Work Injuries in Illinois

What you need to know if you are injured in the course of your employment:

1) Report The Injury

Report to your immediate supervisor either orally or in writing as soon as possible. You have a limited number of days under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act to report an accident, and you do not want to be out of luck. Even better advice is to contact a lawyer immediately.

2) Know Your Rights

If you are injured during the course of your employment (and there are some exceptions and qualifications), you are entitled to: 1) Time off work paid for by your employer. This is known as TTD, or Temporary Total Disability. It is based upon your wage rate and kicks in after the third consecutive day off work as a result of your injury. 2) Medical payments. Your employer is responsible (with exceptions) for paying for all the doctors you choose to go to limited to two (2) lines of referral. For instance, if you go to the emergency room, they refer you to an orthopedic doctor, and then he refers you for an MRI test, those should all be considered one (1) line of referral. 3) Lump sum or PPD payment. PPD is Permanent Partial Disability and is based upon your wage rate and the severity of the permanency of your injury.

3) Consult a Lawyer Immediately

Many people are not aware of their rights because they do not consult a lawyer until it is too late! Contact a lawyer who concentrates his or her practice on workers' compensation as soon as possible, so that you protect all of your rights.