Illinois work injuries that cause you to lose your job
It’s hard enough to launch a come-back to your professional life after recovering from a work injury. But when your injury makes it so you can’t do your normal job, the loss is even greater.
In a recent Illinois workers’ compensation case, a physical therapist injured her back when she was moving therapy equipment. She set out on a course of medical treatment to try to recover from her injury, and return to work, but could not do it. She even tried a different therapy position that would be less physically taxing, but she couldn’t do that either.
After consulting further with her doctor, she was given a permanent work restriction of not lifting more than 10 pounds of weight. She tried two more physical therapy jobs where she attempted to work within that restriction. Neither of those was successful. Between the weight restriction and her continuing back problems, she was not able to continue to work in her career as a physical therapist.
Losing your profession because of an injury can be personally devastating, but it hurts financially as well. Fortunately workers’ compensation can provide benefits to help offset your loss, when your work injury leaves you able to work, so you’re not totally disabled, but you’ve lost your career. Your benefit is figured as percentage loss to your whole.
What this meant to the physical therapist, was that her career loss was valued at 40% of her total work. She could still find employment, but she had permanently lost her career because of her injury and the restrictions she was left with.
In this case there was a fairly clear history of how the injury had left her permanently unable to continue in her profession. She had gone through all the medical steps that her insurance covered, and had tried several different job settings. The injury and the doctor’s restriction permanently prevented her success in the business.
If you’re in a situation like this, where you can find other jobs, but it’s your career you’ve lost, you’re not without support from the Illinois workers’ compensation system. The benefits may not bring back what you loved doing before your accident, but they can help support your loss.
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.
