We got a call from an electrician who was working on a ladder, fell off and shattered his heel. Ordinarily it would be a great case and one that we could help with. The problem in this instance is that he is a self employed contractor. The company is just him and he does not carry workers’ compensation insurance on himself.
And that is really the first question we have for any self employed contractor who gets hurt on the job. Did you purchase work comp insurance and did you add yourself to the coverage? Under Illinois law, owners can exclude themselves from coverage. It is a way to keep insurance rates down.
Excluding yourself from coverage makes sense for sedentary jobs like being an attorney. I do not have coverage on myself. I do know many lawyers who own their own firm who do. In one sort of famous case, a Chicago workers’ compensation lawyer fell while getting his briefcase out of his car in Rockford. It was a big knee injury and his case, which he handled himself, was treated like any other injured worker.
If you are a contractor who works in a labor job, it is a huge risk not to carry Illinois work comp coverage on yourself. If you have a major injury and can no longer work, without work comp, you will have no money coming in, not to mention a huge amount of bills.
The exception to this is if you are injured due to the negligence of a third party. For example, if someone else sets up a scaffold and it collapses or you are working at a home and you fall down a stairs that does not have a hand railing when building codes say it is required.
If you do carry coverage on yourself, you are treated like any other injured worker, at least in theory. When a worker gets hurt on the job, typically an insurance company will call the company and ask the boss what happened. The boss is you! So in most cases they have to take your word for it. In some instances, they will try to delay benefits while they do “an investigation.”
If your accident is fairly straight forward, the work comp insurance company has no right to delay any payments or approval of medical care. This is a risk they take on when they give you coverage and why you pay as much as you do.
Other variables come from how you are paid. If you do not pay yourself a salary, there is an analysis that must be done to prove your true average weekly wage and what you are entitled to for TTD benefits for the time you can not work. This can be complex and it is extremely important that it be done right. It is one way that an experienced Illinois work comp attorney can really make a difference for you. It also comes into play when it’s time to settle your case.
Another issue that comes into play is when you can start getting back to doing jobs. It is possible that you will be only able to come back on a part time basis or have trouble securing as many jobs as you need when you are first getting back into it. This is another issue an attorney can address that is different from most work related injuries. There can be compensation to make up the gap, especially if the gap is due to your injury and recovery.
If you were hurt and would like a free case review, please contact us any time. It is always no cost and confidential.
