A person in Illinois is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits when they get hurt in an accident at work. You should know that you are entitled to apply for Illinois worker’s compensation settlement. When seeking a settlement, your case needs to be studied from various aspects to get you a proper and wholesome benefit amount.
Two significant factors that determine the amount you will receive are – (a) The severity of your injury and (b) the total number of weeks of workers’ compensation you are eligible for.
It can be confusing for an injured worker to decide when to settle and the amount, considering medical costs and lost wages. It can be easy for you when you rely on us to represent you. Illinois worker’s compensation settlement is taken care of when we work on your behalf.
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Settlement, In Brief
A worker’s compensation settlement is an agreement between an injured person and his/her employer’s insurance company, which pays some amount as compensation for the loss. After assessing the injured body part/s, the agreement enables a lump sum payment towards an injured person.
Ideal Time to Settle Your Claim
In Illinois, you are entitled to settle your claim after seven days of the injury. Experts advise seeking settlement after receiving your Maximum Medical Improvement report (MMI).
Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) is an authorized report by a doctor. MMI is given to you when the injury has healed to its maximum potential, and no further medical treatment will not be required. If you apply for settlement before getting your MMI, then all medical costs spent on injury after the settlement will not be cover in your worker’s compensation amount.
Therefore, the best time to settle your claim is after you receive the MMI. In cases where you want to get settlement right after the injury, it’s possible to include your future medical expenses in the compensation amount with help from an attorney.
Factors That Affect How Much Money You Will Get?
Illinois worker’s compensation settlement amount is dependent on the severity of your injury. The following are three major types of an injury that decide your compensation amount.
1 Temporary Disability
You are eligible for temporary disability benefits when you get injured at work. If a doctor declares that your injury is healable, then you will receive worker’s compensation benefits until you are fit again to work.
2 Permanent Partial Disability
If your doctor declares that you have a permanent partial disability, then you are eligible to receive some extra benefits. Since there are various types of lasting partial disability benefits, an attorney can help you to figure out how much of the additional benefits you are liable to receive.
3 Permanent Disability
In cases where the doctor determines that you have a permanent disability, and you will not be able to return to work, then you will get weekly temporary total benefits for a lifelong.
Other factors hamper your compensation amounts – (a) If your injury was unrelated to work. (b) If you hire an attorney, then its fees and legal costs will get deducted from your settlement amount.
How Much of Your Claim Are You Eligible for?
The following factors are significant deciders for your claimed amount; they decide how much of the settlement money you will receive.
- You’re earning per year before the injury
- Total medical expenses caused by an injury
- Your chances of returning to work
- Whether the wound is temporary or permanent
Other factors like PPD – Permanent Partial Disability affects your settlement amount with, how the injury changes your capacity to work. In the case of a PPD, the following conditions decide the compensation amount.
A. In PPD benefits, your weekly average is pay is determined, and it is multiplied by the percentage decide by Illinois law.
B. The injured part of your body decides the compensation amount if it was your foot, or a hand if it changed your body’s figure, etc.
C. Your doctor decides percentage loss of use by considering – the treatment your injury requires, odds of returning to work, and future medical treatment, if needed.
The Bottom Line Is
If you get injured at work, then you are eligible to get Illinois worker’s compensation settlement. If you cannot decide how much to claim to ask for or you’re not getting a fair settlement amount, then consider hiring an attorney.
