Illinois, like every other state in the country, has a workers’ compensation system in place to protect employees from work-related injuries.  Almost every employee who works in the state of Illinois is covered by workers’ compensation from the very moment he/she begins employment.  Workers’ compensation claims are filed with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (“IWCC”).  The IWCC is an administrative law court and cases are heard by an Arbitrator.  Unlike most laws that are enacted to protect injured parties, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act is a no-fault system.  In other words, the injured party (the employee) does not have to prove he/she was injured due to negligence by the employer before he/she is entitled to benefits.  The benefits are paid by the employer.  The benefits that an employee may be entitled to include:

• payment of all reasonable and necessary medical bills;
• payment of 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage if the employee loses time off work in order to recover from the work-related accident;
• compensation for permanent total or partial disability;
• compensation for disfigurement;
• payment of funeral expenses in fatal worked-related accidents;
• payment to the spouse, minor children or dependents if the work-related accident was fatal;
• payment for life if employee is never able to return to work;
• right to receive vocational rehabilitation in order for the employee to return to work; and
• payment of wage differential if employee must take a lower paying job as a result of the work-related injury. 

Our law firm is able to assist you in protecting your rights stemming from work-related injuries.  To obtain a free evaluation of your case, please complete our Contact Form and one of our workers compensation lawyers will review it and contact you shortly to discuss the case.

If you have been injured at work and are a beneficiary of Medicare, or soon will be, please click here for additional information.

For frequently asked questions regarding workers' compensation, please click here.

To see a flow chart regarding the dispute resolution process, please click here.