When you suffer any injury on the job, it can interfere with your ability to pursue employment and earn a living wage, not to mention leaving you in need of medical care that can help you recover from those serious injuries.
As the home of people who work in many dangerous professions, including pilots, roofers, sanitation workers, truck drivers, and industrial machine workers, Chicago sees too many workplace accidents. A slip and fall, defective safety equipment, or even an attack from a dissatisfied patron could leave you struggling to recover.
If you have suffered a severe injury in the workplace, you may deserve compensation for those injuries. Contact Zayed Law Offices today to learn more about your next steps after a workplace injury.
- Zayed Law Offices Can Help with Your Chicago Workers' Compensation Claim
- What Compensation Should You Expect in an Illinois Workers' Compensation Claim?
- Who Bears Liability After a Workplace Accident in Chicago?
- When Should You Contact a Workplace Injury Lawyer in Chicago?
- Do You Need a Lawyer After a Chicago Workplace Injury?
Zayed Law Offices Can Help with Your Chicago Workers' Compensation Claim
After a workplace injury, you should automatically receive coverage for any medical bills associated with that injury and a percentage of your income through workers' compensation insurance while you recover. Those claims can prove relatively straightforward in many cases since the company has a clear blueprint of what steps it needs to take to compensate you for your injuries.
However, workers' compensation claims sometimes prove more complex than initially anticipated. A lawyer can help guide you through that process and better understand what to expect as you manage your claim.
A lawyer can make sure you understand your rights under Illinois workers' compensation law.
Dealing with Illinois workers' comp can prove more difficult than anticipated. You may not know precisely how much compensation you should expect or whether you should count a specific injury as a workplace injury. A workers' compensation lawyer can help you get a better idea of exactly how much compensation you should expect for workplace injuries and how long you should continue to receive compensation.
If you pursue a settlement through workers' compensation insurance due to permanent injuries, talk to our lawyers to learn more about your rights and how much compensation you can expect.
A lawyer can help you fight against your workers' comp insurance denial.
Workers' comp exists to help injured workers pursue the compensation they need for serious injuries that occurred while on the job. However, workers' compensation insurance may not automatically pay out the total compensation you should expect or offer the full support you need.
You may have trouble:
- Getting workers' compensation insurance to pay for treatments you need
- Getting workers' compensation to pay for the full time you need to remain out of work, rather than pushing you to return to work sooner than you and your doctor feel you can handle
- Seeking reasonable compensation for long-term or permanent injuries.
You have enough to worry about as you deal with workplace injuries. When you cannot secure the full compensation you deserve or have trouble getting workers' comp to cover your needs, Zayed Law Offices can help you fight for the compensation you deserve.
What Compensation Should You Expect in an Illinois Workers' Compensation Claim?
When you suffer an injury at work, you will need to pursue compensation through your workers' compensation insurance, which your employer provides. Workers' comp insurance may provide slightly different compensation than you would typically expect through an injury claim.
Coverage for All Medical Bills
Workers' compensation insurance will usually offer coverage for all medical bills associated with the injuries you sustained in your workplace accident. A severe workplace injury may leave you in need of long-term medical treatment. Generally, workers' compensation insurance will provide payment for medical bills directly, rather than offering you compensation for the medical costs you have faced while recovering.
However, workers' compensation insurance may implement some limitations on how you can pursue medical treatment for your injuries. For example, you may need to pursue care through a specific medical provider. You may also have to have specific non-emergency procedures approved before you have them for workers' compensation to pay.
If you go outside your approval procedures for medical care for your workplace injuries, you may need to cover those treatments yourself. You may also need to pay for any outside medical care you pursue for those injuries.
Payment of Some of Your Income
Workers' compensation insurance typically does not provide full compensation for all wages you would normally have earned during your recovery. Instead, you will usually receive temporary disability payments at 66 and 2/3 percent of your regular income, up to the maximum benefit amount set by the state.
Larger Settlements for Permanent Injuries
If you suffered a permanent injury in your workplace accident that will lead to long-term consequences, including permanent disability, you may pursue a settlement. Sometimes, workers' comp will offer a settlement instead of continuing to pay you to remain on disability when it proves obvious that you will not recover further.
In other cases, you may deserve compensation for permanent losses related to your workplace injuries, including hearing or vision loss, spinal cord injuries, or implications brain injuries.
Working with a lawyer can help you recover the compensation you deserve for those long-term injuries, including:
- Coverage for future medical expenses
- Compensation for your long-term anticipated future expenses
- Compensation for the pain and suffering you have faced and will face in the future as you recover from your injuries
The actual compensation you recover through Illinois workers' comp companies may vary. Working with a lawyer can help provide you with a better look at how much compensation you should expect and increase the odds that you will recover the full compensation you deserve.
Who Bears Liability After a Workplace Accident in Chicago?
Unless you caused your injuries deliberately, you could usually recover compensation through workers' comp regardless of who caused your injuries. If your negligence led to your injuries, you may still recover compensation and receive assistance. You may also have the right to receive workers' compensation assistance when your employer's actions lead to your injuries or when a third party's actions cause an injury at work.
Personal Injury Claims After Workplace Injuries in Chicago
You may have the right to file a personal injury claim due to workplace injuries in some cases. You may have the right to an injury claim if:
Your employer committed an egregious act of negligence that led to your injuries.
Suppose, for example, that you work as a truck driver out of Chicago. You notify your company about a problem with your vehicle that could lead to an accident, but your employer declines to fix the problem. Due to that negligence, your company may bear direct liability for the accident and your injuries.
Likewise, if your employer fails to provide needed safety equipment or deliberately sends you into a dangerous situation outside your usual job description, you may pursue compensation against your employer.
A third party caused your injuries.
In some accident cases, a third party may cause your injuries. Suppose, for example, that you work as a construction worker in Chicago. While using a rented piece of equipment, you sustain injuries. You later discover that the company that owned the equipment failed to maintain it, leading to your injuries properly. In that case, the third party might bear liability for your injuries, and you could have the right to a personal injury claim.
Personal injury claims after a workplace injury look a little different than workers' comp claims. In a personal injury claim, you can pursue compensation for your medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Workers' comp claims usually do not include compensation for pain and suffering, nor do they require the liable party to pay your medical bills directly.
However, if you file a personal injury claim following a workplace injury, your employer may have the right to some of the compensation you recover. An experienced personal injury lawyer can best protect you.
When Should You Contact a Workplace Injury Lawyer in Chicago?
You may not need a workplace injury lawyer if you sustain minor injuries in the workplace and your claim and return to work go smoothly. However, you may need a workers' comp attorney if you suffer several common challenges and delays.
Workers' comp denies that your injury occurred at work.
Sometimes, the workers' comp insurance company may attempt to prove that your injuries did not occur while working and that, as a result, you do not deserve compensation for those injuries.
For example, workers' comp might claim that you have preexisting conditions that cause your pain or that you suffered injuries outside work and tried to blame them on a workplace incident. You may need an attorney to establish exactly when your injuries occurred and what steps you might need to take to prove that you deserve workers' compensation.
Workers' comp denies the full extent of your injuries.
Some organizations use their medical care providers or have specific relationships with providers that they prefer to use for workers' comp claims. Unfortunately, those care providers may sometimes insist that you did not sustain the limitations you must contend with due to your injuries.
You may receive offers to come back to work with modifications, alterations, and support that do not work for you based on your injuries, or you may feel pushed to come back to work even though you need more time to heal. When workers' comp denies the full extent of your injuries, you may need an attorney to help guide you through the appeal process and show exactly how much your injuries have limited you.
You struggle to get a specific procedure, or medical need approved.
When you have serious injuries due to a workplace incident, you may need extensive medical treatment to help you recover. However, to receive workers' compensation coverage for those injuries, you may have to have the procedure approved before seeking treatment. Delays in approval could make it more difficult for you to recover after the treatment or stretch out the suffering you have faced due to your injuries.
A workers' comp lawyer can help you determine how to appeal those determinations and get the care you need to be approved. A lawyer can also give you more information about your options for pursuing outside care, including cases in which the care provider recommended or approved by workers' comp does not fit your needs.
You need to pursue a settlement due to severe injuries that may pose lifelong limitations.
If you have permanent limitations related to your injuries, including constraints that may prevent you from working in your field, you may have the right to compensation for your losses. If you need to pursue a permanent settlement for workplace injuries in Chicago, a workers' comp lawyer can tell you how much compensation to expect, prove what you have suffered, and pursue that compensation most effectively.
Do You Need a Lawyer After a Chicago Workplace Injury?
If you suffered injuries in Chicago due to a workplace injury and have problems dealing with workers' comp or want to know more about your rights, our Chicago workplace injury attorneys can help you. Contact Zayed Law Offices online or call today at (312) 726-1616 for your free consultation.