Southern Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorneys
Have You Been Injured on the Job?
You Need Aggressive Work Comp Attorneys Behind You
Call For a 100% Free Consultation at (618) 316-7322
Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Southern Illinois Helping Injured Workers Get Maximum Compensation
Olson & Reeves are workers’ compensation attorneys in Southern Illinois that fight to make sure injured workers are properly compensated. We all work to support ourselves and our families, and an injury can bring that to a screeching halt. There is a relief though. In Illinois, injured workers are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
Our Illinois worker’s compensation workers understand how devastating a work-related injury can be. Medical expenses piling up, and lack of income can create a huge cloud over you and your family. Our Illinois workers compensation attorneys fight for injured clients and ensure they are financially stable and help get them through a very difficult time in their life.
What Benefits Am I Eligible To Receive Under Work Comp?
Several variables can be taken into account when determining Illinois workers’ compensation eligibility. This can include the nature of the incident leading to your injury, recovery time, and severity of the injury. However, Illinois Workers’ Compensation benefits may include:
- Medical Expenses & Care
- Temporary Disability Benefits
- Temporary Partial Disability Benefits
- Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits
- Permanent Partial Disability Benefits
- Permanent Disability Benefits
- Death Benefits in cases of a Fatality
What Injuries are Covered by Workers’ Compensation?
To make a workers’ compensation claim, the injury must be job-related. This can mean a very wide range of injuries. Some examples of job-related injuries covered by Illinois work comp are:
- Repetitive Stress Injuries such as Carpal Tunnel
- Pre-Existing Conditions that have been made worse
- Stroke or Heart Attack caused by your work
- Death during the course of work
- Any physical injury caused by work
Who Can File a Claim for Work Comp?
Almost every single employee in Illinois can make a workers’ compensation claim. Under Illinois law, employers are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance for employees who are injured on the job. The only exceptions pertain to business partners, members of LLCs, and sole proprietors. Federal employees working in Illinois also do not qualify to file for Illinois work comp benefits. If you’ve been injured during the course of your employment, you can file a worker’s comp claim.
Types of Workers We Proudly Represent in Southern Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claims
Any worker that has been injured in Illinois, we fight for, no matter what type of job they have. Some jobs do lead to more frequent injuries. Some of the common types of workers we handle Illinois workers’ compensation claims for:
- Factory Workers
- Construction Workers
- Coal Miners
- Hospital Employees
- Firefighters
- City Workers
- Restaurant Employees
No matter your job or place of employment, if you’ve suffered an injury while on the job we’re here to help. We always offer 100% Free Consultations.
Where We Handle Illinois Workers’ Compensation Cases
Our Illinois work comp attorneys handle cases across the entire State of Illinois. Most commonly though we represent injured workers throughout Southern Illinois. Some of the cities we represent injured clients in:
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Medical Expenses & Care Covered by Illinois Workers’ Comp
Whatever medical expenses, treatment, and care are correlated to your work-related injury is covered by Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. This can mean a very broad of costs that are included. Some examples of medical expenses covered are:
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Injured Employees Checklist
- Right after you are injured at work, get medical help as soon as you can.
- You must report your injury within 45 days of it happening. We always recommend doing it ASAP.
- We highly recommend when you report your injury to your employer you do it with written notice This avoids any future problems or claims that you didn’t report it. The information you should provide to the employer in writing regarding your work injury should state:
- Date and Location of the Accident
- Description of the Accident
- List any potential witnesses
- Description of any injuries or illnesses
- Your Contact Information
- Take your medical treatment seriously. Follow the treatment plan of the doctors. This helps with you getting back to 100%. Another reason is that workers can lose workers’ compensation benefits if they do not make an effort to heal or in some cases even exacerbate their injuries.
- Make sure any treating doctors know that the injury or condition you are suffering from is work-related. This ensures that the treating physicians know that your employer will be covering any and all medical expenses.
- Give the employer the information of treating physicians and where treatment is taking place. If medical providers change, employees need to let their employer know.
- Injured employees are also required to give medical records to the employer that is a result of the work-related injury. If the employee doesn’t receive these things, the employer is not required to provide workers’ compensation benefits.
- Consider seeking legal counsel. You have the right to hire an attorney to handle your workers’ compensation claim. Having a lawyer is not a requirement, but having an experienced Illinois worker’s compensation attorney can help tremendously. A work comp attorney protects your interests, fights off disputes regarding your claim, and can ensure the process goes smoothly. An attorney can explain your legal rights and options you have if your employer attempts to retaliate against you.
Illinois Third Party Claims
Sometimes when a worker is injured on the job they may be entitled to also recover compensation for negligence against a third party. While you cannot sue an employer for negligence, you can sue negligent third parties. Third-party negligence can apply in a multitude of different scenarios, but some common situations when a third party claim might occur are:
- Car Accidents
- Trucking Accidents
- Slip & Falls
- Defective Products or Equipment
If you find yourself in this situation, you may still be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits in addition to a personal injury lawsuit involving a third party. Unlike in a work comp claim, an injured worker can recover pain and suffering damages against a negligent third party. If you are injured as a result of a third party, you should reach out to speak to one of our Southern Illinois Personal Injury Attorneys to discuss your options and how the workers’ compensation case and the third party personal injury case will interplay.
For more information on our Personal Injury practice, Click Here!
Workplace Deaths & Survivor Benefits
Without a doubt, one of the most tragic events is when a worker dies in a work-related accident. They often times leave behind a family that loves them, and that family has no choice but to move forward with that empty hole. Families are also frequently unfortunately left with medical bills, funeral expenses, and the task of trying to support their family after the loss the deceased worker’s income. Some relief is available, however. In Illinois, a deceased worker’s family is entitled to death benefits. Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, the primary beneficiaries entitled to Illinois workers’ compensation death benefits are the deceased employee’s spouse and any children the deceased had that were under the age of 18.
Illinois workers’ compensation death benefits offer relief in a few different ways. Death beneficiaries receive benefits to cover funeral and burial costs. Beneficiaries are also entitled to a monetary award. This award is usually a percentage of the deceased worker’s weekly wages. Death beneficiaries are entitled to approximately 2/3 or 66% of the employee’s gross weekly wage during the preceding year prior to work fatality. Illinois does put a cap on the number of death benefits. Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, death benefits are paid for a period of 25 years or up to $500,000, whichever amount is more.
An experienced Illinois workers’ compensation Attorney can help guide you through the confusing process, and ensure the family of the deceased gets maximum compensation.
Commonly Asked Illinois Workers’ Compensation Questions
“What do I have to prove to win my Illinois workers’ compensation claim?”
An employee must prove that they were in fact an employee on the date of the accident, that the employee was injured due to their employment, the injury was caused by the accident, and that the employee put their employer on notice within the correct amount of time.
“How Much Is My Work Comp Claim Worth?”
This is a very complex question and cannot easily be answered. The value of an Illinois workers’ compensation claim depends on a variety of factors, including, severity of the injury, treatment, employee’s wages, age of the injured worker, recovery, future medical treatment. These are only a few of the factors.
“How Much Does a Work Comp Attorney Cost?”
Workers’ compensation attorneys work on a contingency fee arrangement. This means that the attorney takes a percentage at the end of the case. All Illinois workers’ compensation attorneys are 20%. Your work comp lawyer also fronts all the costs associated with your claim. If they don’t win, you don’t get paid.
“How Much Can I Get For Pain and Suffering?”
In Illinois, workers cannot recover for pain and suffering damages in a workers compensation claim.
“Will Insurance Companies Spy On Me?”
Under Illinois law, there is nothing illegal about an insurance company conducting surveillance. It is actually a fairly common practice. They attempt to gather evidence that workers are lying about their injuries so they can deny their claim.
“What does IME Mean?”
Insurance companies have the right to send you to a doctor of their choosing to do a medical exam. This is called an independent medical examination or IME for short.