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​Experienced ILLINOIS Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
& CHICAGO Injury Lawyers

City of Chicago Workers Hurt in Slip and Fall Accidents

Lawyers for Chicago Employees Harmed On the Job

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (IWCA) provides that employees who are injured on the job can obtain workers’ compensation benefits. The City of Chicago is an employer covered by IWCA. One type of work-related accident is the slip and fall. Slip and fall accidents can be caused by many factors, such as wet or slippery floors, broken or uneven sidewalks, torn carpets, icy or snowy sidewalks, broken stairs, broken handrails, and poor lighting. If you are a City of Chicago worker hurt in a slip and fall accident, you may be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. The City is a large employer that may resist paying benefits. A dedicated Chicago workers’ compensation attorney can help you assert your legal rights.

City of Chicago Workers Hurt in Slip and Fall Accidents

The City of Chicago is self-insured like certain big businesses are. This means they don’t pay premiums in order to obtain workers’ compensation insurance. Rather, they are considered financially secure and have been approved to pay their claims directly.

The City employs many types of workers including those who take great risks, such as police officers or sewer department laborers, as well as workers in positions that involve repetitive motion but are less risky, such as administrative assistants. Slip and fall accidents can happen to anyone on the job, and they may happen on City property or away from City property.

If you are injured in a slip and fall accident on the job, you should notify your supervisor or manager immediately. Your notification should be in writing and include a description of what happened and the date and time it happened. In order for you to obtain benefits, the injuries you suffered must be job-related. Your written notice may eventually become evidence of the harm you suffered, so it’s important to take care in drafting it.

The City of Chicago may deny your claim for workers’ compensation benefits for a range of reasons. Sometimes the City argues that injuries were not job-related, that they were suffered during perpetration of a crime, or that they were self-inflicted. It can be wise to retain an attorney to counter those arguments.

Workers’ compensation benefits for a job-related slip and fall can include disability benefits, medical benefits, a lost wage differential, vocational rehabilitation, and benefits for disfigurement. The nature of your injuries will determine the benefits available in your case. Under IWCA section 8(a), you can get reasonable and necessary medical expenses covered if your slip and fall occurred on the job, and those expenses are necessary to diagnosing, relieving, or curing your injury. You’ll have the burden of demonstrating that the services you received were necessary and the costs you incurred were reasonable.

Sometimes the City disputes the reasonableness of medical bills. In that case, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) decides. The decision made by the IWCC will stand unless it is determined that it is against the manifest weight of the evidence in the case.

Third Party Liability for Slip and Falls

Your only remedy against the City of Chicago for an on-the-job slip and fall is workers’ compensation. However, if you slipped and were injured on property not owned by the City, you may be able to pursue a third party claim against a business or property owner. In Illinois, property owners and businesses owe a duty to keep their property reasonably safe to prevent injuries to guests. Under the Illinois Premises Liability Act, property owners can be held accountable through a premises liability lawsuit for damages that arise from their failure to use reasonable care.

Retain a Knowledgeable Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

If you are a City of Chicago worker hurt in a slip and fall accident, you can call us. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, our seasoned workers’ compensation lawyers can represent injured workers in Champaign, Quincy, Aurora, and Rockford, along with Sangamon, Adams, Kane, Cook, Sangamon, and Winnebago Counties. We can also look closely at your circumstances to determine whether you’re eligible for other relief, such as damages in a third party suit. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or via our online form.