Medical Benefits for Injured Auto Workers

Chicago Lawyers for Workers’ Compensation Benefits

In Illinois, employers of auto workers must buy workers’ compensation insurance in case an auto worker in their employ gets injured on the job. Insurers pay workers’ compensation benefits for employees’ claims when a worker suffers an injury or illness arising out of employment. When there is a dispute, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC), enforces law related to workers’ compensation and protects workers’ rights. If you are concerned about medical benefits for injured auto workers, you can consult the experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Medical Benefits for Injured Auto Workers

There are a range of benefits to which you may be entitled as an injured auto worker. One category of benefits is medical benefits. Other benefits include vocational rehabilitation, temporary total or partial disability benefits, permanent partial or total disability benefits, and death benefits. There is no tax paid on workers’ compensation benefits.

With the medical benefit, you’re entitled to have the insurer (or the employer if it is self-insured) pay for reasonable medical care needed to relieve the impact of your injuries. This can include pharmaceuticals, prescribed medical devices, first aid, emergency treatment, surgery, doctor’s follow-up visits, and physical therapy. For example, if you suffer a crushing injury to your leg, the medical benefit could include emergency care and surgeries to fix the damage. If an amputation needs to be performed, it might include the amputation, as well as physical therapy and the prosthetic that would need to be put in place.

Under Section 8, an employer that doesn’t dispute payment of hospital services, surgical services, or medical services should pay the provider directly on your behalf. The employer is also supposed to pay for your treatment and training as needed for mental, physical and vocational rehabilitation, including maintenance costs and expenses. If you were rendered unable to be self-sufficient, such as with complete paralysis or traumatic brain injury, the employer would also need to pay for institutional care or maintenance. A skilled work injury lawyer can help you seek the full range of medical benefits to which you may be entitled.

Notification to Employer

You must give your employer notice within 45 days of a work-related accident that you were injured on the job in order to keep your right to gather medical benefits and other benefits. If you wait to let your employer know until just before 45 days are up, your benefits might be delayed. If you delay more than 45 days, you could lose access to all of your workers’ compensation benefits. The exceptions to this rule are where you possess a repetitive stress injury or an illness that develops slowly, but even in those cases, you should let your employer know once you’re aware you’ve developed a work-related condition.

Sometimes an employer or insurer pays for medical treatment as anticipated. However, if it does not, you may need to file a claim with the IWCC to issue an order that your employer pay you benefits. If you’re injured on the job, you should let your employer know in writing if possible. You need to include the date and place that the accident happened in the notification.

Employer Choice

You can, at any time, choose to get your own doctor, hospital services, or surgeon at the employer’s expense. However, where there is an agreement between the employer and the employees, the employer is supposed to keep a list of doctors known as a panel of doctors, who are accessible to you and other employees. You are entitled to make an alternative choice of doctor from the panel if you’re not satisfied with the doctor first chosen. If, because of the nature of the injury or because the injury happens away from the employer’s workplace, the employee isn’t able to select from the panel, the selection process won’t apply.

Hire an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

If you need access to medical benefits as an injured auto worker, you cab talk to a seasoned workers’ compensation lawyer about your situation. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent workers in Quincy, Rockford, Champaign, and Aurora, as well as Cook, Kane, Sangamon, Winnebago, and Adams Counties. We examine a client’s situation closely to decide whether other types of recovery would be appropriate for them. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or by completing our online form.