Call Scott DeSalvo: 312-500-4500 - Any Time, Day Or Night
It was almost midnight when my phone rang. A guy working third shift at a metal shop near the Stevenson got his arm caught in a press. The safety guard had been broken for weeks, but the boss kept saying they'd fix it "next week."
Two days later, I'm sitting in his hospital room. His arm's in a cast, he's on painkillers, and you know what he asks me? "How am I gonna make my mortgage payment next month?"
Not "will I use my hand again?" Not "what happened?" Just—how do I pay my bills when I can't work?
That right there? That's why I do this.
I'm Scott DeSalvo. Been doing this work in Chicago for over 20 years now. I represent the guys working in factories along the Ship Canal. The folks loading trucks at warehouses by Midway. The people running machines at plants all over Cook County.
Regular people who show up every day to work hard and make a living. And then one day, a machine malfunctions, or a forklift driver isn't paying attention, or a company decides saving a few bucks is more important than your safety.
Here's what happens next: You're hurt. Maybe hurt bad. The medical bills start piling up. Your paycheck stops. And now you're dealing with insurance companies who have entire departments dedicated to paying you as little as possible.
But here's the good news: You don't have to fight them alone.
Fair question. There's a lot of injury lawyers out there. So let me tell you why I'm different.
My dad was a truck driver. Good union guy, Teamster. When I was nine, he got hurt bad at work. Really bad.
His case went on for SEVENTEEN YEARS. You read that right. Seventeen years.
And his lawyer? Didn't return calls. Didn't explain anything. Left money on the table that should've been my dad's. And at the very end, after almost two decades, his own lawyer sued him to get more fees out of his settlement.
I watched what that did to my family. My mom crying because we couldn't pay bills. My dad, this strong guy who'd worked his whole life, feeling helpless.
I was a kid, but I made a decision: When I grow up, I'm gonna be a lawyer. And I'm never gonna let that happen to another family.
That's not some marketing story I came up with. That's my actual life. That's why I became an injury lawyer, and that's why I only represent injured people—never the insurance companies, never the defense.
Look, machines don't wait until Monday at 9 AM to break. That forklift doesn't crash during business hours. And your stress about how you're gonna pay rent? That doesn't wait either.
So here's how I work: Call me whenever. 2 in the morning. Sunday. Thanksgiving. I don't care.
You'll get me. Or you'll get someone on my team who actually knows who you are and cares about your case. Not a voicemail. Not some random paralegal who's never heard of you.
Because when you're lying awake at 3 AM worrying about your future, you shouldn't have to wait until some lawyer decides to return your call three days later.
After my dad got hurt, we had no money. I mean no money. I get what that's like.
So I'm not gonna charge you to talk to me. I'm not gonna charge you to take your case. And I'm not gonna send you bills while I'm working on it.
The only time I get paid is when YOU get paid. If I don't win? You don't owe me anything. Not a dime.
That's not some promotional thing. That's how I run my practice. Period.
Most lawyers go to law school, pass the bar, and that's it. They think they know everything.
I've spent over $100,000 of my own money going to advanced trial lawyer training all over the country. I graduated from Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer's College—one of the most prestigious programs in America. I did "The Edge" program. Less than one in ten thousand lawyers has done this kind of training.
Why'd I spend all that money and time? Because when you're up against insurance companies with unlimited resources and teams of lawyers, I want every possible advantage for you.
I did it so when you hire me, you're getting someone who knows how to actually WIN.
Let me be real with you for a second. Getting hurt in a factory isn't like spraining your ankle at the grocery store.
We're not talking about a bruise that heals in a week. We're talking about:
Getting your hand ripped off in a press. Having a forklift run you over. Breathing in chemicals that wreck your lungs forever. Falling two stories onto concrete. Getting burned so bad you need skin grafts.
I've represented workers who can't hold their kids anymore because they lost use of their arm. Guys who can't walk right because their back is destroyed. People who can't breathe without an inhaler because their employer wouldn't pay for proper ventilation.
These are life-changing injuries. The kind that affect everything—your job, your family, your ability to do simple stuff like tie your shoes or sleep through the night without pain.
Here's something the insurance companies don't want you to know:
Workers' comp pays an average of about $67,000. That's medical bills and partial wages while you recover.
But when we can also sue equipment manufacturers, contractors, or staffing agencies? The average goes up to over $450,000.
Yeah. That much difference.
Why? Because workers' comp only gives you two-thirds of your wages and nothing for pain and suffering. But when we can go after OTHER companies that caused your injury? Now we can get you compensated for everything—full wages, pain and suffering, what you won't earn in the future, all of it.
Most workers have no idea this is even possible. That's exactly how insurance companies like it.
I need you to understand this: Insurance companies are not on your side. They don't care about you. Their entire job is to pay you as little as possible.
They'll say your injury isn't work-related. They'll claim you already had that bad back before the accident. They'll offer you a quick settlement before you even know how serious your injuries are. And they'll drag everything out for months hoping you'll get desperate and take whatever scraps they throw at you.
I've been fighting these companies for over 20 years. I know their playbook inside and out. And I know how to beat them at their own game.
In two decades of doing this work, I've seen pretty much every kind of industrial accident you can imagine.
Presses, lathes, grinders, saws, conveyor belts—when this stuff goes wrong, people lose fingers, hands, arms. Sometimes worse.
I had a client named Miguel working at a metal shop near Cicero. Stamping press came down on his hand when it shouldn't have. Crushed it. Later we found out the manufacturer had sent a recall notice months earlier saying "hey, this safety feature doesn't work right, you need to fix it." The plant owner never bothered.
We went after both workers' comp and sued the manufacturer. Miguel got $4.2 million. But you know what? He'd trade all that money in a heartbeat to have his hand back.
The big warehouse districts near O'Hare and Midway? Forklifts everywhere. And when an untrained driver is operating one? Bad things happen.
James was working at a warehouse, doing his job, when a forklift hit him. Driver was a temp worker from a staffing agency. When we dug into it? The agency had completely made up his training records. Just lied about it.
We went after both the staffing agency and the warehouse. $2.8 million. James has ongoing medical issues from his brain injury, but at least he's got the money to pay for treatment.
You'd be shocked how many warehouses have people climbing 20, 30 feet up with zero fall protection. Or they've got cheap railings that don't meet code. And then someone falls.
David was doing maintenance work on an elevated platform at a plant in Bridgeport. Temporary railings gave way and he fell 18 feet onto concrete. Multiple injuries, permanent problems with his back.
The contractor who put those railings up? Used substandard equipment to save a few bucks. We proved it violated OSHA standards. $1.6 million settlement, but David's gonna be dealing with pain for the rest of his life.
A lot of plants in Little Village and Pilsen work with nasty chemicals. When companies don't give proper protective equipment or ventilation? Workers' lungs get destroyed.
Rosa worked at an industrial cleaning place for eight years. Breathing in chemicals every day. Her employer had been cited by OSHA multiple times for not providing proper respiratory protection. They just ignored it.
By the time she came to see me, she had permanent lung disease. Can't work anymore. Needs medications and treatment for life. We got her $1.9 million, but there's no amount of money that gives you healthy lungs back.
Carlos was an electrician working at a facility on Goose Island. Got badly burned because equipment wasn't locked out before he started working on it. That's basic safety stuff—you shut equipment down and lock it so it can't accidentally turn on while someone's working on it.
The company violated lockout/tagout rules. Both Illinois state law and federal OSHA regulations. Carlos needed multiple surgeries for his burns and has permanent scarring. $875,000 settlement.
These are the ones that give me nightmares. Industrial fires and explosions cause some of the most horrific injuries you can imagine. Burns over huge portions of the body. Blast injuries. Smoke inhalation that destroys lungs.
I'm not gonna sit here and make vague promises. Here are real cases with real results:
$4.2 Million - Miguel, press operator who lost his hand
$2.8 Million - James, warehouse worker hit by forklift
$1.9 Million - Rosa, chemical exposure causing permanent lung disease
$1.6 Million - David, fell from platform due to faulty railings
$875,000 - Carlos, electrical burns from lockout/tagout violation
These aren't made-up numbers. These are real people I represented. Real cases I won. Real money that helped these families deal with devastating injuries.
This confuses a lot of people. And insurance companies take advantage of that confusion.
When you get hurt at work in Illinois, workers' comp covers you. Here's what you get:
That's the good news. Here's the bad: You only get two-thirds of your wages. You get nothing for pain and suffering. Nothing for how your life has been ruined. Nothing for emotional distress.
So workers' comp is fine for getting your immediate medical care covered. But for a serious injury that affects the rest of your life? It's not nearly enough.
Most workers don't know this: Just because you can't sue your employer doesn't mean you can't sue anybody.
See, in a lot of industrial accidents, OTHER companies are responsible too:
When you sue THESE companies in regular court? Now we're talking about real compensation:
This is how a $67,000 workers' comp case becomes a $500,000 total recovery. Or more.
And here's the beautiful part: You can do BOTH at the same time. Get workers' comp benefits AND sue the other companies. That's my job—making sure you get every dollar you're entitled to.
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
Listen, what you do in the next 24 to 48 hours can completely change how your case turns out. I'm not exaggerating.
I don't care if you think you're "fine." I don't care if it "doesn't hurt that bad." Go to the hospital.
Why? Two reasons:
First, some serious injuries don't show symptoms right away. You could have internal bleeding, a brain injury, or spinal damage and not know it yet. I've had clients who thought they were okay, waited a few days, and then found out they had serious problems.
Second, if you wait, the insurance company will say "well, if you were really hurt, you would've gone to the hospital right away." They'll use the delay against you.
Good Chicago hospitals for work injuries:
When you're there, tell the doctor EXACTLY what happened. And tell them about EVERY symptom, even the small stuff.
Illinois law gives you 45 days to report a work injury. Don't wait. Tell your supervisor today. Right now if possible.
And get it in writing. Make sure they file an accident report and YOU get a copy.
Why the rush? Because some employers will try to claim it never happened at work if you wait. Or they'll say you got hurt somewhere else. Get it documented NOW while it's fresh.
If you're physically able, pull out your phone and start taking pictures:
Also, write down the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw what happened.
Why? Because evidence disappears fast. Companies clean up scenes, fix equipment, make things look better. By tomorrow, the proof might be gone.
Within a day or two, someone from an insurance company will call you. They'll be super friendly. Real nice. They'll say stuff like "we just need to get your statement about what happened" or "we're just trying to help."
DO NOT TALK TO THEM. DO NOT GIVE THEM A STATEMENT.
Everything you say will be twisted and used against you later. They're trained to ask questions that make your case look worse.
Just say: "I'm sorry, I need to talk to my lawyer first."
They won't like it. They might pressure you. Doesn't matter. Don't talk to them.
The longer you wait to call a lawyer, the worse your case gets. Here's why:
I need to get moving on your case IMMEDIATELY. I need to send letters telling the company they have to preserve evidence. I need to talk to witnesses while they remember what they saw. I need to get started.
Call me right now: 312-500-4500
Any time. Day or night. I'm here.
The call costs you nothing. The consultation is free. And if I take your case, you don't pay me a dime unless I win.
I'm gonna explain this without all the legal BS. Just straight talk.
Workers' comp covers most injuries that happen at work. Key points:
The upside? You get benefits fairly quickly without having to sue. The downside? Limited money and you give up the right to sue your employer for the full value of your injuries.
When someone OTHER than your employer causes your injury, normal lawsuit rules apply. I have to prove:
Illinois has this "comparative negligence" rule. Basically, even if you were partly at fault, you can still recover money as long as you're less than 51% to blame. Your recovery just gets reduced by your percentage of fault.
So if you were 20% at fault and the jury awards you $100,000, you'd get $80,000.
This is a different kind of case. When machinery or equipment is defective, I don't even have to prove normal negligence.
I just have to show:
Manufacturers can be liable even if they weren't negligent in the traditional sense. If they put dangerous equipment on the market, they're responsible.
The federal government has an agency called OSHA that makes safety rules for workplaces. Key regulations for industrial workers:
When companies violate these rules, it makes my job easier. I can point to the rule they broke and say "look, even the federal government says what you did was wrong."
OSHA violations are powerful evidence in injury cases.
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Your complete guide to work injury and Workers Comp to give you everything you need to know if you or a loved one has been hurt at work.
A lot of people think "well, I can't sue my employer, so I guess I can't sue anybody." Wrong.
Workers' comp is usually your only remedy against your employer. You trade the right to sue them for quick benefits.
But there ARE exceptions:
If the machine that hurt you was defective, we can go after the manufacturer. I've sued companies that made:
These cases can result in big money because manufacturers have big insurance policies.
Companies that are supposed to maintain equipment can be liable when they:
Temp agencies are liable when they:
I've had several cases where staffing agencies falsified training records. They get hammered in court for that.
On bigger job sites with multiple companies, the general contractor often controls overall safety. They can be liable for creating or allowing dangerous conditions.
If someone else owns the building where you work, they can be liable when they:
After 20+ years of this, I've seen every trick in the book. Here's what they'll try:
What they say: The accident was your fault because you weren't paying attention or didn't follow rules.
What I do: Even if you made a mistake, that doesn't excuse defective equipment, lack of training, or unsafe conditions the company created. I show the jury that the company set you up to fail.
Plus, Illinois law says you can still recover money even if you were partly at fault, as long as you're less than 51% to blame.
What they say: This was a freak accident. Unforeseeable. Nobody's fault.
What I do: I dig up evidence showing similar accidents happened before, that industry standards required safeguards, that OSHA regulations addressed this exact hazard, or that there were previous near-misses.
Industrial accidents are almost never "unforeseeable." Companies just don't want to spend money on safety.
What they say: The machine worked fine. You just used it wrong.
What I do: I bring in engineering experts who show that even if the machine "worked as designed," the design itself was dangerous. Equipment that doesn't protect workers from obvious hazards is defective, period.
What they say: The medical records don't show much. You're exaggerating.
What I do: I build a comprehensive picture of your injuries with multiple doctors, diagnostic tests, expert testimony, and day-in-the-life videos showing what you actually can't do anymore.
Insurance companies love to minimize injuries. I make sure juries see the truth.
What they say: You had a bad back/shoulder/knee before this accident. This isn't a new injury.
What I do: Illinois law is clear: Even if you had prior problems, if the accident made them worse, the company is liable. I compare your medical records before and after the accident and show how much worse things got.
Workers' comp gives you quick medical coverage and partial wages, but limited total money. Lawsuits against other companies can get you full compensation including pain and suffering, but they take longer. Often we do both at the same time.
Usually no—workers' comp is your only option against your employer. But there are exceptions for intentional harm or if they don't have insurance.
For workers' comp: notify your employer within 45 days, file within 3 years. For lawsuits: usually 2 years. Don't wait—call me today.
You can still recover money if you're less than 51% at fault. Your recovery just gets reduced by your percentage of blame.
It depends on your injuries, lost wages, liability, and available insurance. Based on my experience:
Product liability cases against manufacturers often result in the biggest recoveries. You don't have to prove traditional negligence—just that the equipment was defective.
Most cases settle without trial. But I prepare every case like it's going to trial, because that's what gets you the best settlement.
No. Illinois law prohibits retaliation. If they fire you for filing workers' comp, you have additional claims against them.
No. Your right to workers' comp and to sue others doesn't depend on immigration status. And I keep all cases strictly confidential.
If workers' comp accepts your claim, they pay. If not, we can use your health insurance temporarily, find doctors who'll wait for payment, or get emergency care.
Denials are common but not final. I fight them through hearings at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. I've overturned lots of denials.
Your employer can send you to their doctor initially, but you have rights to switch under certain circumstances.
You may get vocational rehab benefits, wage differential payments, or permanent total disability for life.
Workers' comp: 6-24 months depending on disputes. Lawsuits: 18-36 months. I work efficiently but won't sacrifice your recovery for speed.
Families can get workers' comp death benefits PLUS file wrongful death lawsuits against other responsible parties. I'm so sorry for your loss.
Hiring Scott was one of the best moves I have made in my life. Scott is a down to earth person and attorney. Scott is a 5 star first class act who really knows his stuff. The Judge said his presentation was one of if not the best he had ever seen. Take my advice, hire Scott I’m sure you’ll be 200% satisfied I was.
Scott not only cares about the case, but he truly cares about his clients and that makes him the best lawyer I have ever met and hired! He won my case! He is thorough in everything he does. I highly recommend Scott, and will always refer him to family and friends.
I hired Scott DeSalvo upon a friend’s recommendation. His office kept me informed of developments as they happened, and I felt the settlement reached was fair considering my injuries. I would highly recommend Scott DeSalvo to represent your personal injury case.
Hegewisch, South Deering, the East Side. Lots of steel mills and heavy industry. Common injuries: molten metal burns, heavy machinery accidents, crane incidents, chemical exposure.
Near Midway Airport. Massive warehouses everywhere. Common injuries: forklift accidents, loading dock falls, cargo falling on workers, repetitive stress injuries from package handling.
Southwest Side. Mix of food processing, metal fabrication, electronics. Common injuries: machinery accidents, chemical exposure, repetitive motion injuries, inadequate safety equipment.
Near North Side. Older facilities with newer uses. Common injuries: electrical accidents (old wiring), falls, machinery injuries, building maintenance issues.
Various industrial operations. Common injuries: accidents with older equipment, inadequate maintenance, chemical exposure, structural failures.
When companies violate federal safety rules, it helps prove they were negligent.
Most common violations in Chicago industrial facilities:
When I can show the company violated OSHA regulations, it's powerful evidence they were negligent.
Let me tell you what happens when you hire me:
You get your calls returned. You know what's happening with your case. You talk to me, not just some paralegal who barely knows who you are.
Because you deserve a lawyer you can actually trust. Someone who explains things in plain English and actually cares about what happens to you.
I've spent over $100,000 and two decades studying with the best trial lawyers in the country. Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer's College. "The Edge" program. Training that almost no other lawyers have.
I did it so you get the absolute best representation possible.
I've got systems and software that help me discover more about your case earlier than other lawyers. We beat insurance companies to the punch.
That means better settlements and faster results for you.
Find out if you have a good case, or a tough one...for free!
It's simple:
Sound fair?
Remember:
When I was a kid and watched what happened to my dad, I made a promise to myself. When I grow up, I'm gonna help people like him. I'm gonna make sure no family has to go through what we went through.
That's why I only represent injured workers. Never insurance companies. Never the defense.
I take the cases other lawyers think are too hard. I fight for people who just want someone in their corner who actually gives a damn.
Because your fight is my fight. And I don't quit.
Call me now: 312-500-4500
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Main Office:
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
New Cases: 312-500-4500
Office: 1 312-895-0545
Fax: 1 866-629-1817
service@desalvolaw.com
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