Effingham Workers' Compensation Lawyer

Common Occupational Diseases and Injuries Employees Face

Each day, there are as many as 6,183,700 individuals who head off to work in Illinois, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Services (BLS). That same BLS data shows that our state’s workers are employed across all different sectors, including construction, manufacturing, utility work, transportation, financial services, education, hospitality, government, mining, logging, and more.

While many of the employees described above put in their time on the job and never encounter any difficulties, some do. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) 2023 Annual Report details how our state saw 33,353 new cases filed during 2023. There were around 1,000 other workers’ comp cases that were reinstated, remanded to arbitrators or commissioners, or returned to caseload that same year.

In our attorneys’ experience, we’ve found that some conditions seem to afflict Illinois employees more than others, leading them to file workers’ comp claims, including:

• Repetitive stress injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome
• Allergic reactions
• Toxic exposure, such as to chemical agents, gasses or smoke, asbestos, or radiation
• Contusions (bruises)
• Burns
• Bloodborne diseases
• Strains and sprains
• Puncture wounds
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Lacerations (cuts)

Are you not seeing your injury or illness on the list above? Don’t fret. We can still likely help with your case. So, be sure to contact us at Prince Law Firm to discuss your job-related health condition.

How Workers Often Get Hurt on the Job in Effingham County

Our experience of decades handling workers’ comp cases in Southern Illinois has also given us tremendous insight into common ways workers get hurt, including through incidents such as:

• Struck- or caught-by accidents caused by machinery
• Slips and falls
• Electrocutions
• Fires, chemical, or thermal exposure
• Motor vehicle collisions
• Workplace violence
• Exposure to known toxins

Were you hurt, or did you fall in some other way? Again, it’s likely that our Effingham workers’ comp attorney can help you file, appeal, or otherwise handle your claim. Be sure to connect with us to understand your options.

Industries With the Highest Rates of Worker Injuries

The same IWCC report cited above details the sectors the injured or ill workers who filed for workers’ compensation benefits belong to. Those industries that topped the list with the highest numbers of filed reports include:

• Transportation
• Warehousing
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Trade
• Healthcare
• Social services
• Administration
• Waste services

Do you not see your industry above? It’s okay. Illinois workers’ compensation covers those individuals employed in all sectors—not just the ones listed above.

Compensation for On-the-Job Injuries

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act may entitle you to receive various types of benefits depending on the severity of your job-related injuries or occupational disease, including:

• Medical expenses: This type of benefit covers any healthcare treatment costs and may also cover transportation to medical appointments, the acquisition of assistive devices, and some home modifications or a handicap-accessible vehicle.
• Temporary partial disability (TPD): Many times, while job-related injuries don’t completely inhibit an employee from working at all, it does affect what tasks they can perform and, thus, how much they make. Workers receiving TPD may be entitled to receive two-thirds of the difference between their pre-injury pay and what they’re able to currently earn while restricted as to what they can do.
• Temporary total disability (TTD): This benefit typically covers you while you’re unable to work due to your injury. Generally, the amount of TTD benefits that an injured worker is entitled to while unable to work is equal to two-thirds of their usual pay.
• Permanent partial disability (PPD): Workers with permanent disabilities, including scarring causing disfigurement, may be entitled to receive PPD.

Other types of compensation and benefits, including, for example, vocational rehabilitation, may also be available.

Your Effingham workers’ compensation lawyer will want to know more about the onset of your illness or injury as well as your prognosis before advising you which benefits you might be entitled to receive in your specific case.

How Disability Determinations Are Made

If you suffered serious injuries at work in Effingham, you may not be able to comprehend ever going back to the job in your current condition. As you anticipate receiving workers’ compensation benefits, you may be curious how insurers determine how disabled you may be so they know how to classify you. They rely on the use of a whole person rating scale.

How an Effingham Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Helps

Filing a workers’ comp claim may be relatively straightforward if your employer is forthcoming in providing you with instructions and any appropriate documentation necessary to do so. However, if they’re not because either they’re unclear about their responsibilities or the process themselves or they worry that, by you filing a claim, their premiums will go up and, thus, are uncooperative, you may benefit from touching base with an Effingham workers’ compensation attorney like ours.

The same goes for a situation where you’ve filed a claim as instructed and followed your treatment plan to a “T,” and you’ve had your request for benefits rejected. Or maybe you were receiving them and anticipated doing so long-term since you were classified as partially or totally disabled, but then you suddenly stopped receiving payments.

No matter which of the situations described above you find yourself in, it’s likely that there are legal options that our Effingham workers’ compensation lawyer can advise you of to help you secure the benefits you deserve or, if they’ve stopped, help you re-start them if you’re eligible.

Initial consultations with our legal team are always free, so be sure to get in touch with us at Prince Law Firm to discuss the onset of your job-related injuries or illness today.