Lump Sum Settlements for Injured Road Construction Workers

Lawyers for Road Construction Workers Seeking a Lump Sum Settlement

After sustaining serious injuries in a road construction accident, you may feel uncertain what your legal options are. The workers’ compensation system provides no-fault benefits to most employees injured on the job. The road contractor you work for may offer you a certain sum that is meant to resolve all our claims. You might feel tempted to simply take the money without negotiating. However, if you are a road construction worker who is considering a lump sum settlement, you should call the trustworthy Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. We have more than 60 years of experience negotiating claims.

Lump Sum Settlements for Injured Road Construction Workers in or Around Chicago

As a road construction employees who was injured on the job, you are entitled to recover no-fault benefits including medical benefits, disability benefits, and vocational rehabilitation benefits. When you file an Application with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) you protect your legal right to seek benefits in the event that you need care and replacement wages for what you lost as a result of a work-related accident. Unlike what we’d need to do in a personal injury lawsuit, our Chicago lawyers don’t need to prove fault in a claim, only that the injuries are work-related.

As with a lawsuit, however, it may be appropriate to settle your case. In order to take a lump sum settlement, you’ll be asked to sign an agreement. This agreement can allow you to get all the compensation you need in a lump sum, or single sum. This compensation may be provided more quickly than it would be if you went through the hearing process, or an appeal at the IWCC.

Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, however, you may lose other rights when you accept a lump sum settlement. For instance, the settlement contract is likely to specify that an employee won’t have rights to a future medical benefit or other payments once the settlement for a single payment is approved. Your employer may be open to negotiating the amount of the lump sum settlement to include future expected losses.

This can be helpful because you could receive costs for reasonable necessary medical care you’re expected to face in the future, but sometimes less care is needed over the long haul than initially assumed. However, the inverse is also true. When you accept a lump sum settlement, there is a possibility that your condition will be worse in the future than expected at the time of signing the settlement agreement.

An experienced lawyer can review your contract and negotiate to make sure your rights and interests are protected in the settlement process. For example, our seasoned Chicago lawyers may be able to negotiate that the insurer will provide a renewed right to benefits if your medical condition worsen in the future.

It is important to abide by any deadlines that control making changes to a settlement. The Commission maintains strict time periods for filing petitions that seek changes after a lump sum settlement has been issued.

When Should You Sign a Settlement Agreement?

You should not sign a settlement agreement until you discuss your situation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer. Typically, once you sign a lump sum agreement, you’ll waive certain rights in exchange for receiving the lump sum. There are circumstances in which it is advantageous to discuss matters with counsel and then sign the agreement because your attorney can make sure your interests are fully protected and perhaps negotiate a carve-out of certain future rights if that’s necessary.

Call Experienced Workers’ Compensation Law Firm

If you are concerned about a lump sum settlement, call our trustworthy Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys. We have 60 years of experience representing road workers in Rockford, Aurora, Champaign, or Quincy, or anywhere in Winnebago, Kane, Sangamon, Cook, and Adams Counties. We’ve can also represent you in a third party lawsuit or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.