As happens a lot when there is a rough economy, and even without that, a lot of Illinois companies are going out of business. Some do it because they aren’t making money anymore. Others do it to move jobs out of state or overseas. Some get bought and closed down in a consolidation.
A machine operator called us the other day after hurting her shoulder on the job. There’s no dispute that she got hurt at work. She does a lot of heavy lifting and felt a pop while carrying a piece of sheet metal. It was witnessed by her boss. She went to the doctor right away. And she’s never had problems before or any medical care for her arms.
Her biggest concern is that her factory is slated to shut down at the end of the summer. She’s likely going to have surgery and be off for many months. She wanted to know what happens to her case and what to do when there’s no job to return to.
The good news is she doesn’t get punished because her company is closing. Your benefits are covered because your employer has insurance. That means 100% of her medical bills will continue to get paid, even after the company closes. She will also continue to get paid for her time off work. This continues as long as she has work related restrictions from the injury.
So even if the plant closes in August, if she has any restrictions, she should continue to get paid TTD benefits until her doctor releases her to work. And if when she’s released she has permanent restrictions, they’d have to pay her while she looks for a job and offer job placement assistance if needed.
Beyond that, if the only jobs available due to her restrictions pay less, the old company would have to make up 2/3 the difference and it could make the case worth many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In our experience, insurance companies will also pay top dollar settlements because since the company is closing, they are no longer a client and they have a desire to put that part of business to bed.
As a result while the plant closing is stressful and could negatively impact you, if you have a workers compensation case going in Illinois, it actually makes the case stronger in most instances. In no way should the plant closing hurt your case. Often it helps your case as witnesses become unavailable so the case is your word vs nobody. As long as you are honest and credible you should prevail.
So the bottom line is don’t stress, at least not about your work injury claim. We can protect you on that and make sure your benefits are maximized. If you’d like a free consultation, please reach out any time at 312-346-5578. We help everywhere in Illinois.
