Road Construction Workers With Partial Disabilities
Chicago Attorneys for Injured Road Construction Workers
As a road construction worker, you can find yourself injured on the job in such a way that you are partially but not fully unable to work. You may find yourself at a loss about what to do for this type of job injury. Or you may make a claim to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer only to find that it refuses to accept your claim. Partial disabilities can occur in connection with loss of a single body part, nerve damage, or loss of vision. In some cases, it is temporary, while in others, the issue may not ever fully resolve, leaving you, as a road construction worker, with a partial permanent disability. If you are a road construction worker who need partial disability benefits, give the experienced Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. Four of our counsel have been named “Best Lawyers in America” and five of have been recognized as “Super Lawyers.”
Road Construction Workers With Partial Disabilities
You may find yourself partially disabled because of many different kinds of medical conditions and work accidents. Whether you have carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive stress injury, illness due to a toxic exposure, knee injuries, hearing loss arising out of the loud sounds that are part and parcel of road construction, or vision loss, you may be eligible for partial disability benefits.
Partial disability benefits are meant to address the harm done to employees unable to earn their pre-injury wages because of a partial disability. These are no-fault benefits, meaning our lawyers would not need to show that your employer is to blame for your partial disability, and your employer cannot get these benefits reduced because you were involved in a workplace accident that you, yourself, caused or contributed to. Workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy, meaning you cannot recover any other compensation against your employer.
Partial Disability Benefits
Partial permanent disability benefits are calculated according to different methods: disfigurement, scheduled injuries, non-scheduled injuries, and wage differential.
Scheduled injuries are those which are specified on a schedule or list of common injuries. The schedule states how much can be obtained in benefits for that type of partial disability. For example, if you are crushed by a machine against a car, and lose use of your arm, you may be able to get 253 weeks’ worth of benefits.
Non-scheduled injuries are calculated by multiplying a permanent partial disability rate by a certain number of weeks representing the partial nature of your disabilities in proportion to full disability.
You may be able to recover benefits that are calculated in terms of your percentage of loss. The IWCC will evaluate the extent of your physical impairment and how the disability impacted your life and ability to earn income. Your percentage of loss will be determined by multiplying the number of weeks allowed for permanent partial disability benefits by 60%.
The wage differential method is calculated by comparing your new wage as a worker with partial disabilities to your wage prior to becoming disabled. Assuming the post-accident wage is less than the old wage, you can get 66 2/3% of the difference between the two wages.
With disfigurement benefits, such as the disfigurement that could occur, for instance, if there was an explosion while you were working on the road, you and the employer may need to agree on a number of weeks during which you can receive benefits. When no agreement is possible, the IWCC arbitrator can set the number of weeks up to 162 weeks.
Consult Our Law Firm About Your Chicago Road Construction Accident
You might assume that your employer understands the strenuous nature of your job and that you need different work or reduced work because you were partially disabled by a work accident. Unfortunately, this is not always how things shake out with workers’ compensation claims involving partial disability. Give us a call: our seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys have more than 60 years of experience. We represent road construction workers in their claims in Rockford, Aurora, Champaign, and Quincy, along with Winnebago, Kane, Sangamon, Cook, and Adams Counties. We can also represent you in a third party lawsuit or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claim. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.