Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance

After years of talk, injured worker to be arrested for Illinois Workers’ Compensation fraud.

Findgreatlawyers.com helps people who need Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer referrals or just general guidance. We are a big believer in helping honest people with honest claims. These claims are not lawsuits against your employer, but rather employee benefits like health insurance or long term disability.

Unfortunately there are some dishonest workers out there who pretend they got hurt on a job when it happened somewhere else or lie to their doctors about their health. We have seen cases where alleged injured workers said that they couldn’t walk, but a day later are seen on surveillance cameras playing softball and running.

A worker in Peoria is about to be arrested for alleged misconduct. Those types of actions hurt all of us, especially people with legitimate Illinois workers’ compensation claims. As we said, we exist to help honest people get the benefits that they deserve. If you have questions about a work injury please do not hesitate to call us at (312) 346-5320.

If you get in a fight with a co-worker, if it’s not about your job then your injury won’t likely be covered under Illinois workers’ compensation law.

Fights happen at work all of the time. Usually it’s just words or bad feelings, but every now and then punches are thrown. If that happens to you, a quick analysis should let you know whether or not your injury is covered under Illinois workers’ compensation laws.

1. Were you fighting about work or something else? If it’s an argument over a girlfriend or a sports team or anything else that isn’t clearly related to work then injuries suffered in a fight wouldn’t be covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. But if you were fighting over who was supposed to do a certain job or anything like that, you may be covered.
2. Were you the aggressor? If you are pissed off at a co-worker because they didn’t do their job and take a swing at them, only to have your nose broken when they punch you back, you likely would not get workers’ compensation benefits because you started the fight.

If this law is confusing to you and you have any questions or if you would like a referral to an Illinois workers’ compensation law firm that has experience with employee fights, please call us at (312) 346-5320.

New changes at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission starting in 2008.

As seems to happen every year, various Arbitrators will be hearing cases at new locations starting in the new year. Arbitrator Giordano will take over Arb. Holland's Rockford docket, while Arbitrator Holland will take the Clinton, Galesburg, Rock Falls, and Rock Island calls. Arbitrator Nalefski will now handle the Carlinville docket, and Arbitrator Falcioni will take on the De Kalb call.

If you are an inured worker who has a case in any of those areas, you need to learn how the change in Arbitrators will effect your case, either for better or for worse.

If you are settling an Illinois workers’ compensation case and need future medical treatment, beware settling if you are applying for social security benefits or anticipate being on Medicare in the next 30 months.

The law has been around for a while, but is now being enforced. Essentially what would happen for years is that injured workers would settle a case, get a lump some of money and then go to the government for social security help or medical payments through Medicare. Now, if you anticipate that you are going to need Medicare to help pay for your injury treatment in the next 30 months, you need to put protect the interests of Medicare.

Essentially (and check before you act on this because the rules change a lot) you must put money for future medical in a separate, interest bearing account. This money is usually determined by performing what is called a “Medicare Set Aside.” There are companies that analyze cases like these for a living and give you a reasonable estimate of what to set aside. On top of that, sometimes you have to get direct approval from the government. Failure to protect the interests of the government could put you on the hook for hundreds of thousands of medical bills.

Does this sound confusing? It gets confusing for even the most seasoned Illinois work injury law firms, mostly because enforcement of the law is so new and changes a lot. If you have a serious injury or are close to Medicare eligibility, it is really important to have an Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer that deals with your type of case every day. If you would like a referral to one please call us at (800) 517-1614.

Unlike personal injury or medical malpractice, your Illinois workers’ compensation case should not be worth less based on where you live.

It’s a proven fact that a medical malpractice or personal injury case is worth more money in a high population area like Chicago than it would be in a smaller location like Mt. Vernon. When it comes to work injuries though, there should be no difference in what a case is worth.

The reason this is true is because there are no juries in work injury cases. Personal biases don’t come into play during trials, except to the extent that the Arbitrator favors one side over the other. So if you need a work injury lawyer in Champaign, Waukegan Belleville or the tiniest town in Illinois, rest assured that your success or failure should depend on the facts of the case and the quality of your lawyer, not biases that are supposed to be ignored.

Just being hurt on your employer's premises is not enough to receive Illinois workers' compensation benefits.

In order to prevail on a claim that you are entitled to Illinois workers' compensation benefits, you must also show that your injury arose out of and in the course of your employment.

Recently, a woman drank a lot of coffee and fainted, striking her head. She worked a night shift, but wasn't required to drink coffee. Although the excessive caffeine caused her to faint, drinking coffee wasn't part of her job so her injury did not arise out of her employment. As a result her claim for benefits were denied even though the employer supplied the coffee.

In another case, a worker did get benefits for getting hurt in a recreational football game because the injury was on company premises and it was implied that participation would be looked upon as favorable.

Bottom line is that if you are hurt and think it has anything to do with your job, you should ask a lawyer their opinion and make a decision from there.

Recent Illinois Appellate Court decision changes notice law in Illinois Workers' Compensation cases.

In a recently published decision, the Illinois Appellate Court made it easier for workers to pursue a case for a job accident in Illinois. Previously the law required you to report a work injury within 45 days of your accident or when you knew of the injury. Some people lost benefits because they didn't tell their employer it was work related for a variety of reasons.

Under the new ruling, as long as your employer new that you had an injury within 45 days of when it happened then they would be found to have notice under the law. Essentially the judges felt that employers would not be prejudiced by having to defend a claim even if they didn't have the opportunity to inspect the accident site.

Please note that if you think you have a work related injury you should report it as soon as possible. For more information on notice as it relates to Illinois work accidents, please click here.

Commissioner Pigott to resign from the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. No replacement has been named.

In a somewhat surprising move, Susan Pigott has resigned her position as a Commissioner with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. Pigott was seen as a very petitioner friendly judge which is likely in part to her background as a petitioner's attorney.

The Commissioners hear appeals from decisions of Arbitrators in Illinois job accident cases. Attorneys for the workers and employers write briefs and submit them. In most cases they then have an oral argument date where each side is given five minutes to argue their case before three Commissioners. The Commissioners then make a written ruling.

Unlike regular court, the Commissioners are appointed as representatives of all of the interests in a workers' compensation case. One is for the petitioner, one is for the respondent and one is for the public. 

When hiring a lawyer in Illinois for workers' compensation, we couldn't encourage you enough to hire someone who day in and day out only handles IL work injury claims.

There are a few reasons we feel this way. First, the Illinois work injury legal community is tight knit. The lawyers that regularly handle those cases for workers and employers have to constantly deal with each other due to the volume of cases, even if they don't like each other. You want someone representing you who is in this tight knit circle.

Second, you want someone who is regularly before the Arbitrator. Many cases don't go to Arbitration, but if yours does, you don't want to be at a disadvantage because the other lawyer knows the Arbitrator's tendencies and has a relationship with him or her. If your attorney also does personal injury and medical malpractice or other areas, they can't be before that Arbitrator on a regular basis, at least not as much as Illinois attorneys who specialize in workers compensation. Even if they know what they are doing, if they are in a medical malpractice trial, that could take four weeks. If so then unless they have partners who know what they are doing your case will sit by the wayside.

Finally, the Illinois workers' compensation laws are constantly changing. Work comp specialists regularly get updates on these laws and know how the Arbitrators and the Commission interprets these laws.

Hiring someone who doesn't deal with work injury cases in Illinois on a daily basis is just short changing yourself.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission hires four fraud investigators.

The state of Illinois has hired four additional workers' compensation fraud investigators. Three are based in the Chicago area and the other is located in Springfield. All of the investigators will investigate claims on a statewide basis.

The fraud investigation unit was developed in response to labor's concerns about the February 2006 amendments to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. To date we are not aware of one person who has been charged with work comp fraud in Illinois.

If you would like to report a suspected case of workers' compensation fraud, contact Ron Palmer in the Workers' Compensation Investigative Unit at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation/Division of Insurance, 877-923-8648.

If you were hurt on the job and your doctor is in your corner, demand your attorney go to arbitration if your benefits are cut off.

We know more Illinois workers' compensation attorneys than probably any other area that we help out in. Even the ones that we don't recommend for the most part seem to do a good job and we truly feel that most lawyers have the best interests of their clients at heart and fight for them. We certainly know that the work injury attorneys we recommend are that way.

That said, it seems lately we have heard from many people who have hired Illinois workers compensation law firms (not recommended by us) that either don't know what they are doing or won't do the hard work that is necessary and justifies their fee. Most recently, a man called us whose doctor stated that he was permanently disabled. The company doctor said he could work so his benefits were cut off. He has been without pay for two years even though his doctor is on his side.

Generally speaking, Arbitrators in these cases side with the treating doctor more often than not. If you have a medical opinion in your favor and are not receiving benefits, why wouldn't your attorney go to arbitration? A lawyer should do more than wait for you to get better and collect their 20% fee. They should guide you through the process and when necessary file a motion for trial to resolve any disputes. The poor man that finally called us is owed more than $60,000.00 and can hardly support his family any more. If your benefits are cut off, insist your attorney get you a hearing. Even if doctors depositions are necessary, you usually can have your case heard within 2-3 months from the date you are cut off.

New maximum temporary total disability rate for Illinois workers' compensation claims.

The state of Illinois has announced a new maximum temporary total disability rate (TTD) for Illinois job injuries sustained between January 15, 2007 and July 14, 2007. The new maximum rate is $1,148.51 per week. TTD payments are provided when a worker is completely authorized off work or has medical restrictions per a doctor that the employer can not accommodate. The TTD rate is 2/3 of your average weekly wage, subject to a maximum amount. In other words, if you got hurt on April 10, 2007 and had an average weekly wage of $900.00, your TTD rate would be $600.00 a week. That money is provided to workers tax free. If you made $3,000.00 a week, you would only receive $1,148.51 under Illinois law. Most workers aren't hurt by the TTD maximum, but it can negatively affect very high wage earners.

If you are hurt during a recreational activity with you co-workers such as a company picnic or softball game, you will not receive Illinois work injury benefits unless your participation was mandatory.

Recently the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission denied work injury benefits to a fire fighter who was injured while participating in a softball game with the members of his station. Although he sustained a serious injury, benefits were denied because his participation was not mandatory. It's not enough to feel that you should be there. In other words, you may know that your boss would frown upon anyone who didn't attend the company holiday party, but unless you are threatened with losing your job, having your pay docked, losing a vacation day, etc. then any injury sustained at that event would not likely result in an award for Illinois workers compensation benefits.

Often these scenarios fall in a "gray area" and it is not clear if they are compensable or not. If you have questions about your injury or would like an Illinois workers comp attorney referral, please call us at (312) 346-5320.

Rule #1 in Illinois workers' compensation claims: listen to your doctor.

We gladly consult with injured workers (and companies too) on a daily basis about their Illinois work injuries. Through no fault of their own, many of the people that call us aren't educated on IL work comp laws and we hopefully can help them understand the law more. 

Quite often someone calls us and tells us that they are under a doctor's care for a work injury and the job activities are making their condition worse. "I'm really in a lot of pain at the end of the day and my doctor doesn't want me doing that job," a caller recently told us. The problem is that because most people are hard workers and want to do well for their employer, they ignore the restrictions. We admire this attitude, but the reality is that you have to listen to your doctor. Most people that ignore their doctor end up getting hurt worse. That doesn't help you or your employer.

Some people that call us report that their employer won't accommodate their restrictions. At that point, you need your Illinois workers compensation attorney to intervene on your behalf. Failing to take action could lead to permanent restrictions and/or a much more serious injury.

If you are having problems with restrictions on the job or have any Illinois workman's compensation questions, please call us at (312) 346-5320.

How can you be hurt on a machine at work in Illinois, but be denied workers' compensation benefits?

Recently the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission denied benefits to a worker who was repairing a machine when his fingers were pulled in resulting in a serious injury. The reason work comp benefits were denied is that the petitioner was working on a personal machine and not for the company benefit. Although he had permission to do so as work was slow, there was nothing about the risk of his injury that was related to his employment. This means that just because your employer allows you to do a personal activity on company time does not mean that you can receive Illinois workers' compensation benefits if you get hurt in that activity.

An injury doesn't have to be have been caused on the job to be an Illinois workers compensation claim. Make sure your doctor understands that or it could jeopardize your ability to recover benefits.

We were recently called by a worker who had a pre-existing arthritic condition in his hands when he started his job as a pressman. Through the years of working his condition worsened and he now needs to work with restrictions and can not perform his regular job. His employer is telling him that he is not eligible for workers' compensation benefits and his doctor has told him that it is not workers' compensation claim.

The law in Illinois is that if your job causes, aggravates OR accelerates a condition, even one that is pre-existing, you are entitled to Illinois workers' compensation benefits. The doctor of the man that called us agrees that his patient's job has worsened his condition. He just doesn't understand the law and this is potentially going to hurt his patient.

In any claim, you should only be interested in the truth. If the truth is that your job is aggravating a pre-existing condition, you need to let your doctor know that and make sure that they understand what the law is.

If you have any questions about Illinois workers' compensation law, please do not hesitate to contact us at (800) 517-1614.

Commission Closings

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission will be closed on Monday, February 12, for Lincoln's Birthday, and on Monday, February 19, for Washington's Birthday. This applies to all hearing locations in the state of Illinois.

The payment of benefits is not an admission of liability in Illinois workers' compensation claims.

While we believe that the worker was truly hurt on the job, in his case the insurance company terminated benefits based on a doctor's examination that said his injury couldn't have been caused by the job. This doctor was hired by the insurance company, but even so it is a justifiable basis for denying the claim. All the worker needs to do is hire a competent Illinois workers' compensation law firm who can take his case before an Arbitrator. The Arbitrator will decide whether or not to follow the opinion of the company chosen doctor or the injured worker's treating physician.

Hurt at a company party in Illinois? You may not be able to get work injury benefits.

A caller to our service was hurt at an office Christmas party when she slipped on the dance floor injuring her knee. Because the party was not mandatory, she was not able to receive workers' compensation benefits because the accident did not "arise out of" her employment. In another case, a worker was told that if they didn't go to a party they would lose a vacation day. That worker was able to receive benefits because the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission determined that the threat of losing a vacation day made the party mandatory.

Even if you don't normally work in Illinois, if you are hurt here you can file for Illinois Workers' Compensation benefits no matter what anyone else tells you.

We were called the other day by a woman with questions about Illinois Workers' Compensation law. She is a flight attendant with an international airline based in another country. She sustained a major injury while on a layover in Chicago. The foreign based company was shocked by her allegation that the company needed to follow Illinois law and even more shocked when they learned she was correct.

No matter who you are, if you get hurt working in Illinois, you can file a claim for benefits here. It can make a big difference in what you receive. A man who is based out of Kansas called a lawyer there looking for a Kansas workers' compensation lawyer. Because he was hurt in IL, he got benefits here. That man is sadly permanently disabled. Under Illinois workman's compensation law he will receive over $1,000.00 a week for life. In Kansas his lifetime award would have been limited to $125,000.00 total. After that he would have ended up on welfare and/or social security.

If you have any questions about Illinois workers compensation laws, please call us at (800) 517-1614.

Safety violations aren't a bar to receiving Illinois workers compensation benefits, but horseplay can be.

Recently the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission awarded benefits to a bricklayer who sustained a serious injury on the job. The injury could have been prevented had the worker remembered to shut a safety gate. His employer tried to fight his work accident claim, but in Illinois as long as your accident happens within the scope of your employment, you can receive benefits. In other words, the petitioner was doing his job and as a result Illinois workers compensation laws protect him.

If the worker had been "goofing off" or otherwise engaging in horseplay, he would not have been entitled to benefits. For example, if he was on a scaffolding and jumping up and down causing him to fall, that would not only be a safety violation, but it would also take him out of the scope of his employment as nothing about the job requires you to jump up and down.

If you have any questions about this post or any other Illinois workers compensation issue, please call us at (800) 517-1614.

Workers' compensation benefits are marital assets in Illinois

If you are going through a divorce and expect to receive a settlement at the end of your case, your spouse may be entitled to half of your award. Just like any other money acquired during the marriage, a work injury settlement is considered marital property similar to a pension or a car. While anything is negotiable in a divorce, you can expect that the workers compensation money will be an issue. Even if your case won't settle for years, but your divorce can be resolved now the divorce court can order half of your share to be turned over to your spouse at the appropriate time.

Circumstantial evidence of stress at work is not enough for workers’ compensation.

A grocery store bagger died of a stroke while at work. Her family claimed that the worker’s stroke was caused by stress from her employment. The family claimed that coworkers and managers treated the worker poorly. The arbitrator found that mere circumstantial evidence of rebukes by coworkers is not enough to prove that a work environment is so stressful as to cause a stroke. Furthermore, medical records indicate that the stroke was caused by a spontaneous hemorrhage that had nothing to do with her activity.

Terminated employee is still eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

A truck driver was terminated from his position after his employer discovered that he made false statements in his job application. Prior to termination, the truck driver injured his shoulder at work. The employer claimed that the driver was not entitled to total disability benefits because he was terminated for falsifying his application. The commission decided that the employee was eligible for total disability benefits, regardless of why he was terminated. This case potentially could drastically alter how Illinois workers compensation claims are defended by employers as we often see TTD benefits terminated when an injured worker has been fired for cause. We expect that this case will be appealed as it certainly flies in the face of how cases have been handled in Illinois up to this point.

If I don't hire a lawyer for my Illinois work injury will I get more money?

Attorneys fees in Illinois workers' compensation claims are typically 20% of the settlement. Unless they have to go to trial, the lawyers we recommend don't usually take a penny for payments from lost time or medical benefits. Many people don't hire lawyers and we think this is foolish.

An insurance company does not have to offer a settlement to you. If they do, in our experience they often offer the lowest possible fair amount and then reduce it by 20%. In other words, they offer you what would be your worst case scenario if you hired a lawyer. There are too many things of value that a good Illinois workers' compensation attorney can add to a case to mention in this posting. Most of all though, we have almost never seen a situation where an injured worker does worse with a lawyer than they would have without. In many cases we have seen lawyers advise clients of rights that they weren't aware of. These rights were discovered following a review of the medical records or after the case had progressed for a bit. In one instance it caused the insurance company to increase their offer from $50,000.00 to $175,000.00.

Every workers' compensation lawyer in Illinois that we recommend will give a free consultation. If you would like one of them to review your case, please call us and we will recommend the lawyer that we think best fits your situation.

New case changes how lawyers proceed when fighting over TTD benefits.

Recently the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission has ruled that workers who were fired for cause while working with restrictions were entitled to TTD benefits. Previously if you were fired for cause, your employer could cut off your benefits unless you were completely off of work. While we imagine that this issue will be eventually argued before the Illinois Supreme Court, as of now employers in Illinois may have to choose between keeping a worker they otherwise would have fired or paying someone TTD benefits even though they could be working.

When are parking lot injuries compensable in Illinois workers' compensation claims?

Employer responsible for off-premises parking lot injury.

When a worker’s employee parking lot was full, he drove around and parked in an alternate lot nearby. When he got out of his car, he stumbled over a decorative rock in the lot and injured himself. The Illinois Workers Compensation Commission held that although the accident did not occur in a lot that was provided for and controlled by the worker’s employer, it is still a compensable injury. When an employee is required to park in an off premises lot in order to get to work, any injury that occurs in that lot is considered to have arisen out of the course of employment.

Are injuries that take place at holiday parties compensable?

When attendance is voluntary, injuries do not arise out of the course of employment and are not compensable.

A woman injured her ankle while dancing at her employer’s annual holiday party. Although the woman claimed that her employer cajoled her into going twice each day for about seven days leading up to the event, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission held that it was not a compensable work injury. An employee can only be compensated for injuries that arise out of the course of employment. Injuries that occur at company events are only compensable if the event is mandatory or if negative employment decisions are made based on failure to attend.

How does the Commission determine what treatment is necessary when there is conflicting medical testimony?

Commission modifies arbitrator’s denial of knee replacement benefits.

A worker severely injured his leg at work and went to two different doctors for treatment. The first doctor said that no knee replacement was required. The second doctor said that knee replacement was required. The Commission’s independent medical examiner also recommended knee replacement. When the arbitrator withheld knee replacement benefits based on the worker’s first doctor’s testimony, the Commission modified the decision and awarded treatment. The Commission held that the second doctor’s testimony in conjunction with the Commission’s independent medical examiner’s testimony was sufficient to award benefits for knee replacement.

Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission to be Closed

The Commission will be closed on November 7th for the election and on November 10th in honor of Veteran's Day.

Can a worker recover for an injury that takes place while driving home from a company outing?

Worker cannot recover for car accident that took place after golf outing.

After a company golf outing, a worker drove home and was involved in a head-on collision. After the accident, the worker’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit and he tested positive for cannabis. The worker tried to claim workers compensation benefits because his company sponsored the golf outing. The Commission decided that because the golf outing was not required, and because the worker would not have suffered any consequences for not attending the golf outing, it is reasonable to conclude that the car accident was caused by the worker’s alcohol and drug use, not his employment. Thus, the worker was denied workers’ compensation benefits.

Changes to Illinois Workers' Compensation Hearing Locations

Per Commission Chairman Dennis Ruth, Arbitrators Cronin and Gomora will change places, effective 1/1/07. All cases assigned to Arb. Cronin will be reassigned to Arb. Gomora. Arb. Cronin will serve as the pro se arbitrator. In addition, the Mount Vernon, hearings will return to the Community Center and will be held on Wednesdays instead of Fridays. Finally, the second day of the Carlyle call is being discontinued.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission also announced that The 2007 arbitration calendars have been posted online. Finally, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that Chairman Ruth is authorized to sit on a panel to hear an appeal at the Commission.

Web Site Disclaimer: None of the information on this website should be considered legal advice. The law in Illinois is constantly changing and although we do our best to keep our website current, you should not make any final determinations based on what you read here. By contacting us or any lawyer that you are referred to through this website, you have not created an attorney-client relationship. The only way to establish an attorney client relationship with us or any other Illinois lawyer is through a signed retainer agreement in which you agree to hire the lawyer and they agree to work with you as a client. The advice that you receive from us should be taken in general terms. Finally, there is never a cost to speak with the Illinois attorneys that run our site and will talk to you on the phone or by e-mail for free. However, the cost to actually handle a case by any lawyer that we recommend is between you and that law firm. If you have questions about anything we offer or anything related to our website please call us at (312) 346-5320.