Internal Injuries in the Airline Industry

Lawyers for People Hurt at Work in Chicago

Often when people think about the kinds of injuries suffered on airplanes, they think of graphic, visible injuries such as lacerations that cause bleeding, broken bones that penetrate skin, or severe bruises. However, many serious injuries aren’t immediately visible to the naked eye. Internal injuries often involve organs hemorrhaging or trauma to the vascular system. Often they involve the loss of blood, resulting in permanent damage or even death. The danger with internal injuries in the airline industry is that because they are not obvious in the way that cuts, bruises and broken bones may be, they may go untreated, and they can lead to death. The Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca can potentially assist you in recovering benefits for work-related internal injuries.

Internal Injuries in the Airline Industry

Often, internal injuries are caused by blunt traumas or penetrating traumas. For example, if you are a flight attendant and you are hit by a huge, heavy piece of flying luggage due to turbulence, you might suffer internal injuries—the tearing or pressuring of organs and blood vessels inside the body. Sometimes internal injuries are caused by a penetrating injury where the body is pierced by an object, resulting in injuries underneath the skin’s surface and affecting blood vessels and internal organs and muscles. This could arise due to an employee falling on a cart or elsewhere in the airplane cabin, or out on the tarmac. Internal injuries arising out of a penetrating injury can include punctured lungs, spleen damage, kidney damage, abdominal aortic aneurysm, or internal bleeding of blood vessels. Generally, people notice penetrating injuries and seek out medical care, but sometimes they may not be aware that a blunt trauma has caused internal injuries that should be checked out by a doctor.

Your best chance of physical recovery is to seek out immediate medical attention after a workplace accident. Often internal injuries are expensive and may require rehabilitation. Seeking out emergency medical care and providing notification to your employer are crucial to making sure your workers’ compensation claim is covered.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Workers’ compensation benefits can include medical bills, physical rehabilitation, disability benefits, and vocational rehabilitation. The degree of disability will determine how much those payments are. For example, temporary disability benefits are calculated at 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage. Permanent disability benefits can be paid either by calculating 66 2/3% of the difference in your wages before and after your internal injuries, or by looking at the schedule of injuries. A knowledgeable work injury attorney can help you determine the level of benefits you may be able to obtain.

Sometimes internal injuries result in death, particularly if care isn’t immediately sought. Death benefits are calculated on a weekly basis. If you are an eligible dependent of somebody who died as a result of internal injuries sustained on the job, you may be able to get 2/3 of the decedent’s average weekly wage. There are legal minimums and maximums to the average weekly wage. Death benefits stop after 25 years or after the insurer has paid $500,000. Additionally, workers’ compensation insurance is supposed to pay for actual funeral costs up to $8000, a set maximum. A spouse, a dependent, next of kin, or the particular person who paid for the funeral can recover this amount.

Consult an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

Internal injuries can be difficult to spot. It’s important to seek medical care after a workplace accident. This is partly so that you encounter less resistance from the insurer around the idea that the injury is related to work. If you don’t provide timely notice, it’s likely the insurer will try to figure out if you could have sustained the internal injuries some place other than work. If you have suffered internal injuries in the airline industry in Chicago, you may be able to bring a workers’ compensation claim. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured workers in Quincy, Aurora, Rockford, and Champaign, and throughout Kane, Winnebago, Cook, Adams, and Sangamon, Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or by completing our online form.