Workers’ compensation provides coverage for those injured and cannot continue working. It can also benefit those hurt elsewhere but need time off from work because they cannot perform their regular duties due to injuries.
- A Confusing and Daunting Process
- What Is Workers’ Compensation and How Does It Work?
- Workers’ Compensation Benefits
- Obtaining Additional Funds Through Joliet Workers’ Compensation Claim Lawyers
- Workers’ Compensation Rights Following an Accident at Work in Joliet, IL
- Hire a Joliet, IL, Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Are you a victim of workplace injuries? Have you been hurt in a car accident while commuting to work or due to someone else’s negligence at your workplace?
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our personal injury attorneys offer legal representation for individuals harmed on the job, ensuring they receive maximum workers comp benefits and other financial compensation they deserve, with an experienced attorney guiding them through the process.
Call our Joliet workers’ compensation lawyers at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today to schedule a free consultation. We represent injured workers on a no-win no-fee policy and have helped many clients obtain full and fair compensation for their injuries.
All confidential or sensitive information you share with an attorney on our legal team remains private through an attorney-client relationship.
A Confusing and Daunting Process
The Illinois workers’ compensation process can be confusing and daunting, especially if you are hurt in an on-the-job accident or toxic exposure. Having a specialized county attorney on your side makes all the difference.
Financial healing is crucial for your physical and emotional health after an injury takes place at work. Unfortunately, sometimes a court settlement cannot be reached in cases with no apparent cause or without identifying those responsible for causing the accident that has resulted in injuries.
A Joliet attorney from our offices will provide immediate legal assistance in a free consultation to ensure you receive workers’ compensation benefits.
Contact our firm’s workers’ compensation lawyer today to secure the best legal representation for your benefits claim.
What Is Workers’ Compensation and How Does It Work?
Workers’ compensation is insurance that pays for your medical expenses and lost wages if you’re injured in an on-the-job incident. It usually covers only those expenses related to work-related injuries, such as injuries sustained while performing your duties or exposure to hazardous materials.
Most states, including Illinois, require employers to carry workers’ compensation with an insurance provider for their workforce as part of filing taxes and paying payroll taxes.
Workers’ comp benefits are also known as “no-fault” insurance because it’s paid regardless of who was at fault for causing the incident. In other words, if you’re hurt at a construction site, you don’t have to prove the employer did anything wrong or breached any duty of care to receive workers’ comp benefits.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Many Illinois employees believe their workers’ compensation benefits will provide sufficient funding for all their damages if they suffer a work injury. However, the injured employee’s monetary recovery is limited to a portion of their weekly wages.
Typically, the Worker’s Compensation benefits are not designed to fund non-economic damages, including pain, discomfort, suffering, or emotional distress caused by on-the-job injuries.
The typical workers’ compensation benefits include:
- Weekly Wages: Payment is reduced by any income earned from other sources, including workers’ compensation benefits.
- Medical Expenses: All reasonable and necessary medical costs can be related to treatment for damages or disabilities sustained in on-the-job injuries, such as physical therapy to recover from back injuries or repetitive motion injuries. The funds are based on evidence in the injured worker’s medical records
- Additional Hardship: Employees can face significant hardship if they cannot work and their benefits are reduced. This difficulty often causes a financial strain on Illinois workers and their family members.
Workers who have suffered on-the-job injuries, particularly those that cause them to be unable to return to work, should consider this when filing for permanent disability benefits. A Joliet workers’ compensation lawyer from our offices will help you file the benefits claim you’re entitled to receive.
Obtaining Additional Funds Through Joliet Workers’ Compensation Claim Lawyers
By hiring Illinois attorneys who diligently represent their clients, you may obtain additional funds beyond what the workers’ compensation claim provides. An experienced Joliet attorney will help you determine what other damages you might be entitled to.
For example, a county or Illinois attorney specializing in workplace injury accidents ensures clients receive a proper settlement through the workers’ comp program and always works in their client’s best interests.
Other available funds and benefits paid by defendants and agencies other than the victim’s employer could include:
- Social Security disability benefits: In addition to worker’s compensation benefits, workers hurt in the workplace could receive monthly Social Security disability payments to pay for:
- Temporary partial disability: You may earn more significant benefits if you can work for part of the time but not the entire week.
- Permanent partial disability: Even if a worker has completely recovered from their incident, they may still receive benefits for the permanency of their damage by filing a permanent partial disability claim.
- Third-party claim: Injured employees harmed through a third party’s negligence, like a parts manufacturer or another contractor, might be entitled to additional benefits because of workplace accidents.
- Auto accident: Some injured employees may be eligible for additional benefits from an auto crash if injured on the way to or from work. Police officers investigating an auto accident will document their investigation, determining who is at fault for the collision.
Workers’ Compensation Rights Following an Accident at Work in Joliet, IL
Many employees injured at work never file a claim because they believe their employer must be at fault for causing their damages. However, workers’ comp benefits are guaranteed, and employers cannot deny them, even if the worker is at fault for an accident.
Your rights after suffering a work injury include:
- Victims of work accidents have the right to choose their doctors. They can also request that employers’ insurance companies pay for past and future medical costs when they seek medical attention.
- Your employer might be liable for your damages if negligence or a defective product led to your harm.
- If your loved one died due to a work injury, you could collect compensation in a claim for their wages and other damages filed against the employer and insurer.
- Your employer cannot retaliate against employees nor terminate employment for filing workman’s compensation claims in court.
When you are harmed on the job, your employer and insurance company cannot legally deny or delay benefits.
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission handles all workers’ compensation disputes. The Illinois Industrial Commission provides review and arbitration opportunities for individuals working through the Worker’s Compensation system.
Less Than One in Four Injured Workers File Claims
The annual statistics from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission reveal nearly 200,000 workplace injuries in 2020.
Common employee on-the-job accidents leading to workers’ comp benefits include:
- Slip, trip, or fall
- Contact with equipment or object
- Falling from a significant height
- Electrocution or electrical shock
- Workplace violence
- Harmful toxic or environmental condition exposure leading to diseases, like asbestos-related mesothelioma
- Collisions involving trucks, cars, or heavy equipment
In Illinois, the leading industries for worker’s compensation benefits were various occupations such as government and manufacturing workers, construction, or working in a factory.
Hire a Joliet, IL, Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
Call a Joliet workers’ compensation lawyer from our Illinois law firm today at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form to speak with one of our Joliet, IL workers’ compensation lawyers during a free consultation and personal injury case review.
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our attorneys represent injured workers harmed in on-the-job accidents or toxic exposure.
Our workers’ compensation lawyers accept all workplace accident cases, personal injury cases, and wrongful death lawsuits through contingency fee agreements. This promise ensures that you pay your Joliet workers’ compensation lawyer nothing until your case is resolved through a negotiated settlement or a jury award.
