Posted on November 26, 2011 by Mike Helfand

Wages For Professional Athletes

We have helped injured pro athletes in just about every sport.  Many of these athletes played for out of state teams, but got injured while in Illinois.  They are treated like any other worker when it comes to workers’ compensation laws although their contracts typically entitle them to a higher wage than most if they are injured during the season.

But if an athlete is injured, has their contract end and still is not cleared to return to their former job, they can get TTD benefits just like anyone else.  The catch is that if you were making $100,000 a week before you got injured, you’d go on TTD when your contract is out.  So if Brian Ulracher blows out his back on Sunday, then he will get $1,261.41 a week when his contract ends.  Over one year that is $60,000+, tax free.  To Urlacher it probably wouldn’t mean much, but to a younger player who never made “that” much it could be a life saver.

Recently I’ve been contacted by two athletes who were injured 8-10 years ago.  Neither of them filed a claim and they wanted to know if it was too late and if it wasn’t, what it was worth.  I can tell you unfortunately it was too late for both of them as neither had medical bills related to the injury paid in the last two years (so the time limit to file was blown), but if they did have a case it would be based on what they were making when they got hurt, not when they filed.

A lawyer friend of mine was contacted by a WNBA player who only makes around $40,000 for the season that runs 15 weeks from June until September.  The insurance company was arguing that the average weekly wage is around $800 because that is what she makes for an entire year.  It works in the same way for teachers.  I disagree and think the average weekly wage is closer to $2,700.00 because it’s a seasonal job (wages divided by weeks worked).  Unlike someone in the NFL or NBA, the difference for this woman or a soccer player or other lesser paying sport is huge.  If the wage is what I think it should be, her weekly benefits are much great and her case is worth much more, especially if it’s a career ending injury.

Overall, athletes are no different than garbage men, secretaries, salesmen, flight attendants or anyone else that we proudly help.  The law is all the same, you just need someone in your corner to make sure that the law is followed.

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.

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Posted on March 8, 2010 by Mike Helfand

Illinois wage differential laws- what a difference a day makes

Under Illinois workers' compensation law, if you can no longer return to your old job due to permanent restrictions and suffer a loss of what you can now earn, you might be entitled to wage differential benefits.   That allows you to receive 2/3 the difference of what you would currently have been making under the old job compared to what you can make now.

So let's say that you were an electrician who made $35 an hour when you blew out your knee and now would have been making $40 an hour.  Instead you can only earn $10.00 an hour as a security guard.  Based on a 40 hour work week, it's a difference of $1,200 a week, 2/3 of which is $800.

For accidents that happened prior to February 1, 2006, there was a maximum cap based on the permanent partial disability rate at the time of your injury.  In plain English that means that no matter how big your wage loss, the most you could get compensated if you could do any work is $591.77.  The Workers' Compensation Act was amended to change this rule.  For accidents after February 1, 2006 your maximum pay rate for a wage differential loss became 100% of the state average weekly wage.

So if you were hurt on January 31, 2006, the most you could receive for your loss is $591.77 a week.  If you were hurt on February 2, 2006 you would get up to $822.20 a week.

In the example above it would result in a difference of more than $10,000.00 a year.  Yes, it's crazy what difference a day can make.

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.

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Posted on December 9, 2009 by Mike Helfand

Illinois workers compensation lawyer update- teacher pay

Are you a teacher with an Illinois workers' compensation claim?  If so, a new case from the Illinois Appellate Court demands your attention.

In the case, a teacher had a 39 week school year, but chose to get paid over 52 weeks.  In other words, if her salary was $52,000.00 a year, she chose $1,000 a week instead of more money up front with 13 weeks of nothing.

When she got hurt the school calculated her average weekly wage as her total compensation divided by 52 weeks of work because that was her pay period.  The problem with that is that she didn't work 52 weeks, she worked 39.  And how she was paid plays no roll in how much she was earned.

So if the school was right then her average weekly wage would have been $1,000.00.  But the Court said the school was wrong and the correct wage should be $1,333.33.  For her time off of work that ended up being a difference of more than $200 a week.  It also made the final value of her case worth more money.

If you are a teacher or other seasonal worker, your average weekly wage and associated benefits should be based on the number of weeks you actually worked.  Even in other professions, if you took a couple of weeks off for vacation, illness or any other reason, that has to be addressed.  If that doesn't happen you are literally costing yourself a lot of money.

 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.

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Posted on December 5, 2009 by Mike Helfand

If your Illinois work injury attorney says something that doesn't seem right

 

A laborer called us almost two years after a serious accident for which he has never returned to work.  He actually called with questions about complex regional pain syndrome, but when someone calls we try to do a full analysis of the case.

He has been getting TTD benefits for two years.  At the time of the accident he worked two jobs that paid a total of $1,500 a week.  Currently  he gets $500 a week which is 2/3 of his wage from the job that he got hurt on. 

When he initially got an attorney, he mentioned the 2nd job to his attorney who told him it wasn't irrelevant.

Problem is that it's not irrelevant.  The employer knew about this job and was ok with it.  He should be paid for both jobs which is a difference of $500 a week.  He is owed approximately $50,000 in back benefits right now. 

Of course that is a huge chunk of money and he needs it.  He felt initially that the lawyer's response didn't seem right, but assumed that he knew what he was talking about.

This case is almost ready to settle and if it had been resolved then that back money would have been gone.  If your lawyer isn't making sense then don't be afraid to question it.

 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.

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Posted on November 21, 2009 by Mike Helfand

Male strippers and their wages

In a first for me, I got a call from a male stripper who was injured when lifting a client at a downstate uhm "ladies club."  He actually herniated a disc in his back and won't be able to perform/work for at least two months.

His problem is that while he was paid minimum wage, he didn't report any of the significant tips that he earned every night.  So while he was really making around $1,500 a week, his wages were reported at around $300 a week.

Like any other injured worker he is entitled to 2/3 of his average weekly wage tax free.  If he were to go trial, a Judge would only award him $200 for his lost time instead of the $1,000 he is really entitled to.

It's a good lesson for waiters, bellhops, skycaps and yes strippers.  Your wages are what you report.  You don't want to be on a witness stand having to admit under oath that you cheated on your taxes as that would, of course, set up a whole new set of problems for you.

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. 

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Posted on August 21, 2009 by Mike Helfand

Illinois job accidents: Working a cash job is a risk.

We get calls all the time from bartenders, waiters, skycaps and others that work jobs where they make a lot of money off of tips.   None of them report everything they are making to the Government for taxes.  Because of the amount of money that skycaps make, we can't even get our clients to tell us how much they are truly getting in tips.  It's like a secret code that they don't want to let out.

We could care less about IRS issues.  Our concern is representing our clients in work injuries.  Generally speaking, the more money that you earn the more that your injury is worth.  Someone who has a torn meniscus from an Illinois job accident who makes $1,000 a week will get a much larger settlement than someone with the exact same injury who makes $400 a week.

When determining how much someone makes we calculate what is called the average weekly wage.  This looks at the last 52 weeks worked for your employer (or in some cases more than one employer) and we determine your average weekly pre-tax earnings.  This is easy when someone is salaried, not always easy if you are an hourly worker that gets overtime, someone who gets commissions or a person whose hours change every week.

In determining what someones average wage is, we look at reported earnings.  Tips that don't get reported aren't included.  Now some insurance companies will take our word for it when we tell them what you really earned, but some just go off what the employer says.  This is not a good issue to litigate because you might be forced to testify under oath that you have cheated on your taxes.

For injured workers who have been paid cash "under the table" the same problem exists, although many Arbitrators like to punish employers that do this rather than punish the injured worker.

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.

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Posted on May 18, 2009 by Mike Helfand

All of your jobs count when determining what your case is worth

 A lot of the people that contact us have two or more jobs, especially in today's tough economy.  When looking to settle your workers' compensation case or figuring out what you are owed for TTD benefits, all of these jobs matter in most cases.

The basic law is that if you have two jobs then both count in determining your average weekly wage.  In other words if your full time job pays $600 a week and your part time job pays $200 a week then your average weekly wage is $800.

The catch is that the employer that you work for must be aware of the 2nd job.  If they are not then only the one job will be taken into consideration.

In the end, not including the 2nd job could be the difference of thousands of dollars when figuring out what your case is worth.  As we preach throughout this blog, being honest and telling the truth is key in getting the best result possible.

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.

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Posted on December 12, 2008 by Mike Helfand

Commission Majority Finds That Petitioner's Overtime Hours Should Be Included in His Average Weekly Wage

In a recently decided case by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, the injured worker worked an irregular number of “double time” hours ranging from .5 hours to 43 hours. The Court included these overtime benefits in determining his average weekly wage.  A representative from the employer testified that overtime was required only in order to complete a job by a certain deadline. Otherwise, employees requested additional work and were dispatched by the main office to perform additional jobs. This witness also testified that employees could voluntarily refuse to work overtime and the work could be completed by another employee with no employment of wage repercussions. The petitioner testified that if he refused to work overtime hours, he “wouldn’t be there any longer.”  The arbitrator concluded the overtime hours were voluntary and irregular.
The Commission on appeal upheld the decision based on the petitioner’s testimony that overtime was mandatory and that he “wouldn’t be there any longer” if he refused to work overtime. They also noted the respondent’s witness acknowledged that employees were not allowed to abandon a job at the end of an 8-hour shift. The witness also admitted that employees “must exceed 40 hours per week ‘when the job goes into the weekend’ or when bridge work is involved and ‘employees are required to work at night."

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.

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