In most Illinois work comp cases, you hurt your leg and when the case is over you can pursue a settlement for a percentage loss use of the leg. For example, 20% loss of the leg or whatever your true disability is. If it was a foot or hand or any other part of the body, you’d receive a percentage loss for that too. But some times you can hurt one body part and get a settlement for that body part and others.
This probably sounds confusing so hopefully I can explain it. Let’s assume that a worker in Illinois hurts their knee and has surgery for a torn ACL. When they are all better they will likely get some settlement for their leg based on how strong their recovery is.
But let’s assume that after surgery they are on crutches and they hurt their elbow from repetitively using them. Or they fall down the stairs because they have to hop on one leg and they break their hand. Those injuries would also result in settlements even though they weren’t a part of the original work injury.
The law is that any problem that can be traced back to the original injury should be covered. So using crutches clearly traces back to hurting your knee. Falling down the stairs does as well. On the flip side, if you are out with a knee injury, but get hit by a car, that would likely have nothing to do with the original injury and would not be part of your work comp case.
This is actually a really common occurrence. Not just the stuff I described, but it’s common to have a neck fusion and then injure your shoulder. Many clients who have major injuries also get depression and we can get them treatment and a settlement some day for that problem even though it’s not a part of the original accident.
Our advice to clients and callers is to make sure you are detailed and honest, to a fault, with both us and your doctors about all the problems you experience.
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.
