Auto Workers With Temporary and Total Disabilities

Chicago Lawyers for Work Injury Claims

The auto manufacturing and repair industries have challenging work environments and work demands. Auto workers have higher rates of injury and illness than do workers in many other industries. They are exposed to assembly line work, dangerous machinery, and heavy lifting. If you are an auto worker with a temporary and total disability, a seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation attorney can help you assess your legal rights and options.

Auto Workers with Temporary and Total Disabilities

Common types of injuries suffered by auto workers include falls, repetitive motion injuries, getting hit by an object, slips, trips, getting caught in machinery, overexertion lifting, and falls from heights. Sometimes it is determined that an injury is so severe that a worker cannot work any longer and is permanently and totally disabled. However, more often, with broken bones, strains, or even repetitive motion injuries, an auto worker will eventually go back to work.

Benefits

A disabled worker can be eligible for temporary total disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, temporary partial disability benefits, and permanent partial disability benefits. Temporary total disability benefits are not paid for the first three work days until you need at least 14 days off work, after which point you are paid retroactively for those three days. If you are temporarily totally disabled, you can get 2/3 of your average weekly wage up to a capped maximum that is periodically adjusted. You are paid until your doctor decides you’ve gotten to maximum medical improvement. In Illinois, you’ll need to make important decisions once you’ve reached maximum medical improvement. This is the point at which your doctor says there’s nothing else to be done for you from a medical perspective. In the doctor’s opinion, you’re unlikely to get significantly better with further medical treatment because your work related injury has stabilized.

What if you improve partially at this point? If you are able to go back to light duty or part time work, you can get benefits that are 2/3 of the difference between your pre-injury earnings and what you are making in light or part time duty.

Other benefits, including medical benefits, may be available to help you if you are injured on the job and suffer temporary and total disabilities. Illinois workers’ compensation pays for all reasonably necessary medical care associated with a work injury so long as the care is authorized. Moreover, you can get reimbursed for mileage arising out of travel to and from doctors’ appointments.

Your employer has the option to set up a preferred provider program. This will establish a preferred group of healthcare providers and hospitals employers can use if they choose to use preferred provider network usage. This network is used by employers to restrict who you can get medical care from. When this network is set up, you can choose two doctors from the preferred provider network. However, included in the choice is the ability to see any specialist to whom one of the preferred providers refers you.

Limitations to Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ compensation was designed to allow workers to get benefits somewhat quickly without needing to sue their employer or prove fault. However, there are limitations to workers’ compensation. Often insurers deny workers’ compensation benefits for illegitimate reasons, making it advisable to retain a lawyer in many cases. Additionally, you will not be compensated for any pain and suffering caused by your work injuries. You do not get the full value of your losses.

Consult an Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Chicago

If you are an auto worker with temporary and total disabilities in Chicago, a knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer can help. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured auto workers in Springfield, Champaign, Rockford, Aurora, and Quincy, as well as Adams, Sangamon, Cook, Champaign, Winnebago, and Kane Counties. We will also look closely at the situation to determine whether other relief, such as damages in a personal injury lawsuit, may be sought. Call us at 312-724-5846, or contact us online to set up a free consultation.