Police Officers Injured on the Job

Chicago Attorneys for Police Officers Injured on the Job

Police officers and state troopers face numerous challenges on the job, and injuries are common. As a police officer who works for an Illinois municipality other than Chicago and is injured on the job, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we have more than 60 years of experience fighting for police officers and other workers who’ve suffered because of significant and disabling job-related injuries.

Police Officers’ Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Lawsuits Arising Out of an Accident

Nearly every employer in Illinois must provide workers’ compensation insurance for employees. The insurer pays benefits for any injury that occurs at work, whether it’s in the workplace or while performing a job duty. In other words, if you were struck by a car while writing a traffic ticket, you’d be able to obtain benefits. However, Chicago police officers are not eligible for workers’ compensation because the Act precludes these benefits if an officer works in an Illinois city with more than 500,000 people. Other remedies are available.

Workers’ compensation benefits provide partial economic compensation for work-related injuries. These include medical benefits, disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation benefits, and death benefits. As a state trooper or officer outside Chicago can obtain temporary disability benefits if you cannot work for more than three days. Other benefits can also prove crucial to injured officers and their families. For example, if you are the spouse of a cop who died of a job-related heart attack in Schaumberg, you may be entitled to death benefits, including funeral and burial expenses. For example, if you are an officer who was shot in the line of duty in Batavia and reasonably needs emergency surgery, your employer’s insurer should pay for this medical care. Sometimes long-term disability occurs as a result of a work-related injury, and an officer can no longer do the same job; in that case, you may be able to obtain training to change your line of work.

As an officer, you could also benefit from chronic or repetitive stress injuries and soft tissue injuries. For example, if you’re in a collision while giving chase and suffer soft tissue injuries to your back, you may be able to obtain physical therapy and medications.

Trial Lawyers for Personal Injury Lawsuits in and Around Chicago

Workers’ compensation benefits do not fully make up for the losses that officers and other employees suffer while working. They are no-fault benefits that only partially replace workers’ lost wages due to work-related injuries. As an officer, you may know the Firefighter’s Rule, also called the Professional Rescuers Rule. At base, the rule restricts the capacity of professional rescuers to recover damages that are incurred in the course of their job performance. The rule arose because of the belief that those who rescue people as officers or firefighters voluntarily subject themselves to dangers on the job. However, in recent times, there are certain exceptions to the rule, which continue to evolve and be reinterpreted. In some cases, an officer may be able to hold a third party liable for injuries sustained not as a result of responding to a request for help but because of some other activities, such as those related to dangerous property conditions or dangerous equipment.

Chicago Lawyers to Recover Damages

Our lawyers must be able to prove that another party must have been at fault for your injuries to obtain the full spectrum of your losses arising out of an accident on your behalf,. In most cases, we’ll need to prove a non-employer’s negligence caused your injuries. For example, suppose you fall off an unguarded second story of a restaurant under construction while stopping to pick up a sandwich on your way to investigate a crime. In that case, you might have a claim against the contractor or the restaurant. Personal injury damages can be significant and are typically more significant than workers’ comp benefits. They could include medical expenses, past and future wage loss, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Consult a Seasoned Workers’ Compensation Attorney

It is essential to secure legal representation if you are an officer injured in a work-related accident. Our lawyers represent clients in workers’ compensation, personal injury lawsuits, and SSDI claims that arise in connection with an accident in Rockford, Champaign, Quincy, and Aurora, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Kane, Cook, and Adams Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.