dizziness, cognitive complaints, and neuropathic symptoms in his upper extremities. Multiple providers documented gradual improvement in headaches and dizziness, particularly after vestibular rehabilitation, but noted ongoing balance issues, memory concerns, neck pain, and numbness or burning sensations in his arms and hands. He underwent independent medical examinations, was referred to specialists including orthopedic and neurological providers, and sought evaluation from an electrical trauma clinic, which he believed specialized in electrical injury treatment. Several recommended injections and therapy sessions were delayed or denied by insurance.
By late 2025 and early 2026, the man reported some overall improvement, particularly with medications such as gabapentin, which he stated provided significant relief. Nevertheless, he continued to experience chronic neck pain radiating into both arms, low back pain, burning sensations, tingling in his fingers, and residual post-concussive complaints. His treating physicians continued to recommend medication management, physical therapy, vestibular rehabilitation, and cervical epidural steroid injections. Although some providers noted improvement and one independent medical examiner reportedly found that he had reached maximum medical improvement, his treating physicians consistently kept him off work and continued active treatment through January 2026.
