Ankin Law Office Says Study Shows Illinois Can Improve Worker Safety

Chicago, IL, January 7, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Chicago accident attorney Howard Ankin says that a new study from financial website Wallethub shows that while Illinois may be one of the safer states to drive in, it's not as safe as it should be for workers. Financial site Wallethub recently ranked Illinois as the eights safest state in which to live in the United States.

The ranking comes as part of the site's 2014 State Safety Ranking Study. It ranks state safety based on financial health, traffic safety, workplace safety, natural disasters, and home and community safety rank.

Illinois fared well in both driver safety, where it was fifth overall, and home and community safety rank, in which it placed fourth. However, the state was 42nd in natural disaster rank and 17th in workplace safety. Mr. Ankin said, "There's nothing we can do about natural disasters, but we can certainly improve workplaces for the hard-working people of Illinois."

To determine the workplace safety ranking, Wallethub looked at the state's number of fatal workplace injuries, days lost to injury and illness, and health insurance coverage rates. In 2013, Illinois had a nonfatal injury and illness rate of 3.2 per every 100 workers.

That's in line with the national average, but Mr. Ankin says that Illinois can be better than average. Mr. Ankin said, "Workplace injuries place both a physical and financial strain on employees and employers. Illinois' businesses need to work harder to ensure employee safety."

On the positive side, the Wallethub study did note Illinois as one of the safest states in which to drive. Based on fatalities, number of "under the influence" violations, and pedestrian accidents, Illinois was able to crack the top five among safest driving states.

Mr. Ankin, partner and owner of Ankin Law Firm, LLC, said that Illinois is a very safe place to drive, but that serious accidents do happen. "As safe as Illinois is, accidents do happen and they're often very serious. I've seen many lives irrevocably changed due to driver negligence and recklessness."

http://www.ankinlaw.com/workers-compensation.html