We have helped thousands of truck drivers pursue Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. For those clients, if they don’t hire an attorney who delivers great customer service, they are going to have a hard time. I say that because quite often they live of state so they can’t just pop into the office. They also are on the road working a lot so they need an attorney who’s available when they are.
Truck drivers bring Illinois workers comp cases when they are injured in Illinois or their home terminal is here and that’s where they went to get hired. They also of course can bring a case in Illinois if they primarily work out of Illinois.
The work comp laws in IL are better for truck drivers than probably any other state. Some states have terrible work comp laws that greatly favor the company. One such state is Kansas. And one company there is apparently trying to trick their drivers into thinking that if they get hurt they can’t pursue their case anywhere but Kansas. That’s not true.
I’m aware of this because of a driver we spoke to who got badly injured while driving his truck through Illinois. He was in the hospital and a doctor told him he should pursue an Illinois work comp case, but he didn’t believe that was possible. That’s because this company apparently has their drivers sign a document that says if they get hurt while driving, they have to pursue workers comp in Kansas.
Now I have no idea if that contract is enforceable or not in Kansas (it probably isn’t), but it’s definitely not enforceable in Illinois. Your employer, even if your employer isn’t based here, can’t force you to waive your workers comp rights. And because they have their drivers come through our state, they are bound by our laws.
So this truck driver and any other truck driver who gets hurt while driving in Illinois, even if off the clock, can pursue Illinois work comp benefits. And this is huge for him. As I understand it, Kansas has limits on how much can be paid for a case. There are no such limits here. So while hopefully his injury recovers quickly, he doesn’t have to stress about what will happen if it doesn’t.
And this applies to all workers, not just truck drivers. It’s just most common with them.
If you take anything from this post, just know that your employer doesn’t always tell the truth and is looking out for themselves, not you. So in the very least, get a free legal opinion so you can know what rights you have. We will talk to you any time.
