Where your accident took place impacts your case
Every case that is formally filed at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission is assigned to an Arbitrator no matter what the facts are. Most people live near where they work. In addition most people work in the same place every day. But some people travel for their job and get hurt far away from where they work or live.
For example, you could be a laborer that is based out of Urbana and travel around the country servicing cell phone towers. If you got hurt on the job in Chicago and filed a case, your claim would be assigned to an Arbitrator at the Chicago Workers' Compensation Commission even though that could potentially be a big inconvenience for you. That is because the law in Illinois is that your case is assigned to a hearing officer in the area where the accident took place.
On the other hand, if you are based out of Urbana, but hurt while working out of state, your case would get assigned to an Arbitrator in Urbana because the law states that if you are hurt in another state the case will get assigned to an Arbitrator near your home or employer.
The point of all of this is to know that when hiring an a lawyer, you want to be represented by someone that regularly appears before the Arbitrator. We just were hired by a Rockford man who was hurt in Cook County. He had originally hired a Rockford workers' compensation lawyer, but let him go when that attorney refused to motion the case for trial because he never goes to Chicago for cases.
When we suggest an attorney, we always recommend someone that frequently appears before the Arbitrator that will hear the case. That may not be a factor when you hire the lawyer, but it could be important down the road.
We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
