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​Experienced ILLINOIS Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
& CHICAGO Injury Lawyers

Auto Workers With Permanent and Total Disabilities

Lawyers for Injured Workers in Chicago

If you’re an auto worker with permanent and total disabilities, you may be entitled to disability payments. Disability compensation can come in many different forms, but one of the most important is workers’ compensation. The workers’ compensation system in Illinois was set up to make it easier for workers to recover money after being injured on the job than it is to recover money through a personal injury lawsuit. Even so, auto workers can find it difficult to obtain benefits. Many valid claims are rejected. The experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca can help you determine your next steps.

Injuries Suffered by Auto Workers

Auto workers suffer all kinds of serious and sudden injuries including cuts, burns, musculoskeletal strains, and illnesses including cancer caused by exposure to chemicals, additives, or asbestos. More than half of overexertion injuries are the result of heavy lifting. A significant percentage of occupational illnesses are caused by lead, which can trigger kidney disease, anemia, neurological disorders, and sometimes even death.

Auto Workers With Permanent and Total Disabilities

Sometimes injuries produce permanent and total disability. These are the kinds of injuries that render you completely unable to work. For example, if you are burned over a significant percentage of your body such that you are scarred and in pain for the rest of your life, you may have a permanent and total disability. Similarly, if you get mesothelioma, you may be permanently and totally disabled.

You may be able to obtain permanent and total disability payments if you are permanently and totally disabled by a work injury such that you have medical bills and have lost income. The most common kind of workers’ compensation is temporary total disability, which is paid when you are totally unable to work but only for a temporary period, and recovery is expected. The rate for temporary total disability benefits is 2/3 of your average gross weekly wage for the year before you were injured. Overtime and bonuses are excluded. When more than one job was worked at the time of the accident, all of the workers’ salaries are considered, assuming employer knowledge of the second job. A skilled work injury attorney can help you assemble all the necessary information for your claim.

In order to obtain permanent and total disability benefits, you must be unable to perform even light tasks. For example, if you are crushed under a car, you may suffer permanent and total disabilities. You may no longer be able to walk or move without assistance, and you may also suffer disfigurement. Permanent disability benefits are often calculated as 66 2/3% of the difference in your wages before and after suffering injuries. However, they can instead be calculated according to a schedule of injuries that specifies how many payments should be made. If you’re permanently and totally disabled, there’s no cap on how long you can get benefits. Many people keep getting permanent disability benefits until they die, even if that’s many years after suffering the disabling injuries.

In Illinois, employers must pay permanent partial disability benefits if you’re injured and have suffered some kind of disfigurement or impairment but you’re still able to work at least a little bit. When injuries cause disfigurement, it is possible to obtain 60% of your average weekly wages for 162 weeks.

Consult an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

Permanent and total disabilities may involve brain injuries, quadriplegia, fractures, amputation, burns, electric shock, loss of vision or loss of hearing, and spinal cord damage. These disabilities can be very expensive, and sometimes, workers’ compensation is not sufficient to fully address them. If you are an auto worker with permanent and total disabilities in Chicago, consider retaining a workers’ compensation lawyer. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured autoworkers in Springfield, Aurora, Rockford, Champaign, and Quincy, as well as Cook, Sangamon, Adams, Champaign, Winnebago, and Kane Counties. We will also look closely at the situation to determine whether other relief, such as damages in a personal injury lawsuit, may be available. Call us at 312-724-5846, or contact us online.