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Our Settlement and Valuation Guide to permanent disability benefits can help you understand how much your Illinois workers’ compensation claim may be worth. [...]
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There are a number of requirements that must be met in order to have a compensable Illinois workers’ compensation claim. These are set forth in the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Request for Hearing form, which is filed before an arbitration hearing. You can find a [...] -
To be eligible for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, Illinois must have jurisdiction over the claim as set forth in the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act or Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act. Each state has its own workers’ compensation system. The laws of each state declare the circumstances under [...] -
The employee and their employer must be “operating under” the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act or Occupational Diseases Act to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Four types of employers are defined as operating under the Workers’ Compensation Act: Government employers Private employers by election or automatic application [...] -
Illinois workers’ compensation benefits are only available to claimants that have an employment relationship with the respondent (defendant). In other words, you must be an employee to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. This may seem obvious until you consider the difficulty in distinguishing employees from independent [...] -
Injured workers generally must provide notice of their accident to their employers within 45 days to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits in Illinois. You must provide notice of the accident to your employer as soon as practicable, but not later than 45 days. 820 ILCS 305/6(c) Illinois General [...] -
To qualify for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits, an employee must have sustained an accidental injury or been exposed to an occupational disease “arising out of” and “in the course of” their employment. This basic requirement, which is the subject of many disputed claims, is found in [...] -
An injured worker must show that his or her current condition of ill-being is causally connected to a work-related accident or occupational disease exposure to be eligible for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. Causation is a frequently disputed issue in workers’ compensation claims, especially where the injured [...] -
Injured workers in Illinois generally have 3 years to file an “Application for Adjustment of Claim” with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission if no benefits have been paid or, if benefits have been paid, 2 years from the last date of payment. You can receive workers’ [...]
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Injured workers with compensable Illinois workers’ compensation claims are entitled to reasonable and necessary medical treatment. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides: The employer shall provide and pay … for all the necessary first aid, medical and surgical services, and all necessary medical, surgical and hospital services [...] -
Injured workers in Illinois are generally allowed to choose their own medical providers. This is limited, however, by the two-physician or chain of referrals rule. 820 ILCS 305/8(a) Illinois General Assembly | IWCC PDF; Absolute Cleaning/SVMBL v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, 409 Ill. App. 3d [...] -
Employers and their insurance companies can require injured workers to submit to an independent medical examination, also known as an IME or section 12 exam, to determine the nature, extent, and probable duration of the injury. Following the exam, the employer’s doctor will author a report and [...] -
Employers and insurance companies can evaluate the medical necessity of proposed or previously provided medical treatment with a process called utilization review (“UR”). Section 8.7 of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act governs the use of utilization review, which it defines as: the evaluation of proposed [...]
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Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits replace wages for injured workers in Illinois when they are unable to work until their medical condition stabilizes. The start date of TTD benefit eligibility depends on how long the injured worker is unable to return to work. Section 8(b) [...] -
Temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits are available to Illinois injured workers when they are working light duty and earning less than they would be earning in the full capacity of the job. 820 ILCS 305/8(a) IWCC PDF. TPD benefits are available while the injured worker is [...] -
Vocational rehabilitation is a program designed to return an injured person to work within their capabilities. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides: The employer shall also pay for treatment, instruction and training necessary for the physical, mental and vocational rehabilitation of the employee, including all maintenance costs [...] -
An injured worker’s “average weekly wage” is the basis for calculating all temporary and permanent disability benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation and Workers’ Occupational Diseases Acts. Because small differences in the calculation add up quickly over the life of a claim, average weekly wage is [...]
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The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides a schedule of permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits for certain body parts. Under section 8(e) of the Act, these body parts (or members) are assigned a certain maximum number of weeks of PPD benefits at the injured worker’s PPD rate. [...] -
Person-as-a-whole benefits are one type of permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits available under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act and Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act to injured workers who suffer serious and permanent injuries. They are also sometimes called man-as-a-whole or 8(d)(2) benefits. Section 8(d)(2) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act [...] -
Wage differential benefits are a type of permanent partial disability (PPD) available to injured workers in Illinois who have suffered a loss of earning capacity as a result of a work-related accident or occupational exposure. Wage differential benefits are set forth in section 8(d)(1) of [...] -
Injured workers who are unable to return to any gainful work after their accident or occupational exposure are entitled permanent total disability (PTD) benefits in Illinois. Section 8(f) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides, in part: In case of complete disability, which renders the employee [...] -
Disfigurement benefits are available under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act if an accident does not result in any permanent disability. 820 ILCS 305/8(c) Illinois General Assembly | IWCC PDF. Serious and Permanent Disfigurement Section 8(c) of the Act provides benefits for “serious and permanent” disfigurement to the: [...]
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Injured workers that are unreasonably denied medical and disability benefits by insurance companies can seek substantial penalties from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. To do this, injured workers must file their claim and a petition for penalties with the Commission. Injured workers who feel their [...] -
The cost of hiring a lawyer for an Illinois workers’ compensation case is entirely set by law. In most cases, attorneys’ fees will be equal to 20% of what the attorney recovers in permanent disability benefits. Also, costs and expenses will be deducted from any award [...] -
The Injured Workers’ Benefit Fund pays workers’ compensation benefits to Illinois workers whose employers have failed to provide insurance coverage as required by law and have failed to pay the benefits owed to them. Uninsured Employers Subject to Penalties and Fines Employers in Illinois are [...]
