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​Experienced ILLINOIS Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
& CHICAGO Injury Lawyers

Broken Bones in the Auto Industry

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Chicago

A broken bone can be both painful and expensive. A bone may be broken cleanly and simply, but it could also involve shattering or complex fractures. Broken bones can necessitate significant medical care and time off work. Auto workers in Chicago often perform grueling labor and are at risk of broken bones. If you have suffered broken bones in the auto industry, workers’ compensation benefits can provide coverage for your losses. Although workers’ compensation benefits are supposed to be obtained in a more straightforward way than a damages award in a personal injury lawsuit, in practice, it can be difficult to obtain the benefits to which you’re entitled. A knowledgeable Chicago workers’ compensation attorney can help you evaluate your options for seeking benefits.

Broken Bones in the Auto Industry

Work in the auto industry is vigorous and may involve significant strain. Often it is necessary to work with complex and dangerous equipment and machines. Sometimes machines malfunction or act erratically. Machines may be defective. A worker could be thrown off a machine or be crushed. Sometimes an object falls on site, and a worker doesn’t have time to react or get out of the way. Many different kinds of accidents can result in broken bones.

Bones are strong, but can be broken after some sort of blow or impact. Breaks may be open or closed. A closed break or fracture won’t break through skin. However, an open fracture or a compound fracture will. The break may be complete or partial. When there is a complete break, the bone will be left in two or more pieces. A partial break, on the other hand, doesn’t go all the way through a bone. When broken pieces continue to line up, the break is a non-displaced break. However if the pieces don’t line up, the break is displaced.

Most employers buy insurance to cover the costs of providing workers’ compensation to a worker with broken bones or other injuries. However, insurers may try to find reasons to restrict how much compensation is paid, putting profits ahead of people. This is why it is often wise to retain an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.

How to File for Benefits

If you suffer broken bones in the auto industry, you should provide notice to your employer in writing within 45 days of your accident. This holds true even if your supervisor and coworkers actually saw you break your bones. In your written notification, you should specify when and where the accident occurred. If you delay providing notice of broken bones within 45 days, you might lose benefits.

In order to start your claim, you will need to file with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The claims should be filed with the Chicago office of the IWCC. The application is a form, but it is still a good idea to retain an experienced attorney to help you file. If you need to file an Application for Adjustment of Claim with the Commission, you must file it within 3 years of being injured and serve it on the employer. It may be possible to file such an Application within 2 years of receiving the last compensation payment.

Your claim will be assigned to an arbitrator who can make determinations about your claim in case of disputes. Sometimes people obtain benefits immediately and believe they don’t need to bother filing a claim. However, if you have a claim on file and get into a dispute with the insurer, things will go faster than they would if you did not have a claim on file. For example, if you suddenly stop getting benefits and the insurer doesn’t tell you why, you can request a hearing before an arbitrator without waiting.

Consult an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

If you are a worker who has suffered broken bones in the auto industry in Chicago, you can retain a workers’ compensation lawyer to help you seek benefits. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured auto workers harmed in equipment accidents, falls, and other incidents on the job in Springfield, Aurora, Champaign, Rockford, and Quincy, as well as Cook, Adams, Champaign, Sangamon, Winnebago, and Kane Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846, or contact us online.