What is my Illinois workers compensation case worth? What should I get for my workmans comp claim. TTD payments Chicago, wage differential, permanent disability law Illinois.
A reader of my blog was getting toward the end of his treatment. The insurance company tried to low ball settle with him and he refused. Then the insurance company told him, because he has permanent restrictions that can’t be accommodated by his old employer, that they wanted him to do vocational rehabilitation. Briefly, under … Continue Reading
When you are hurt on the job in Illinois and hire an attorney, every lawyer uses the same attorney representation agreement. Here is what it looks like. Under Illinois law, attorney fees can not exceed 20% of what is recovered and for almost every case that means 20% of the eventual settlement they get you … Continue Reading
A caller to my office had a really good question about a very frustrating scenario he was in. He is an industrial painter and does a lot of overhead lifting and work in general. One day, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder while bringing down some items from a scaffold. This was witnessed, … Continue Reading
Employers in Illinois are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have one or more employees. It’s a felony not to do so. The only exception to this is if you work for yourself or are the owner of a company. In those cases you can opt out and don’t have to cover yourself. … Continue Reading
Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, the insurance company for your employer has to pay for all “reasonable and related” medical care as a result of your injury. So if you lift a box at work and feel a pop in your back, it’s reasonable for you to go to the doctor, get physical therapy, … Continue Reading
An injured worker in Chicago called me with a very generic question. She asked what laws do I need to know. I told her it was too vague because what I’d recommend for her would be based on her case facts. She doesn’t need to worry about TTD benefits for example if she’s not missing … Continue Reading
To be permanently and totally disabled under Illinois law means that there is essentially no job you can do because your injuries and physical restrictions due to the injury are so severe that they prevent you from being able to work. The standard to show that under Illinois work comp law is different than showing … Continue Reading
A reader of my blog asked the following: My husband was hurt at work in Chicago and missed four months with a knee injury. He’s been back at work for six months. Three months ago the adjuster said she was going to make a settlement offer, but she never did and she hasn’t returned our … Continue Reading
While I generally think that people are good, when money is involved it makes some people do bad things. When it comes to Illinois work comp cases this usually means lying. The latest whopper I heard involved a flight attendant who works for a major airline and is based out of Chicago. She had an … Continue Reading
I recently had a chat with a nice woman who had gone through three leg surgeries after badly tearing her ACL on the job. That’s a lot of leg surgeries. She had no guidance when she got hurt and had never even heard of workers’ compensation. So after she got hurt when she got a … Continue Reading
In the most serious of Illinois work related accidents, you are so injured that you can never return to your old job. This means that you have some type of permanent restriction, usually one that limits the amount of weight you can lift on the job. If your highest level of education is high school … Continue Reading
Years ago there was an article in a downstate newspaper that had a big impact on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation system. While I hate the term, it was a bit of “fake news” as it painted a picture that State of Illinois employees were faking work related injuries and there was a focus on how … Continue Reading
While we take many of the questions we get and make them blog posts, sometimes there is no need for a long, drawn out blog post. Here are some good questions we’ve received lately that have short answers. If you have your own questions or want to discuss a case, call us for free at … Continue Reading
Twice a year the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission updates the Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) and Temporary Total Disability (TTD) rates for the State of Illinois. These are maximum payments based on your injury date. So if you’ve been injured on the job since July 15, 2018 this post is for you. If your accident was … Continue Reading
A caller to my office wanted to know if his situation was normal for an Illinois workers’ compensation case. Long story short is that all of his bills have been paid as has all of his time off. His attorney called him in January and said to expect a settlement offer any day. Well here … Continue Reading
One of the basic principles of Illinois workers’ compensation law is that you can’t sue your employer for negligence. Work comp isn’t a lawsuit so while you get those benefits, if your employer was careless and left a wet floor that you slipped on, you don’t have an additional lawsuit. This rule also applies if … Continue Reading
Recently Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Deerfield announced that they would be closing, costing 1,000 workers their jobs. These types of closings happen all of the time of course. The question is, if you have a work related injury in Illinois and your company shuts down, how does that affect your case? Under Illinois work comp law … Continue Reading
Everyone gets that if you are hurt doing your normal job, your injuries should be covered under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. So if you are a firefighter and run in to a burning building and tear your meniscus or hurt your neck while doing so, there would hopefully be no dispute that you were … Continue Reading
A reader clicked on our live chat feature and asked a very good Illinois workers’ compensation question: I have a back injury and was released to full duty. Do I get a settlement? It’s a question we hear a lot. Under Illinois work comp law, pretty much every injury is worth something even if you … Continue Reading
A reader asked us a long question that I will shorten for the blog. The question was essentially: Do you need a doctor to say carpal tunnel came from working on your job or can you beat a case due to the type of work a person has performed for many years? It’s a good … Continue Reading
A reader asks: I’ve been on comp for a while and want to move out of Illinois for a couple reasons. First, I’m not happy with my doctors. Second, I have some family issues to take care of in the state I want to move to. Will it hurt my case if I leave Illinois? … Continue Reading
We are very experienced attorneys who can help you with your injury case. If you would like our help fill out our contact form or call us at 312-346-5578 for a free consultation. The biggest growing job in the last five years has to be driving for Uber and/or Lyft. I’ve gotten a couple of … Continue Reading
Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, the insurance company is not required to give you a settlement offer. We’ve had a bunch of questions lately from people wondering why that haven’t gotten one and there are a ton of reasons why it could be happening. Here are some scenarios. High wage earner has been getting TTD … Continue Reading
One of the biggest factors in determining what your case is worth is how much is your average weekly wage. The easiest scenario is when someone is paid a salary on the job. Typically you’d take their salary and any bonuses and divide by 52. Under Illinois work comp law, average weekly wage is determined … Continue Reading
A reader of my blog was getting toward the end of his treatment. The insurance company tried to low ball settle with him and he refused. Then the insurance company told him, because he has permanent restrictions that can’t be accommodated by his old employer, that they wanted him to do vocational rehabilitation. Briefly, under … Continue Reading
