A reader sent in this good question. The key point to remember is that workers’ compensation claims are not lawsuits. If a plumber takes $5,000 for a job and doesn’t do the work, if you sue him and you file bankruptcy, that case goes away.
In Illinois workers’ compensation cases, every employer has to carry work comp insurance. If they don’t it’s a felony. Even if the company goes out of business of files for bankruptcy, they still have insurance to pay on your injury. It’s possible that filing bankruptcy will cause a slight delay in your case (we may have to go in to bankruptcy court to get permission for the insurance company to pay out your case), but the filing of bankruptcy should never eliminate your case.
Some employers are self-insured. That means that they have so much money in revenue that the state of Illinois has given them permission to not have insurance and handle their work injury cases in-house. Some of these companies end up bankrupt as do some insurance companies. Even in that situation your case doesn’t go away.
The State of Illinois has a department called the Illinois Insurance Guarantee Fund. They take over when self-insured’s or insurance companies go out of business. Again there could be a slight delay to your case if this happens, but you won’t lose your rights.
Finally, don’t listen to an employer or anyone else that isn’t looking out for you in this situation. There aren’t exceptions to what we wrote here. It is what it is.
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.
