Illinois law basically says that you can file a workers’ compensation claim in Illinois if one of three things can be proven: 1. You were hurt in Illinois; or 2. Your employment is principally based out of Illinois; or 3. Your contract for hire was completed in Illinois. But where do you file your case if you were hurt in the air?
Typically these types of injuries occur to flight attendants. For them, bringing a case depends on whether or not their home terminal is Illinois or if they were hired her. We recently took on the case of an Ohio flight attendant who technically is based out of Chicago, but isn’t often here. United workers, no matter where they are, can typically bring a case in Illinois based on a provision in their union contracts. So if they get hurt flying from LA to Australia, it won’t change their ability to bring a case in Illinois.
On the other hand, a few months back I received a call from a nice guy who was flying from Texas to Detroit and hurt his knee as a passenger in mid-air. He believes that the plane was flying over southern Illinois when the accident happened and wanted to know if that was enough to bring the case in Illinois. It’s a novel idea, but I don’t believe that he’d be able to make the case here without any other connections to Illinois. Air space really belongs to no one so he couldn’t really say he was hurt in Illinois. Had he been hurt at O’Hare airport or any other place on the ground in IL, that would have been enough to make a case here, even if that was the only time in his life he had been in our state. But without that he’s got nothing.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys who 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.