Partial Disability Benefits for Injured UPS Drivers

Chicago Lawyers Representing Delivery Workers

As a UPS driver, there are many different injuries you could sustain while on the job. You may be injured while lifting a heavy package and delivering it to the door. You may suffer injuries in an accident while driving. While severe injuries could be entirely disabling, less serious ones may entitle you to partial disability benefits for injured UPS drivers. If you are a delivery driver who was injured at work, you should consult with the Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Partial Disability Benefits for Injured UPS Drivers

The Illinois workers compensation system was set up to make it easier for workers to obtain benefits when they were injured on the job. Unfortunately, it can be nearly as challenging for injured UPS drivers to obtain workers’ compensation benefits as it is to obtain damages in a personal injury lawsuit. One benefit available to injured workers is partial disability benefits, which covers disabilities that may be temporary or permanent in duration.

Temporary Partial Disability Benefits

If you are partially disabled for a temporary duration by injuries you sustained as a UPS driver, you may need to return to work under the restrictions imposed by your doctor. In some cases, employers are unable to accommodate a doctor’s restrictions and decide to place the worker into a role that pays less. Temporary partial disability benefits are meant to make up for part of the income loss. They can be awarded if you’re still going through medical care and haven’t reached maximum medical improvement. Temporary partial disability benefits are ⅔ of the difference between what you earned on average before suffering an injury and your current income.

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits

You may be awarded permanent partial disability benefits once you reach maximum medical improvement, the point at which you will not improve further. Permanent partial disability benefits are available if you’ve lost some part or the use of some part of your body. For example, if your left hand was crushed in a truck accident while you were delivering packages such that you can no longer use it, you may qualify for permanent partial disability benefits if can continue in some work capacity for UPS. A lawyer can assist you with understanding the different ways of calculating permanent partial disability benefits.

Schedule Injuries

Certain injuries are considered schedule injuries. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides a schedule that sets forth the number of weeks of benefits a worker will receive based on the lost body part. You’ll get benefits at 60% of your average weekly wage multiplied by the value set forth in the schedule. For a total loss, you will be awarded the entire benefit, while a partial loss will only entitle you to the percentage of loss of the body part.

Non-schedule Injuries

Non-schedule injuries are neither provided for within the schedule nor considered disfigurement, but are still disabling and life-altering. For such injuries, you may be entitled to benefits that quantify the harm to you as a whole person. These benefits are calculated by multiplying your permanent partial disability rate by the percentage of 500 weeks that the partial disability resulting from your injuries bears to total disability.

Wage Differential Benefits

Another form of partial disability benefits are wage differential benefits. You may be entitled to this form of compensation if you have to start a new job because UPS cannot accommodate your work restrictions. If the new job is lower paying than the previous one, the wage differential benefit is ⅔ of the difference between your pay at UPS and what you make at your new job.

Disfigurement

Disfigurement benefits may be awarded instead of partial disability benefits when your head, face, neck, chest above the armpits, leg below the knee or arms are seriously and permanently disfigured. You may be entitled to 60% of your average weekly wage multiplied by up to 162 weeks.

Consult a Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

Are you seeking partial disability benefits for injured UPS drivers? Discuss your situation with the experienced lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca to understand your legal rights. We represent drivers from all the delivery services with their workers’ compensation claims in Chicago, Rockford, Quincy, Champaign, and Aurora, along with Adams, Winnebago, Sangamon, Cook, and Kane Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.