Workers' compensation in Illinois when you don't do any work here
We recently were called by an injured worker who works for a company that is based on the west coast and was injured out on the east coast. Kind of an odd trucking outfit in that he applied for the job on-line and without an interview got offered the position by e-mail with his first assignment. No drug screen, no conversation. Perhaps that's how things are going to be done these days, but when I first heard about it I thought it was quite odd and perhaps a scam.
But it's a legitimate company and he sustained a legitimate tear of his ACL in his left knee. The question was does he have a case he can bring in Illinois?
To have the right to bring an Illinois workers compensation case you need to show that the accident took place in IL (not on this one), the employment is principally based here (nope) or the contract for hire took place in Illinois. Contract for hire is deemed to be the last act necessary for the job to be offered.
Since our guy was physically in Illinois when the job was offered and accepted he gets to pursue Illinois workers' compensation benefits. This is significant for two reasons. First, our benefits are great for workers, much better than most states. Second, if he ever has to go to trial on his case he won't have to travel thousands of miles to a hearing location where he will also have to pay for a hotel.
Moral of the story is that if your employment has any relation to Illinois you can probably bring your case here and in the least it's worth investigating.
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 question of find the right lawyer for your situation.
.
