| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
You are hurt on the job from an accident related to your job activities. You want to keep working to support your family and pay your bills, but your injuries stop you from doing what you have done your whole life – provide for you and your family. Or in the worst case, you have lost a loved one to a work related accident or disease. Dozens of questions swirl through your mind, the most important of which is how do I survive? How can I support myself and loved ones? Do I have any legal rights?
The answer is YES. You have legal rights under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation law. In most instances, this law requires your employer to provide insurance for you if you are injured on the job or contract an illness as a result of your job. Almost everyone who is hired or whose employment is in Illinois is covered, even if you are not a citizen or legal resident. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
WORKERS' COMPENSATION |
|
Definition - What is Workers' Compenstion?
An injury that takes place at the workplace or during the scope of employment or an ilness suffered as a result of your job makes an individual eligible for workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is a state controlled and mandated employer insurance program that provides compensation to employees based on Illinois state laws. Illinois law generally states that regardless of who was at fault, an employee who has suffered a work-related injury has to be provided with some type of compensation.
Illinois Worker’s compensation laws are designed to guarantee that employees who are injured on the job receive monetary awards, without having to go to court. Rather, a separate arbitration system is set up through the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission for the filing of these claims as well as to resolve issues of denial of benefits and fair compensation. This acts as a safety net for employees but also protects the employer’s interests as a business owner.
THE LAW – WHAT ARE MY LEGAL RIGHTS IF I AM HURT AT WORK?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency created by the United States Congress to help protect workers by setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards and by providing safety and health information, training and assistance to workers and employers. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 require employers to provide workplaces free from serious recognized hazards to comply with occupational safety and health standards.
|
| |
|
If you are an injured worker, the law typically entitles you to 3 benefits: |
1) Payment of all of your medical expenses to treat your injury. In other words, your employer, or its insurance company, is required to pay 100% of your necessary medical expenses.
2) If you can not work because of the injury, you are entitled to payment of 2/3rds of your weekly earnings. This amount is tax free, so you should be receiving a check for approximately the same amount you would have if you were healthy enough to work. This is called your Temporary Total Disability benefit, or “TTD” benefit. Your employer is required to begin payment of TTD within 14 days after you have begun to lose time from work.
3) Once you have been released from your doctor’s medical care and are able to return to work, you are entitled to a money settlement. This settlement is based upon how well you have recovered and how serious your injury was. Mainly, your settlement will be calculated based upon whether you are able to fully return to work, are partially disabled or are totally disabled:
- Permanent Partial Disability (able to return to work) [Link]
- Wage Differential (medical restrictions only allow a return to work part-time or in a lower paying position) [Link]
- Permanent Total Disability (medical restrictions permanently make a return to any work impossible) [Link]
|
|
| |
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS IF I AM BEING DENIED ANY OF MY BENEFITS? |
You have legal rights under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation law. In most instances, this law requires your employer to provide insurance for you if you are injured on the job or as a result of your job. Almost everyone who is hired injured, or whose employment is in Illinois is covered, even if you are not a citizen or legal resident.
If you have been injured at work and are not receiving all of your benefits under Illinois law, you should speak to an experienced Workers’ Compensation attorney in your area.
You can have your claim heard by an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. This is called a 19(b) hearing. At this hearing, you will be able to present witness testimony, medical evidence and any other documentation to support your claim. The insurance company will be represented by their attorneys who are highly experienced and skilled. Therefore, you must have an equally aggressive and experienced attorney fighting for you. We are ready to litigate your 19 (B) motion to determine whether the insurance company will be required to pay for your medical treatment or pay your TTD payments.
If you have been injured in the workplace, do not assume that your employer will take care of everything for you. You need our premier legal representation to help you get the benefits your family is entitled to receive by law.
Our firm has extensive experience handling job injury claims and we are able to provide you with a higher level of service than most workers’ compensation law firms:
- Initial complimentary consultation
- No legal fees unless we help you obtain payment benefits
- By law, our fees are limited to a fixed percentage of your benefits
------
Commonly Asked Questions -- You have many Rights as an Employee, and it is important that you are aware of them.
1) Can I be fired because I am injured at work? NO.
2) Can I visit my choice of doctors and will my employer be responsible for the costs? YES.
3) If I do NOT have any personal insurance, can I still receive insurance from my employer if I am hurt on the job? YES. No insurance, no problem!
|
HOW DO I PROTECT MY RIGHTS? |
| |
1. It is critical to give your employer verbal or written notice of your injury immediately. Your employer has a legal right to know about your injury. If you do not provide notice to your employer or delay too long in reporting your injury, you may lose your rights to workers’ compensation. Although verbal notice is allowed, you should also provide your employer with written notice and keep a copy of this written notice. This will prevent the possibility that your employer will attempt to deny that you gave the required notice. Your notice should be given to someone in a position of authority, such as your immediate supervisor or personnel director.
General time reporting guidelines:
- In most cases, you must provide this notice within 45 days of the date of the accident.
- For injuries that are not caused by a single accident or event but are caused by the repetitive stress or use of a body part from your work related activities, the injury must be reported within 45 days of the injury becoming apparent. In most cases, this can be defined as when the injury was bad enough that you first had to seek medical treatment or could no longer perform your job related activities.
- For injuries or illness cause by exposure to radiation, you must notify your employer within 90 days that you first suspect the exposure occurred.
- For disease or illness that is suffered as a result of your job, you must notify your employer as soon as is possible after you become aware of the condition.
However, do not take a chance by waiting to report your accident. Protect your rights by reporting your accident or possible injury immediately!
2. You should collect any documents, witness names and contact information related to your accident. If you are able to, take photos of where and how the accident occurred. This is evidence that is critical should your employer deny that you did suffer the accident. In addition, keep copies of all communication with your employer, insurance company, or medical personnel regarding your work injury or work related disease.
3. If you are even in minor pain you should seek emergency medical care as soon as possible to be sure that your pain is documented. Do not try “to tough it out.” The longer you wait to receive treatment for your injuries, the more likely and possible it is that the insurance companies or your employer will try to not pay for your injuries by blaming them on something else. If you were not taken to the hospital from the scene of the accident and are experiencing any pain whatsoever, get checked out at the nearest hospital emergency room. This helps connect your injuries to the accident. |
| |
PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY |
Definition: Whan an individual is injured at work but is able to resume his or her regular earning potential, the injury sustained is considered to be a partial or complete loss of the use of the part of the body injured or of the body as a whole. Generally, this means that the employee is unable to do things he or she was able to do before the injury.
There is no specific legal definition or objective standard that is used to measure the “loss of use.” Rather, in Illinois, an informal and unpublished means of measuring the percentage “loss of use” of a body part has been established for each type of injury. Some important factors that help determine the percentage of physical impairment caused by the injury are the employee’s age, skill, occupation, training, inability to engage in certain kinds of activities, and the pain, stiffness or limitation of motion caused by the injury.
A highly qualified and experienced workers’ compensation attorney will be familiar with and able to assist you in determining what a fair percentage for your injury is.
Once the percentage “loss of use” for the part of my body that was injured is established, how is my monetary award established?:
Illinois law sets a value on the percentage “loss of use” on certain body parts by assigning a number of weeks of compensation for each part. The number of weeks is then multiplied by 60% of the employees Average Weekly Wage, or “AWW.”
Example:
For a simple example, an employee who earns $500.00 per week injures his or her thumb, resulting in the thumb being amputated. According to the current Illinois schedule, the complete 100% loss of a thumb is worth 76 weeks. The lump sum settlement would then be determined by taking 60% of the $500.00 average weekly wage. This result is then multiplyed by 76 weeks. In this instance, the employee would be entitled to a lump sum settlement of $22,800.00,
In each case, unless the parties can reach a settlement, the claim of the employee is heard at a full hearing before an arbitrator appointed by the Industrial Commission. The decision of the arbitrator can be appealed by either party to the full Industrial Commission, then to the circuit court of the county and finally to the State Supreme Court.
For any individual unfamiliar with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation system, it is extremely difficult to accurately estimate the value of a work related injury, and should not be attempted without the help of a highly experienced and competent Workers’ Compensation attorney. |
| |
|
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS RECOVERED! |
|
|
|
