The five most common workplace injuries in Naperville, Illinois, include slip, trip, and fall, repetitive motion injuries, struck-by injuries, over-exertion injuries, and caught-in or caught-between injuries. Workplace injuries can cause severe impairment and hinder your ability to work. Fortunately, workers’ compensation insurance is available to cover your medical bills and replace your lost wages if your injuries keep you from working. You must, however, report your injuries to your employer on time and file a workers’ compensation claim to receive compensation.
Working with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer can increase the chances of your claim getting accepted and receiving fair and full compensation for your injuries. Your lawyer will thoroughly investigate your case to find factual evidence, organize it, and present it so you can receive compensation that matches your injuries, damages, and losses.
Chute, O’Malley, Knobloch, and Turcy, LLC has successfully obtained full compensation for many clients injured at work in Naperville, Illinois. Call us now at (312) 775-0042 to discover how our workers’ compensation lawyers can help you. Initial consultations are free.
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Common Workplace Injuries in Naperville, Illinois
Illinois workers frequently experience the following injuries:
Injuries Caused by Slips and Falls
You may be eligible for worker’s compensation if you get hurt after slipping and falling at work. Slip and falls often result from wet floors, loose cables, uneven flooring, carpeting, and poor lighting. Some slip and fall accidents can cause injuries like bruises, sprains, fractures, and spinal cord injuries. Others can cause head trauma, which can have serious effects on your health.
Repetitive Strain Injuries
Repetitive strain injuries occur when your job involves lifting, pulling, pushing, or carrying heavy objects. These activities can result in sprains, torn ligaments, strains, and torn muscles. Repetitive motion injuries affect wrists, hands, elbows, and shoulders. Examples of repetitive strain injuries include carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, and tendinitis.
Injuries Caused by Chemical Exposure
Exposure to dangerous chemicals can have serious consequences on your health. Industrial chemicals can emit fumes that are dangerous when inhaled. The chemicals can affect the body in places like skin, eyes, and even vital organs if they enter the bloodstream.
Caught-in or Caught-between Injuries
Caught-in or caught-between injuries happen when a body part becomes caught between machinery or equipment. Such incidences can cause severe bodily harm, leading to amputations. Victims suffer severely due to loss of limbs and trauma from these accidents. Sometimes, victims can die from the trauma and blood loss.
Electrical Accidents
Electrical accidents are a result of faulty wiring or unmaintained electrical appliances. The accidents can cause burns, organ damage, nerve damage, and shocks. Electrocution may also result in the loss of life. Survivors may require rehabilitation to help them regain motor coordination. They may also have to learn to live with scars, disfigurement, and emotional trauma from the accident.
Getting Struck by a Flying Object
Getting struck by a flying object at work is a ground for seeking workers’ comp benefits, especially if you sustain serious injuries from such an incident. Equipment left hanging loose can break and fall on you while you perform your duties.
Psychological Injuries
Mental health issues can occur due to the nature of the work environment. Other mental health conditions may develop after a traumatic experience at work. Common mental health problems include stress, anxiety, and depression. Workers can also develop psychological issues due to an unhealthy work environment, like toxic culture and discrimination. Psychological injuries may raise common workers’ comp questions, like what it covers and eligibility requirements.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Injured Workers
Workers who sustain injuries in the line of duty get financial compensation from their employers to cover the medical bills incurred and wages lost. You are entitled to a fair amount of money to help you move past the injuries and pain. The main workers’ compensation benefits include:
Medical Benefits
Workers’ comp pays your medical bills after an injury that requires treatment. Medical benefits cover treatment costs, therapy, hospital stays, and medication.
Wage Loss Benefits
Some workplace injuries will make you miss work as you recover and seek treatment. Your employer should cover the wage you would have made if you did not sustain an injury. In Illinois, injured workers receive up to 67% of their average weekly wages in benefits. The four types of wage loss benefits in Naperville, Illinois, include:
- Temporary Total Disability Benefits (TTD): You can get temporary total disability benefits if you cannot work during your recovery. You can also get TTD benefits if your employer cannot assign you work duties. The amount is usually two-thirds of your average weekly earnings. You will receive these benefits until you attain Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). MMI is a point where the doctor declares that you cannot improve further even with treatment. Illinois limits how much TTD benefits you can collect per week. The maximum average weekly earnings change every six months. The maximum earnings for the second six months of 2024 is $1,907.79.
- Temporary Partial Disability Benefits (TPD). You are entitled to these benefits if you return to work on a part-time basis as you recover from an injury. The compensation should be two-thirds the difference between your previous average weekly earnings and your current earnings.
- Permanent Total Disability (PTD): A medical doctor or physician can evaluate you further once you attain MMI. The doctor will assess if you are permanently disabled from the accident. A physical disability or loss of function is compensated with lifetime benefits.
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits. You get PPD if your physician certifies that the injury triggered the loss of function in your body. PPD benefits in Illinois can be scheduled, non-scheduled, wage differential, or disfigurement benefits, depending on the severity of your injuries and ability to work.
Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits
Workers can claim this benefit to cover vocational training. These benefits cover retraining for the current job and career counseling. They also cover the costs involved in job search and applying for new jobs.
Death Benefits
Family members of a worker who dies because of a work-related accident or injury are entitled to death benefits. These benefits help cover parts of the burial cost. They also cover the loss of monetary support the family members were getting from the deceased.
Who Pays Your Workers’ Compensation Medical Bills?
In the event your accident results in you needing medical treatment, you may find yourself wondering, “Who will pay the bill?” Your employer’s workers’ comp insurance is normally the one who pays your workers’ compensation medical bill. Illinois workers’ comp law requires employers to obtain insurance to cover their employees if an accident occurs.
Charges related to your workplace injury won’t have to come out of your pocket or health insurance if you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. The employer’s insurance carrier will cover every medical expense arising from the injury. Medical expenses from pre-existing health issues are, however, not part of your employer’s legal obligation.
Who Is Eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
Workplace injury compensation is available for most full-time workers. Up to 91% of workers in Illinois are covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Business partners, sole proprietors, corporate officers, and limited liability company owners are exempt from workers’ comp. Employers who willfully fail to get insurance can face at least $500 in fines each day they fail to insure their workers.
Getting injured at work should not be taken lightly. The employer is liable for creating a safe working environment for all. You can claim workers’ comp benefits if you suffer work-related injuries because your employer violated safety standards.
You don’t have to prove that your employer was at fault. Instead, you must show that your injury is work-related and you have an employer-employee relationship with your employer.
How Can an Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help You?
A workers’ compensation lawyer can help you take the right steps to make a workers’ comp claim. The process will start with a review of the facts and events leading to your workplace injury. Your lawyer will determine the best way to secure the highest possible compensation after understanding what happened.
Your lawyer will assemble all the required documents and conduct a thorough investigation to gather more proof to develop a strong case. The lawyer will then complete an Application for Adjustment of Claim form and file it with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). The lawyer will also send a copy of the filed form and other relevant documents to your employer.
Your lawyer will handle all correspondence and negotiations with your employer’s workers’ comp insurer. That way, you can concentrate on recovering from your injuries without worrying about your case or retaliation from your employer.
Contact us at Chute, O’Malley, Knobloch, and Turcy, LLC if you need help with a workers’ comp claim after sustaining injuries at your workplace. Our workers’ compensation lawyers will help you get the compensation entitled to you.