Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorneys Blog

Some employees hurt at work in Illinois take the risk of not hiring a lawyer to handle their Illinois workers' compensation claim because the employee feels that he or she can negotiate with their employer properly and receive full benefits. The problem with not hiring representation is not knowing what you potentially turned down, what benefits you could have received, what rights you could have protected, and how to avoid litigation. The goal is to receive the most benefits from your employer and hiring a lawyer is the best way to receive those benefits. Even if you are a lawyer, it is important to seek attorneys who specialize in workers' compensation claims in order to maximize your recovery.

It is important to understand that almost every company and employer has insurance coverage with a legal in-house counsel team evaluating your injury and trying to minimize the amount of benefits given to you. This legal team's only client is the company or employer and their job is to protect their rights, not yours. Since you do not want to be taken advantage of by the insurance company, it makes it even more important to hire your own lawyer to combat your employer. Handling a workers' compensation claim by yourself should not be considered and is not recommended. Without understanding the legalese, a misstep can cause total bar from compensation. This is why giving notice and contacting a workers' compensation attorney are important steps to take in order to maintain your rights to recover full benefits.

Whether you are in a newly minted job or weeks away from retirement, your future should not be in a state of flux. There should be a form of stability and peace of mind. It is common for injuries to happen at work, but what steps you take after that will determine your peace of mind. At Dworkin & Maciariello, we make sure that your peace of mind is taken care of and you have the ability to receive the benefits you deserve without worrying. Here, we aggressively enforce the Workers' Compensation Act. Our staff of Workers' Compensation attorneys have decades of experience in fighting for the maximum settlement amounts for our clients. Contact us today for a free consultation and case evaluation.

When in the process of filing a claim, Illinois employees and/or their families want to know what compensation will be provided from an employer for work-related injuries. The compensation of injuries is dependent upon numerous circumstances. One tragic circumstance that warrants special attention under Illinois law is fatal work injuries - where an Illinois worker dies or is killed while working.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Act , recently reformed, specifically discusses the compensation to be awarded for fatal injuries. Under the law, when an Illinois worker dies, their surviving widow, widower, child/children or other related dependents may be entitled to benefits on behalf of the deceased worker.

Who is entitled to the fatally injured employee's compensation? Surviving family is to receive payment in different capacities. The compensation rate may be payable through the life of the widow or widower. If any children are included in that family, the payment shall be either until the death of the widow or widower or until the youngest child reaches the age of 18. These terms depend on whether the child or children are not physically or mentally incapacitated and are enrolled in a full time accredited educational institution. If these terms are met, the child may receive payment until the age of 25.

Children of deceased: To be a child of the deceased employee, the child or children must be left surviving the deceased. This child must have been the legal responsibility of the deceased and may include child or children legally adopted or such that the deceased employee was legally obligated to support.

If there are children surviving under the age of 18 whom at the time of the employees death qualify under the above terms of §7(a) of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, they will be entitled to compensation. Weekly compensation payments will continue for a period no less than six years.

No surviving children: If no surviving children of the deceased employee exist in the situation of a remarriage of a widow or widower, the compensation changes. This surviving spouse is entitled to benefits according to the Workers' Compensation Act. Compensation to the surviving spouse will be in the form of a lump sum equal to two years compensation, after which all other benefits and rights will be terminated.

Compensation may also be available to family members other than spouses or children who were dependent on the income of the deceased worker.

Other supplemental benefits as well as payment for any medical costs incurred in treatment for the injury prior to death may be included in the deceased workers compensation relief. Our firm has handled numerous fatal work injuries. Contact us today for more information, and get an experienced attorney on your side to fight for you to ensure you receive the compensation to which you are entitled after such a tragic occurrence.

If you are hurt at work in Illinois you should be aware that on June 28, 2011, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a number of changes to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (HB 1698). Many of these changes take effect beginning September 1, 2011, and will have an immediate impact on your rights regarding recovery for work-related injuries. Included among these changes are provisions about the general compensability of injuries, the type and extent of benefits available, and employers' available methods to dispute treatment.

So what does this mean for you - the injured worker?

Many of the changes are fairly incidental and will not drastically affect your basic right to recover. Benefits are still provided for missed time from work, medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, and permanent effects of your work injury. However, there are provisions that have materially changed certain aspects of the law that can directly affect the injured worker:

Choice of Doctors
In the past, an injured worker was entitled to two doctors of their choice, and their employer was responsible for payment of all of those doctors' medical bills for reasonable and necessary care, as well as for the bills of any other treaters to whom either of those two doctors referred the worker.
In many cases now that will still be the situation. However, under the new law employers have been granted the right to create a "Preferred Provider Program." Such a program would consist of a list of doctors and care providers, and must be approved by the state. If an employer chooses to institute such a program, the worker must first use one of the employer's Preferred Providers or forfeit their first choice of doctor. In that case, the worker will only be entitled to one choice of doctor and any other care providers to whom that one doctor refers the worker. You should be extremely careful before agreeing to treat with one of the employer's chosen doctors - the doctors on an employer's Preferred Provider list may be biased in favor of the employer and should not be seen. Because declining to treat with the employer's doctors will leave the you with only one choice of doctor, it is important that you contact an Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorney before beginning treatment to review with you your doctors and make the best use of your choice.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Under the new law there is a cap on the amount you can recover for permanency following treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. However, this does not change the fact that carpal tunnel syndrome can still be recognized as a work-related injury caused by repetitive trauma. Moreover, your employer may still be held responsible for the cost of treatment as well as compensating you for periods in which you are unable to work.

Wage Differential
Wage Differential is an award to compensate an injured worker for a reduction in earning capacity due to their work injury. Under the new law, you may only recover for reduced wages until you reach the age of 67, or for a period of 5 years after the award of such benefits, whichever comes later.

These are just some of the changes in the new Illinois Workers' Compensation law. The legislation itself is long and complex; however, experienced Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorneys are familiar with both the old law and the new law.

If you have been hurt at work, you should contact one of these attorneys today so they can help you to understand your rights and fight to get you the maximum benefits you may be entitled to.

Your back was hurt at work, and your doctor says you need a back fusion or a spinal fusion. This is a serious surgical procedure, and you should be aware of what it is, and how an Illinois workers' compensation attorney can help you.

Usually back surgery is a method of last resort or emergency, as doctors will attempt other conservative methods such as physical therapy and chiropractic care to encourage a disc to heal naturally before resorting to surgery. Similarly, a doctor or pain management specialist may try to alleviate the pain associated with spinal injuries with steroid injections. However, when these courses of treatment fail to provide adequate relief, surgery may be recommended.

Fusions are one of the many different types of surgery used to treat back injuries and the pain associated with them. They are commonly prescribed to treat degenerative disc disease or recurrent disc herniations. The procedure involves joining two or more vertebrae together (fusing them) in order to decrease abnormal motion between the bones, and reduce or eliminate the pain associated with such motion.

However, different doctors may diagnose the underlying back injury differently, or determine that it is not severe enough to warrant major surgery. This differing of opinions can lead to disputes and delays in your care and treatment. If your doctor believes that a spinal fusion is necessary for your recovery from a work injury, a workers' compensation attorney can fight to make sure that you receive it. Furthermore, they can fight to ensure that you receive all other benefits you are entitled to under Illinois Workers' Compensation law, including compensation for the time you miss from work while recovering from your surgery. It is important when dealing with any work injury to have a knowledgeable advocate on your side.

Often when an Illinois worker is hurt his or her doctor will impose medical restrictions during treatment that require the worker to stay off work for a period of time. Similarly, the doctor may impose restrictions limiting the type of work the injured worker may due. If this happens, a workers' compensation attorney can help insure that you are afforded compensation for the time you may be forced to miss, among other benefits you are entitled to under Illinois workers' compensation law.

However, when a doctor makes recommendations regarding your ability to handle physically demanding activity, it is not just a free pass to stay off work. The doctor's diagnosis and restrictions should be taken seriously and applied to everyday life as well. Ignoring the doctor's directions may not only be detrimental to your recovery, but also may have negative repercussions on your eligibility for workers' compensation benefits.

In order to avoid paying workers' compensation benefits to their injured workers, employers may use surveillance techniques to try and prove the worker is not actually hurt, or that they are not as hurt as they claim they are. Even if the worker has a note from his or her doctor, if the employer can produce surveillance evidence that the worker is capable of physically demanding work, the courts may agree to cut off benefits. In recent cases in and around Chicago, workers' benefits have been discontinued due to video evidence of participation in activities such as raking gravel, dumping trash, or even carrying bags of groceries.

These instances make it clear that it is important to follow your doctor's instructions. Even though you may feel capable of typical daily household chores, if your doctor has placed restrictions on your physical exertions, you should heed his or her advice. Not only is it important for your recovery from whatever condition you may be suffering from, but also to ensure your employer doesn't find a way to get out of providing you the benefits you deserve.

One issue that can arise when Illinois employees who are hurt at work are seeking workers' compensation is that of preexisting conditions. This sort of issue arises often with back injuries such as herniated discs, or injuries affecting joints such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, the issue is prevalent in cases where the condition may be attributed to some sort of degenerative disease.

Under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, a worker is entitled to benefits if they can show that the preexisting condition was "aggravated or accelerated" by their employment. This means that if you can identify something from your work that made the condition surface, worsen, or speed up, then you may have a workers' compensation claim despite having been previously diagnosed or having a past medical history indicating that such a condition existed.

However, there are some restrictions to the compensability of preexisting conditions. For instance, there must be a specific time, place, and cause of the aggravation. It is not enough to simply claim prolonged stress when attempting to establish a claim for aggravation of a preexisting condition. Also, if your preexisting condition is the actual cause of your injury, then it may not be compensable. Falls and accidents arising from individual medical conditions are deemed "idiopathic" and workers who suffer injuries of this nature are generally not entitled to benefits under Illinois workers' compensation law. This is fairly common with conditions such as seizures, and recently the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission dealt with that issue in determining that a worker with a history of epilepsy was having a seizure when his forklift crashed, and therefore the injuries arising out of the accident were not compensable.

Preexisting conditions can present a hurdle to obtaining benefits under workers' compensation law. Defense attorneys and doctors will try to pin your current injury on those conditions in order to get out off providing for the benefits you deserve. However, if your doctor believes that your employment caused your injury, regardless of any preexisting conditions, then an Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorney can fight for you and help you receive the benefits you deserve.

One of the key issues in establishing a workers' compensation claim in Illinois is showing that the injury was "causally connected" to or "arose out of" the work performed. This means that you have to be able to prove that something related to your job actually caused your condition. In some cases, this causal connection is obvious and undisputed, such as when a worker is involved in an industrial accident or construction accident of some sort and suffers a back injury, a muscular sprain or strain, or a bone fracture. There, it is usually clear that the accident caused the injury. Similarly, if your job requires repetitive motions such as twisting and turning, a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome or cubital tunnel syndrome in your wrist or arm can potentially be connected to the repetitive nature of your work.

However, just because an injury happens at work does not necessarily mean it is a work injury. Claims have consistently been denied when it is revealed the injury resulted from some sort of horseplay on the jobsite. In those cases, the courts have determined that because they were engaging in activities outside of their expected work duties, the workers could not claim the injuries "arose out of" their employment.

Conversely, just because an injury happens away from work does not mean it is not a work injury. Workers compensation is not limited to incidents occurring within the walls of a factory or office, or within the fences surrounding a jobsite. The doctrine of the "traveling employee" dictates that if your job requires you to travel, then injuries occurring during those travels may be found to arise out of your employment. This is not limited to cross-country travels, or even cross-town. If your job requires you to take to the streets on a regular basis, you may be considered a traveling employee, and an injury incurred while on the streets may be compensable.

For example, recently an appellate court in Illinois awarded an injured worker benefits for broken wrists she suffered when she fell on a sidewalk while walking from her office to a bank to make deposits for the company she worked for. Even though she was not necessarily "at work" when it happened, because she was performing a function for her job that required her to be on the streets, the court found that the accident was causally connected and arose out of her job.

Illinois Work Injury Attorneys deal with the issue of "causal connection" in every case they handle, and can help you determine if the injury you suffered can be connected to the work duties you performed.

Many Illinois Workers' Compensation cases follow the same timeline: Injury, Treatment, Maximum Medical Improvement, Release to Work. Workers' Compensation Attorneys help their clients by obtaining payment for reasonable and necessary medical treatment as well as for time off work, and by recovering benefits for any permanent lingering effects or disability sustained from the injury. Also, they help recover any lost earning potential the client may suffer once they have reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and are released to work in whatever capacity their doctor prescribes.

But what if that isn't the end of it? Despite a patient being released from medical care, sometimes an injury may resurface at a later date. Fortunately, the Workers Compensation Act provides for recovery in just that sort of situation. If there is a material change in your condition after your treatment has "completed", you may still be entitled to further medical care. Also, you may be entitled to reconsideration of the permanent lingering effects or lost earning potential.

Sometimes the severity of an injury isn't discovered until months or years after it occurs. That was the issue recently addressed in a case by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. After a worker injured her shoulder and was diagnosed with a shoulder sprain, she completed treatment and was released to work full duty. However, she continued to feel pain and take medications for over a year. She was later diagnosed as having rotator cuff tendinitis. The Commission found sufficient evidence that even though she had completed treatment for the initial diagnosis of a sprain and been released to work regular duty, the tendinitis was related to her earlier injury and was therefore compensable.

Workers' compensation law provides for a worker not just during treatment for a work injury, but after a doctor has determined treatment is finished as well. If you are concerned that your previously treated condition is returning or was never resolved, a workers' compensation attorney may be able to help you.

Illinois Workers' Compensation News: On April 14, 2011 Illinois Senate Bill 1349, a proposed amendment to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, was defeated. The proposed amendment would have drastically altered or eliminated many of the rights and benefits that workers' compensation attorneys in Chicago and across Illinois have been fighting for on behalf of injured workers for years. Among some of the proposed changes were:

Providing explicit definitions for the terms "accident" and "injury";
Stricter guidelines for establishing causal connections between the workers' injury and the work accident or circumstances of employment;

Eliminating the injured worker's right to choose their own physician for the first 60 days following notice of the accident, and replacing it with the employer's right to choose which physician may initially diagnose and treat an injury;

Eliminating Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits for injured workers if they are fired for cause, regardless of whether they have finished treating or are able to work;

Eliminating an employer's liability to provide medical care or benefits beyond an initial emergency inpatient or outpatient visit if the employee was intoxicated by alcohol, marijuana, or any controlled substance when he or she was injured;

Terminating wage differential awards at the time when either the employee reaches the age of 67, or when the award has been paid for 5 years, whichever occurs at a later date;
Stricter guidelines for establishing the extent of an injured workers' Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) after treatment has concluded;

Clearly, this proposed amendment would have had a devastating effect on the rights that injured workers have relied on in order to receive the benefits they deserve. However, Senate Bill 1349 only received 25 of the 30 votes required in order for the bill to pass, and the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act survives in its current form to provide for the injured worker.

Generally, if an employee is injured while driving to or from work, the injury is not covered under Illinois Workers' Compensation law. However, exceptions have been recognized in incidents where the employee's job requires travel, such as if the employee is a traveling salesman, and being on the road may be seen as part of the employee's job responsibilities.

In a recent case, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission recognized further circumstances where an injury incurred while driving may fall under the law. The employee in that case was injured in a car accident while driving a company car home from work. The employer had furnished the worker with the car for work purposes, and it was generally not used for personal purposes.

The Commission determined that the employee's use of the company car exclusively for work purposes was for the benefit of the employer. Because the employer was seeing a benefit from the employee's use of the company car while at home, the employee's home became a "second base" of operations for the employer. Therefore, the worker was not outside the scope of his employment when the accident occurred during his drive from the office to this "second base", and the Commission awarded the injured employee Workers' Compensation benefits.

This case is just the most recent development in a line of cases addressing the "second base" idea. The key to these cases has been that the worker is providing some benefit for his or her employer at home - whether it may be maintaining a dealership car to respond to customer calls or working from home to prepare materials for work - and has thus established his home as a "second base" of operations. When that has been established, the drive between the traditional workplace and home may be seen to be within the scope of employment, and injuries occurring on the drive may be compensable under Illinois Workers' Compensation law.

If you think you may have a similar claim, contact an Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorney today.

Many Illinois workers suffer injuries to their back or neck that result in herniated discs. Herniated discs are fairly common injuries that can cause significant pain that at times can travel down the arms or legs. There are a variety of different treatment methods for herniated discs:

Conservative Care - Physical therapy and/or chiropractic treatment may be used to encourage the disc to heal naturally. A majority of herniated discs can be healed this way, with results coming in just a few weeks or months.

Injections - Epidural steroid injections are often used to alleviate the pain associated with herniated discs, although they do not actually treat the disc itself.

Surgery - If conservative treatment fails, or if the herniation is severe, surgery may be required. There are many different types of surgery that could be necessary depending on the nature of the injury.

However, diagnosis of herniated discs and the treatment they require can be disputed issues between doctors. Different doctors may read MRIs to indicate different things, and sometimes what one doctor thinks is a herniation, another may simply call a "bulge" or a "back sprain or strain". Furthermore, doctors may differ in their opinions of whether the herniation is severe enough to warrant injections, surgery, or other treatment options above and beyond conservative care.

If you are injured at work and your doctor believes any specific type of treatment is necessary to resolve your pain, a workers' compensation attorney can fight to make sure that you receive it. You are entitled to receive all reasonable and necessary medical care for you work injury, as well as compensation for any time you are forced to miss from work while the injury heals. Just as herniated discs are common injuries among workers, they are common cases for workers' compensation attorneys to handle, and their experience in dealing with the differing opinions of doctors makes them an important ally to have on your side when fighting to get the treatment and benefits you deserve.

Famously the end to many professional athletes' seasons or careers, ACL and MCL tears are also fairly common injuries suffered by Illinois workers. Understanding your knee ligament injury is an important step in not only your treatment and recovery, but also in understanding your rights under Illinois Workers' Compensation Law.

In your body, and particularly in your joints, bones are connected to each other by fibrous tissues called ligaments. In your knee, there are four major ligaments, and the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament) are two of these. The ACL sits in the middle of your knee and connects your femur to your tibia, or your thigh bone to your shin bone. It is an important element in stabilizing the knee and keeping it from bending too far back. The MCL also connects your femur to your tibia, but runs up the inner side of your knee instead. It helps keep the knee from bending too far side to side.

Sudden, traumatic events that force your knee to bend in the wrong direction can injure the ACL and the MCL. These injuries can present themselves as strains or, in worst case scenarios, tears. Furthermore, due to its important stabilizing function, once the ACL is injured, it is common for the MCL to become injured as well. Injuries to the knee ligaments tend to produce symptoms such as a feeling of instability, pain, and swelling.

In order to properly diagnose the extent of knee ligament injuries, doctors will attempt a range of tests from manual manipulation of the knee to MRIs. If it is determined that a knee ligament has been torn, then there are various courses of treatment your doctor may recommend. Conservative treatment such as physical therapy may be prescribed, or a knee brace may be worn. If conservative treatment fails or is inappropriate, a doctor may determine that surgery is necessary. This surgery is typically done arthroscopically.

In any event, a knee ligament injury can be a serious, debilitating injury that affects your ability to work. If you hurt your knee at work, report the injury to your employer and consult an Illinois work injury attorney today so that they can help you fully understand your rights and benefits.

In Illinois, if you are hurt at work, there are three types of benefits that you are entitled to by law. An Illinois Workers' Compensation attorney will ensure that you receive these benefits. The law provides compensation for:

Time off work - If you are unable to work due to restrictions given by your doctor, you are entitled to receive weekly payments equal to 2/3 of your average weekly wage until you are either able to work again or have completed treatment for your work injury. In workers compensation, this is called "Temporary Total Disability", or "TTD" for short.

Medical bills - Your employer is required to pay all reasonable and necessary medical bills relating to your work injury. This includes doctor visits, diagnostic testing such as MRIs or X-Rays, surgery, and rehabilitation services such as physical therapy.

Permanent disability - The law recognizes that even after you have finished treatment, you will never be 100% again. You may be completely disabled, or you may have some lingering affects from the injury and treatment. Even if you are not completely disabled, you are entitled to compensation for the permanent effects of your work injury.

These benefits, as well as other aspects of workers compensation law are provided by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. Workers' Compensation attorneys are familiar with this body of law and the necessary processes involved in getting injured workers the benefits they deserve.

Illinois workers may suffer concussions if they receive a traumatic blow to the head. After the concussion, they may also experience post-concussion syndrome. When dealing with the effects of a concussion or post-concussion syndrome, it is important to understand the condition. Moreover, if the injury occurred at work, you should know your rights under Illinois workers' compensation law.

There are a range of physical symptoms that can indicate a possible concussion including headache, vomiting, nausea, and lack of motor coordination. Concussions can also cause difficulty balancing, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to lights, and blurred or double vision. There are also "mental" symptoms such as confusion and disorientation, as well as difficulty paying attention. A key indicator of a concussion is an inability to remember the events leading up to the injury. Typically, treatment consists of rest and monitoring, and most symptoms of a concussion will go away within a few weeks after the injury.

However, with post-concussion syndrome the symptoms of the concussion may linger for weeks, months, or even up to a year or more. Generally the symptoms that persist may be headaches, difficulty concentrating, or even irritability. Similar to concussions, there is no way to actively treat the actual condition, although physical therapy and medication may be used to treat the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome.

If you have suffered a head injury at work and your doctor believe your symptoms indicate a concussion or that you are experiencing post-concussion syndrome, a workers' compensation attorney can fight to make sure that you are afforded whatever time off and care your doctor believes is necessary. You are entitled by law to receive all reasonable and necessary medical care for your injury, as well as compensation for any time you are forced to miss while recovering. An Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorney will be on your side to ensure you get the benefits you deserve.

Sometimes there's more to a workers' compensation case than just showing the causal relationship between injury and employment activities. WIth the rising existence of technology in our lives comes the use of this technology to attempt to discount workers' compensation claims. Employers are starting to use surveillance and even materials from social networking sites as evidence against employees' claims for workers' compensation. Employers are claiming that their surveillance footage or social media materials show that particular employees are lying or blowing the injury out of proportion. As a result, employees have to be ready to explain every movement.

The good news, is that the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission is willing to listen to all sides when technological evidence is presented. In a recent workers' compensation case, the employer presented video surveillance of the employee getting in and out of a vehicle, walking slowly, going into a store and lowering himself to retrieve something. The employer considered this evidence that the employee was magnifying his symptoms of low back and shoulder problems. However, the Commission found the surveillance to be innocuous and not contradictory to the employee's claims of disability and pain. As a result, the Commission awarded disability benefits for a total of 187 weeks.

Another case where the employer used surveillance footage involved a construction worker who was complaining of a work-related injury to his left wrist. The employer presented footage of the worker carrying a bucket in his left hand up a ladder. At first glance this seems like a devastating blow to the employee's workers' compensation case. However, if the employee can show that the bucket was in fact empty, his claim may be able to survive.

What does this mean for a new workers' compensation claim? If you have been injured at work and are concerned that your employer is going to use technological materials to try to discount your claim, do not worry. The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission will listen to both sides of the story and your Illinois Work Injury Attorney can help you explain the situation. Sometimes, employees try to work through their injury because they are afraid of losing their job or due to loyalty to their employer; whatever the reason is, this should not prevent you from receiving the benefits you are due.

Sources:
Pratl v. Reserve Marine Terminals, 18 ILWCLB 70 (Ill. W.C. Comm. 2009)
Cyril Tuohy, Watching Your Step with Surveillance, Risk & Insurance Online, November 15, 2010.