Workers Compensation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Work Injury Attorney

We get tons of calls from truck drivers.  Some were injured in Illinois, but otherwise have never been to Illinois.  Others have their terminal out of Illinois in places like Decatur, Chicago and Rockford, but work out of state.  Still others came to Illinois for their pre-employment physical and training, but haven't been here since.

If hurt on the job, all of those people would be eligible to pursue an Illinois workers' compensation claim.  They potentially would also have the ability to file a case in other states depending on where they were hurt, where their terminal is located and the laws of each state.

We are only Illinois attorneys so we can't give you advice about other states.  That said, we know many work injury attorneys throughout the country and everyone we've talked to has made it clear to us that the best benefits for injured workers are in Illinois.

Sometimes the insurance company will tell you that they are processing the benefits through one state.  They don't get to make that decision, you do.  Sometimes they do it because they don't know any better.  Often insurance companies do it because they know the case is worth less money in a state like Indiana, Tennessee or Texas than it would be in Illinois.  Many states have smaller limits as to what you can recover (we are told that the maximum for a Kansas case is $125,000.00) and they also sometimes give the insurance company control over your medical care.

Remember that if you want to bring your case in Illinois, as long as you were hurt here, hired here or have your employment principally based out of here you can bring an Illinois workers compensation claim.  Even if you settled your case through another state you may still be able to file your case in Illinois, even if your settlement agreement in the other state says that you can't bring any other cases.  Only the Illinois Workers'  Compensation Commission can close out your case.

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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Every case that is formally filed at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission is assigned to an Arbitrator no matter what the facts are.  Most people live near where they work.  In addition most people work in the same place every day.  But some people travel for their job and get hurt far away from where they work or live.

For example, you could be a laborer that is based out of Urbana and travel around the country servicing cell phone towers.  If you got hurt on the job in Chicago and filed a case, your claim would be assigned to an Arbitrator at the Chicago Workers' Compensation Commission even though that could potentially be a big inconvenience for you.  That is because the law in Illinois is that your case is assigned to a hearing officer in the area where the accident took place. 

On the other hand, if you are based out of Urbana, but hurt while working out of state, your case would get assigned to an Arbitrator in Urbana because the law states that if you are hurt in another state the case will get assigned to an Arbitrator near your home or employer.

The  point of all of this is to know that when hiring an a lawyer, you want to be represented by someone that regularly appears before the Arbitrator.  We just were hired by a Rockford man who was hurt in Cook County.   He had originally hired a Rockford workers' compensation lawyer, but let him go when that attorney refused to motion the case for trial because he never goes to Chicago for cases.

When we suggest an attorney, we always recommend someone that frequently appears before the Arbitrator that will hear the case.  That may not be a factor when you hire the lawyer, but it could be important down the road.

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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We got a call from someone in the suburbs who got hurt in Palatine, hates coming to the City and wants to file her case at the Rolling Meadows courthouse.  We explained that you can't file a workers' compensation claim at that location because all Cook County workers' compensation claims are filed at the Thompson Center in Chicago.  This isn't a choice by our office, it's Illinois law.

This is also why you don't find many lawyers in the suburbs who do nothing other than represent injured workers.  If your office is in Schaumburg it doesn't make sense to have a practice that requires you to be in the City every day. 

So if you are hurt in Cook County your case is in Chicago.  If you are hurt in DuPage County  while working then your case is in Wheaton.  If you are hurt on the job in Lake County your case is in Waukegan.

The good news is that our firm has a network of attorneys throughout Illinois and in almost every situation we can handle your case without you having to travel.

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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