Health Issues

Legal Representation for the Claims of Workers Who Have Health Concerns

Many workers experience hardships not only because of injuries and illnesses sustained on the job, but because of the way these work injuries interact with existing health concerns. If you have health concerns that you believe may impact your claim, you should call the experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. With sixty years fighting for compensation for our clients, we understand the importance of the outcomes towards which we’re working and their significant effects on our clients’ lives. We work hard to make sure workers obtain the benefits to which they are entitled.

Health Issues

Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system intended to make it easier for workers to obtain compensation they need when their injuries are the result of a work accident or incident. As an employee in Chicago, you do not need to prove your employer was at fault to get benefits. Likewise, your employer cannot get your benefits reduced by showing you bear some fault for your work injuries.

However, the workers’ compensation system, already a difficult system to navigate, can be made even more difficult if you have other health concerns that may have contributed to the accident. For instance, prior back, neck or shoulder injuries, sustained in another activity, aside from work, could be worsened by a work accident. An insurer may not understand that it is required to provide benefits so long as there was aggravation of your pre-existing condition. Or it may try to protect its profits by issuing an unfair denial based on your health issues.

Likewise, health concerns like a diabetes, cancer, anxiety, epilepsy, heart failure, or chronic illnesses could affect the outcome of a work-related incident. These are no-fault benefits, so our lawyers will not need to establish fault to secure your benefits, and your employer will not be able to blame you to avoid paying benefits. For example, if you are a UPS driver who has your first epileptic attack while driving and suffers paralysis, you may be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits even though your medical issues were the cause of the work accident.

Aggravation of a Pre-existing Condition

Injuries that occur “in the course of employment” are covered by workers’ compensation. For injuries suffered through the aggravation of a pre-existing condition, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, and if it comes to it, the courts, require that the aggravation itself is work-related. This means that our attorneys must be able to trace the work injury to a definite time and cause related to your job. If you are a secretary, for example, the source could be a repetitive motion that aggravates tendonitis that began in a different context. Or it could be an incident, such as a machine accident, that occurs because you have brain fog in connection with a chronic illness like chronic fatigue syndrome.

Our lawyers can obtain benefits on your behalf if you have a pre-existing condition that is aggravated by a work injury or illness. In other words, Chicago employers can be held accountable, even if you have existing health concerns. The workers’ compensation system was designed to provide benefits for all injuries that occur in the course of employment.

It is important to be aware of the possibility your employer will try to establish that the harm you suffered as a result of a work injury was actually the result of other medical concerns, such as a pre-existing condition. For instance, a heart attack can present a claimant with difficulties in tracing the claim to a work-related circumstance. Our attorneys would try to show that the heart attack is linked to an event at work, such as a school shooting, for example, if you are a teacher injured on the job, rather than solely the result of heart disease, as your employer may assert.

Workers Compensation Benefits

If we are able to show that your health issues were exacerbated by a work-related injury or illness, we may be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits that could be of enormous help to you and your family after you sustain injuries. These could include medical benefits, partial wage replacement in the form of temporary or permanent disability benefits, and vocational rehabilitation.

Hire a Law Firm That Represents Workers With Health Issues

Our Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys handle claims of workers with health issues in Champaign, Rockford, Quincy, and Aurora, along with Cook, Kane, Sangamon, Winnebago, and Adams Counties. We also handle Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims and third-party lawsuits. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.