Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Chicago

Representation for Seriously Injured Workers in Illinois

If you were injured at work, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under Illinois law. These benefits may apply even if no one intended for the injury to happen and even if your employer or its insurance company later disputes part of your claim.

Workers’ compensation can provide medical care, disability benefits, wage-loss benefits, vocational rehabilitation, and death benefits in fatal workplace injury cases. But getting those benefits is not always simple. Employers and insurance companies may question how the accident happened, whether the injury is work-related, whether treatment is reasonable, whether you can return to work, or whether a settlement offer is fair.

At Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC, our Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers help injured workers understand their rights, protect their claims, and pursue the benefits they deserve. If you or a loved one suffered a serious workplace injury, contact us for a free case evaluation at (312) 243-9922 or contact us online.

What Is Workers’ Compensation?

Workers’ compensation is a system of laws that protects employees who suffer work-related injuries or occupational illnesses. In many cases, the employee does not need to prove that the employer was negligent. Instead, the key questions usually involve whether the injury arose out of the employment, occurred in the course of employment, and caused the medical condition or disability being claimed.

Depending on the facts, workers’ compensation may provide short-term benefits, long-term benefits, medical treatment, disability payments, a settlement or award, vocational rehabilitation, or benefits for surviving family members after a fatal workplace accident.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits May Include

Every case is different, but Illinois workers’ compensation benefits may include several categories of help for injured employees and their families.

• Medical benefits: reasonable and necessary medical care to cure or relieve the effects of the work injury.
• Temporary Total Disability benefits: wage-loss benefits when a worker is temporarily unable to work or is released to light duty that the employer cannot accommodate.
• Temporary Partial Disability benefits: benefits when a worker is still healing, working light duty, and earning less than before the injury.
• Permanent Partial Disability benefits: compensation for permanent loss or impairment when the worker can still work in some capacity.
• Permanent Total Disability benefits: benefits for workers whose injuries prevent them from returning to any gainful employment.
• Vocational rehabilitation: help with retraining or returning to suitable employment when the injury affects the worker’s prior job abilities.
• Death and survivor benefits: benefits for eligible family members after a fatal work-related injury or illness.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Handbook provides general public information about these benefit categories, but applying the rules to a real case can be complicated.

When Is a Work Injury Covered?

Not every injury that happens during the workday is automatically covered. In general, the accident must arise out of and occur in the course of employment. That means the injury must be connected to the work and must happen while the employee is performing job duties or activities related to the job.

The Injury Must Be Accidental

A covered workplace injury is usually one that was accidental, not intentional or planned. A sudden fall, a lifting injury, a machine injury, a burn, a crash while driving for work, or a repetitive trauma condition may qualify if the facts connect the injury to the job.

The Injury Must Arise Out of the Employment

The accident must generally come from a risk related to the work. For example, a warehouse worker who hurts his back lifting boxes may have a compensable injury. But if a worker is hurt while doing something completely unrelated to the job, the insurance company may argue that the injury did not arise out of the employment.

The Injury Must Occur in the Course of Employment

The timing, location, and activity matter. Injuries often occur while a worker is on the clock, at the workplace, and performing assigned tasks. But travel, remote work, job-site movement, company errands, and entry or exit from the workplace can raise more complicated issues.

Common Workplace Injuries We Handle

Our Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers handle claims involving many types of work-related accidents and occupational conditions, including:

• construction accidents;
• falls from ladders, scaffolds, platforms, stairs, or elevated work areas;
• lifting injuries and back injuries;
• neck, shoulder, knee, hand, wrist, and arm injuries;
• machine, forklift, warehouse, and factory accidents;
• truck, delivery, and transportation-related work accidents;
• burns, crush injuries, amputations, and electrical injuries;
• repetitive trauma injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome;
• occupational disease and toxic exposure claims;
• fatal workplace accidents and related wrongful death claims.

Illinois Time Limits for Workers’ Compensation Claims

Time limits can affect your right to benefits. In many Illinois workplace accident cases, an injured employee must notify the employer as soon as practicable, but no later than 45 days after the accident. Different rules may apply to occupational diseases, radiation exposure, and other special situations.

Reporting the injury to your employer is not the same thing as filing a workers’ compensation claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. In most cases, a claim must be filed within three years after the injury, death, or disablement from an occupational disease, or within two years after the last payment of Temporary Total Disability benefits or a medical bill, whichever is later.

Because deadlines can vary by injury type and claim history, it is safest to speak with a lawyer promptly after a serious work injury.

What If the Insurance Company Is Already Paying Benefits?

Payment of some benefits does not always mean your rights are fully protected. The employer’s insurance company may pay medical bills or wage-loss benefits for a period of time, but that does not necessarily mean a formal claim has been filed with the Commission, that every benefit has been paid correctly, or that a final settlement offer is fair.

Insurance companies are businesses. They may investigate your claim, monitor your medical care, challenge your work restrictions, question whether treatment is necessary, or push for a settlement before the full value of your case is clear. A lawyer can help determine whether the benefits being paid are correct and whether additional action is needed to protect your claim.

Who Pays the Medical Bills After a Work Injury?

If your injury is covered by workers’ compensation, reasonable and necessary medical treatment should generally be paid through the workers’ compensation system. This can include emergency care, doctor visits, diagnostic testing, surgery, physical therapy, medication, and other treatment related to the work injury.

Disputes can still arise. The insurance company may question whether treatment is related to the accident, whether the treatment is reasonable, whether the doctor’s restrictions are appropriate, or whether a different medical opinion is needed. These disputes can create serious financial pressure for injured workers, especially when medical providers start billing the employee directly.

Choosing a Doctor in an Illinois Workers’ Compensation Case

Many injured workers want to know whether they must use a company doctor. Under Illinois workers’ compensation rules, an employee may generally choose a medical provider, but that choice is limited. If the employer has a Preferred Provider Program, the worker may be limited to choices within that network unless the worker properly declines participation. If there is no Preferred Provider Program, the worker generally has a choice of two providers, plus proper referrals from those providers.

This issue can become important quickly. Choosing the wrong provider, changing doctors without proper referral, or misunderstanding the Preferred Provider Program rules may create problems with medical-bill payment. Before making major treatment decisions, speak with a lawyer if you are unsure how the rule applies.

What If My Workers’ Compensation Claim Is Denied?

A workers’ compensation claim may be denied for many reasons. The insurance company may claim that the injury happened outside work, that notice was late, that the medical condition is unrelated, that the worker had a pre-existing condition, that treatment is unnecessary, or that the employee can return to work.

A denial does not always end the case. An attorney can review the denial, gather medical records, obtain witness information, file the proper documents, and present the case before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission when necessary.

Can I File a Lawsuit After a Workplace Injury?

Workers’ compensation is usually the primary remedy against an employer for a covered workplace injury. However, some cases also involve a separate third-party claim. A third-party claim may be possible when someone other than the employer contributed to the injury.

Examples may include negligent drivers, subcontractors, property owners, equipment manufacturers, maintenance companies, loading companies, or other businesses. A worker injured in a crash with a commercial vehicle, for example, may have a workers’ compensation claim and a separate truck accident claim. Construction workers may also have third-party claims when unsafe job-site conditions, defective equipment, or negligent contractors contributed to the injury.

Third-party claims can be important because workers’ compensation benefits may not cover every category of loss. A separate civil claim may allow recovery for damages that are not available through workers’ compensation alone.

Will Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim Affect My Job?

Many injured workers worry that filing a claim will anger their employer or put their job at risk. Most employers carry workers’ compensation insurance for workplace injuries, and seeking benefits is a legal right. Illinois law also prohibits retaliation or discrimination because an employee exercises rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act.

That does not mean every employment issue after an injury is automatically unlawful. Employers may still make legitimate employment decisions for reasons unrelated to the claim. But if you are threatened, demoted, fired, or treated differently because you reported a work injury or pursued benefits, speak with a lawyer immediately.

How Much Does a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Cost?

At Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC, there are no attorney fees unless we are successful on your behalf. Illinois workers’ compensation cases are handled on a contingency-fee basis, meaning the attorney fee is paid from compensation recovered, not up front.

Illinois law limits claimant attorney fees in workers’ compensation cases. This helps protect injured workers and allows them to obtain legal help without paying hourly fees while they are already dealing with medical bills, lost income, and uncertainty about the future.

Why Choose Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC?

Since 1990, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC has represented injured people and families in Chicago and throughout Illinois. Our team understands how workplace injuries can affect a person’s health, income, family, and future. We also understand how insurance companies evaluate claims and how quickly a worker can be pressured into decisions that may affect the final recovery.

Our firm has recovered many millions of dollars for injured clients, including significant workers’ compensation and related third-party recoveries. You can learn more about our past case work by visiting our verdicts and settlements page.