Scarring for Glass Workers

Chicago Lawyers for Glass Workers’ Scarring and Disfigurement Claims

Glass workers are sometimes also called glaziers. Due to the nature of glass, these workers are at risk of lacerations, puncture wounds, and cuts. Work accidents can result in amputations, arteries, tendons, disease exposure and eye injuries. As a glass worker, you may suffer a permanent alteration in your appearance because of an on-the-job injury. Not only that but scarring for glass workers can be permanently disabling. Our experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers may be able to represent you in connection with scarring for glass workers. We will need to evaluate the extent of your scarring or disfigurement, and this may entail sending you to see a medical expert to counter any claims made by your employer’s insurer about the extent to which you’re impaired.

Scarring for Glass Workers

Glass workers in and around Chicago perform many different kinds of hazardous work. They often need to minimize risk of harm through the use of protective gear, such as safety glasses, harnesses, and gloves.

They may engage in the practice of:

• Shaping glass in dies or molds to form glassware components
• Heating glass to a pliable stage
• Inspecting or weighing products to verify they conform to specifications using instruments like calipers or rulers
• Installation of glass in skylights and windows
• Spraying or swabbing molds to stop adhesion of glass
• Following blueprints or specifications for type, color, size, and thickness of glass
• Cutting glass to the proper shape
• Installation of sashes and moldings for glass installation
• Adding weather seal or putty around pane edges to seal joints
• Removal of old or broken glass.

Workers’ Compensation Benefits

As a glass worker, workers’ compensation benefits to which you may be entitled for job-related scars include reasonable and necessary medical care, partial income replacement in the form of disability pay or disfigurement benefits, vocational rehabilitation and certain costs such as medical mileage.

Section 8(c) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act provides that workers who suffer serious, permanent disfigurement may obtain a disfigurement benefit. Only specific body parts are covered by this benefit, and they are typically body parts that are exposed. For example, if you suffer third degree burns on your face, you may be able to obtain permanent disfigurement benefits. On the other hand, if you suffer a minor laceration on your stomach while fitting glass to a window, you may not be able to obtain compensation. In order to calculate a disfigurement benefit, we’ll need to multiply the number of weeks the disfigurement represents by the applicable benefit rate. The maximum number of weeks of disfigurement benefits, assuming your job-related accident occurred after February 1, 2006, is 162 weeks. The applicable benefit rate in your case will be equal to the rate for permanent partial disability benefits or 60% of your average weekly wage.

Lump Sum Payments

In some situations, workers’ compensation insurers make lump sum payments to glaziers who suffer scarring or disfigurement on the job. However, you should be aware that your employer’s insurer may offer you a lump sum settlement simply to get rid of your claim and it may not be enough. Often it’s not fully clear how much medical care will be needed immediately after job-related injuries are suffered. There are situations in which a lump sum settlement is disadvantageous because future care is unknown and too hard to estimate accurately. For instance, in the case of severe scarring, a single future revision surgery may be inadequate. Our lawyers can negotiate with your employer’s insurer to make sure that you are properly covered in a settlement.

Retain Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for Your Scarring Claim

If you are a glass worker, you face countless risks of injury on the job. The work of glaziers is physically demanding. You may need to not only handle glass regularly, but also lift and move heavy materials like glass plates. Injuries can include falls from ladders and cuts from glass and tools. Scarring for glass workers is one of the many harms you may face. You should hire an experienced Chicago workers’ compensation firm. Our firm represents glass workers 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.