DEALING WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES

CHICAGO LAWYERS FOR CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WORKERS The construction industry is widely understood to be dangerous. Most Illinois businesses, whether they serve as contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, or materialmen, are required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance to cover their employees in case they are injured or made sick on the job. The insurance is no-fault, meaning that as an employee you will not need to prove your employer or anyone else is at fault for your work-related injuries, and conversely, your benefits cannot be reduced because your own negligence at a construction site or office caused your injuries. If you are concerned about recovering workers’ compensation benefits as an injured construction worker, you should call the seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. For more than sixty years, we’ve fought for full and fair compensation for workers.

ATTORNEY TO NEGOTIATE WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES Unfortunately, many insurance companies are determined to avoid paying claims, even legitimate ones. This is why it can be very important to retain counsel to deal with an insurance company for you if it seems like your claim may be fully or partially denied.

Insurance companies are businesses. Adjustors may be focused on protecting profits by avoiding claims or short-changing claimants. For instance, if you receive a workers’ compensation denial because you have a pre-existing condition, you should be aware that the denial may not be valid, since you are entitled to benefits so long as your pre-existing condition was exacerbated or aggravated by your construction accident. Similarly, if you receive a lot of questions from your employer about other potential causes of your work-related injuries that suggest the employer is suspicious about whether your injuries are work-related, you could face trouble down the road. It is important to seek counsel to make sure your interests are protected. You should also seek counsel if you are having trouble obtaining pre-authorization for medical care that you need.

NOTIFICATION It’s important to notify the construction company that employs you when you are injured at work, even if the injuries are the result of a serious accident and you assume that your supervisor or manager observed the incident. While you can give notice that is oral, it is wise to give written notice so that there is no dispute later on about whether you were timely in providing it. You have only 45 days from the date of your injury to notify your employer. Your employer is then supposed to inform its workers’ compensation insurer, regardless of whether it agrees or disagrees that your injury is work-related. If you need to miss more than 3 days of work due to a work injury, the construction company should file an Employer’s First Report of Injury with the Illinos Workers Compensation Commission (IWCC), which is the state agency that handles workers’ compensation claims.

<strong”>DISPUTESIf you are not getting benefits to which you’re entitled, or even if you are, our attorneys may be able to file an Application for Adjustment of Claim on your behalf. This filing needs to occur within 3 years of your injury, or you could lose your entitlement to benefits. It can be wise to get this Application on file even if you are receiving benefits because some insurers stop making benefits payments unexpectedly or abruptly. When there is a dispute between you and your employer’s insurer, our attorneys can bring the case before the IWCC for a hearing so long as there is an Application on file. Keeping an application on file can speed up the process of seeking a resolution in case of a dispute.

HIRE A CHICAGO LAW FIRM FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS’ CLAIMS Chicago construction work accidents can result in devastating and disabling injuries. Our lawyers represent contractors, subcontractors, materialmen, and other workers at construction sites in Champaign, Rockford, Quincy, and Aurora, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Kane, Cook, and Adams Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.