Understanding Workers' Comp Law in Illinois
Originally established in 1912, the Illinois workers' compensation program creates a no-fault system of benefits for workers who have job-related injuries or illnesses. The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission administers the system, resolving disputes between employers and employees about work-related injuries and illnesses.
How Do I File a Workers' Compensation Claim?
As a first step, you must generally notify your employer within 45 days of your injury or illness. This notification must include:
- The date and place of the accident
- A brief description of the accident, injury, or illness
- Your name, address, and telephone number
Illinois law allows you to give this notice verbally or in writing. But to avoid your employer claiming not to have received notice, you should give notice of your injury in writing, preferably by certified mail.
At this point, your employer should notify its workers' compensation insurance carrier or administrator about your injury.
What Benefits Are Available Under Workers' Compensation?
Your employer must pay for:
- Reasonably required medical care to cure or relieve you of the effects of the injury
- Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits while you take off work to recover from the injury
- Temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits while you recover from the injury but continue to work light duty
- Vocational rehabilitation/maintenance benefits if you participate in an approved vocational rehabilitation program
- Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits if you sustain a permanent disability or disfigurement but can work
- Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits if you become permanently unable to work
- Death benefits for surviving family members
If the Law Requires My Employer to Make these Payments, Why Do I Need an Illinois Workers' Compensation Lawyer?
Workers' compensation law requires your employer, or your employer’s insurance carrier, to make these payments. But your employer or its insurer can—and probably will—do everything in its power to protect its bottom line: the less money it pays out, the greater its profit. And that is exactly why you need a St. Louis workers' compensation lawyer to protect your rights.
As a general rule, the company doctor—the doctor chosen by your employer or its insurance carrier—will be the first to examine you to determine what treatments your employer must pay for. And when it comes time to determine your long-term prognosis—whether you now suffer a permanent disability and to what degree—the company doctor will examine you again, usually offering an opinion that tends to favor the employer over the injured worker.
Illinois Workers' Compensation Lawyers Work to Get You the Settlement and Payments You Deserve
Since 1950, Keefe & Griffiths has helped tens of thousands of injured workers extract fair workers' compensation payments and settlements throughout Missouri and Illinois. If you need the services of a workers' comp lawyer in Edwardsville, Belleville, St. Louis, or the surrounding area, turn to Keefe & Griffiths for experienced, focused, and successful advocacy.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
Call our St. Louis workers' compensation law firm at 314.735.0896 or send us an e-mail.
