Posts Tagged ‘Workers’ Compensation’

Is workers’ compensation your only option if hurt on the job?

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

If you have been injured on the job, Illinois law generally requires you to seek payment for medical bills and lost wages through the state Workers’ Compensation program. Workers’ comp is a no-fault system. This means to receive compensation you don’t have to prove that anyone was at fault for your job-related injuries. In exchange for immunity from lawsuits, Illinois employers are required to have insurance to cover injuries to their employees. Because you cannot sue your employer or co-employees in court for any injuries you suffer on the job, a workers’ comp claim is your exclusive remedy against them.

However, in some situations you may have a legal claim against companies or individuals other than your employer and co-employees. You can file in court a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation for your pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. A negligence lawsuit in the court system differs from a workers’ comp claim in important ways. For example, in a lawsuit you have to prove that the individual or company you are suing was at fault for causing your injury.

Individuals or companies other than your employer or co-employees can be at fault for jobsite injuries in a number of different situations.

Construction Sites

Multiple subcontractors and contractors other than your employer often work on a construction site at the same time. Their careless actions may cause your injuries. Or the property owner or developer may be liable for negligently creating unsafe working conditions at the construction site.

Product Liability

You may be injured when using a defectively designed or manufactured tool or machine at work. Or your injury may result from deficient instructions or warnings. If you are injured by an unreasonably dangerous or defective machine or tool, you may have a product liability claim against the designer and manufacturer of the faulty equipment, as well as the distributor and retailer of the equipment.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

If the driver of another vehicle crashes into you while you are driving on a work-related task, you may have a potential negligence claim against the other driver.

Third parties on your employer’s premises

Injuries may result because of the negligence of third parties working at your employer’s premises. In these situations, it may be possible to file a negligence suit against the third-party individual who caused your injury, and likely that person’s employer as well. For example, if you happen to slip or trip at your work site, perhaps a cleaning service may have negligently caused your injuries. Or a snow removal service may create hazardous conditions in the company parking lot. Or you may be injured by an unsafe condition created by a contractor doing remodeling work at your employer’s building.

Medical Malpractice

If you are injured on the job, then hurt further by negligent medical treatment for the injury, you may have a medical malpractice claim against the health care provider.

If you have been injured on the job by actions of someone other than your employer or co-employees, it’s important that you consult with an attorney to assess your legal rights. For answers to questions about your workers’ compensation benefits and potential personal injury claims, contact our Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Firm for a free consultation.

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Injured Illinois Workers Protected Against Retaliatory Discharge when Seeking Workers Compensation

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Illinois workers injured on the job are entitled under the state Workers Compensation Act to obtain compensation for their medical bills, disability payments for necessary time off, and other benefits.

Workers compensation is a no-fault system, which means an injured worker is entitled to compensation regardless of whether the employee is at fault for the injury.

Illinois public policy is to ensure that employees have an effective and fair way to seek compensation for injuries suffered on the job without fear of losing their jobs. As a consequence, Illinois workers are protected against discharge or the threat of discharge in retaliation for exercising their rights under the Workers Compensation Act.
Because it is illegal to fire workers for pursuing workers compensation benefits, Illinois employers have an incentive to follow the law and treat claims fairly. While retaliatory discharge lawsuits are relatively rare, workers should be aware of their rights under Illinois law.

Should your employer terminate or threaten termination when you file a claim for workers compensation, you can file a separate lawsuit for retaliatory discharge. Being forced to resign is the same as a discharge.

To prove retaliatory discharge, an injured worker must have sufficient facts to show that (1) she was discharged or threatened with discharge, and (2) the employer’s motive in discharging or threatening to discharge her was to deter her from exercising rights under the workers compensation law, or to interfere with the exercise of those rights. An employer may defend against a retaliatory discharge claim by attempting to show a non-retaliatory reason for the termination.

Compensatory damages an injured worker can potentially receive in a retaliatory discharge lawsuit include back pay, future lost wages and mental anguish. For future lost wages, an employee must demonstrate that she made reasonable efforts to find an alternative job. This is known as mitigating damages.

The injured worker might also receive punitive damages, which are meant to punish wrongdoers and act as a deterrent to other employers. The amount of punitive damages awarded is based on a jury’s sense of fairness under the facts and circumstances of a particular case.

Absent a contract, employment in Illinois is normally considered to be an “at-will” relationship, which means an employee or employer can end the relationship at any time for any reason. However, the retaliatory discharge exception to the at-will rule protects the rights of workers injured on the job.

Unlike at-will employees, the terms and conditions of employment of unionized employees are controlled by collective bargaining contracts. Nonetheless, unionized employees also have the right to file a retaliatory discharge lawsuit when employers interfere with their workers compensation rights.

If you believe that you have been discharged because of your workers compensation claim, or have been threatened to not pursue a claim, it’s important to act promptly because the deadline to purse a retaliatory discharge claim is two years from the date of termination. Consulting with an attorney also helps to preserve evidence and build your case.

For answers to questions about your workers’ compensation benefits, contact our Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Firm for a free consultation.

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Workers’ Compensation and the H1N1 Flu Pandemic

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

On October 24, 2009, President Obama signed an Executive Order declaring the H1N1 Influenza outbreak a national emergency. This is just one more development in the increasingly troublesome saga that is the Swine Flu pandemic. In addition to causing numerous public health issues, the H1N1 virus also raises a variety of workers’ compensation issues.

One of the most salient workers’ compensation issues relating to the flu pandemic is whether contracting the H1N1 virus in the workplace is considered a compensable injury. For a disease to be compensable under workers’ compensation laws, such as the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, it must be one “arising out of or in the course of employment.” That means the worker must be exposed to the disease while working, and the worker’s job must put him/her in harm’s way of the disease.

Nurses and health care workers certainly have the potentiality for a workers’ compensation claim. Because many health care jobs require workers to come into contact with infected persons, health care workers are at a greater risk of exposure than the general public.

Additionally, those who contract the H1N1 flu during business travel may also have compensable claims depending on the specific circumstances of their travel. For example, exposure to the Swine Flu while traveling in company-provided transportation might be compensable, whereas travel on public transportation likely is not.

Mild cases of Swine Flu are not likely to yield many workers’ comp claims, but severe cases that lead to prolonged illness, permanent disability or fatalities certainly will. Those who have pre-existing medical problems such as compromised immune systems, cardiovascular disease and respiratory illness are at increased risk of severe H1N1 complications. Under Illinois Workers’ Compensation laws, if workplace exposure to a disease contributes to a worsening of a pre-existing condition, it is compensable.

Proving that the H1N1 virus was in fact contracted in the workplace or during the course of employment, however, will prove difficult in most cases. Barring extraordinary circumstances such as a localized outbreak, it is very challenging to pinpoint exactly where an individual contracted the virus. The more widespread the pandemic becomes, the more difficult it will likely be to prove a workplace exposure.

For answers to questions about your workers’ compensation benefits, contact our Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Firm for a free consultation.

Resource Links:

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act
Declaration of a National Emergency with Respect to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic

CDC Guidance for Businesses and Employers To Plan and Respond to the 2009–2010 Influenza Season

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