Work Accidents

LAW FIRM FOR INJURED STAFFING COMPANY EMPLOYEES

As a temporary worker, when you first start working for a third-party employer, you may not have the possibility of injuries on your mind. However, if you do get injured in a work accident, it’s important to retain an attorney who understands workers’ compensation claims, third party lawsuits, and Social Security Disability Insurance claims. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we are experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers with more than sixty years of experience who understand the nuances of our clients’ claims and pursue all available relief on their behalf. We seek the best results for injured workers.

ILLINOIS LAW FIRM FOR WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BENEFITS

In and around Chicago, employers are required to obtain workers’ compensation insurance to address certain losses arising out of employees’ workplace injuries or illnesses. The situation can be complicated when you’re an employee who was lent to a company by a staffing agency.

Generally, workers that are contracted out to companies by staffing agencies are employees of those agencies, not the borrowing company or staffing agency client for which they perform actual work tasks. And the staffing agency’s client isn’t required to get workers’ compensation coverage for temporary workers. Rather the staffing company and its insurer should pay benefits through the workers’ compensation system. There are situations in which the borrowing company might choose to share workers’ compensation protections with the staffing company.

Work accidents can involve equipment and tool accidents, dangerous property conditions, slip and fall accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and defective or malfunctioning machinery. For instance, if you go to work as a temporary worker at a factory, and a safety mechanism on one of the machines fails to work such that your arm is amputated, you may have a basis for bring a workers’ compensation claim. For another example, if you work as a temporary secretary, and slip in the company’s bathroom because no warning signs have been placed to warn of a recently mopped floor and break your arm such that you can’t work for several months, you could bring a workers’ compensation claim for benefits.

LIABILITY FOR WORK ACCIDENTS FOR STAFFING COMPANY EMPLOYEES

You may not quite understand the relationship between you, the staffing company, and the company to which you report for work. A third-party client isn’t required to procure workers’ compensation to cover your injuries when you are an employee of the staffing agency, rather than its employee.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act establishes a no-fault system in which you can obtain benefits regardless of fault. In other words, you will not have to establish a staffing agency’s fault for your accident but can get benefits for work-related injuries sustained in an accident. These no-fault benefits can include:

• Reasonable and necessary medical care,
• Temporary total disability benefits,
• Permanent total disability benefits,
• Temporary partial disability benefits,
• Permanent partial disability benefits,
• Vocational rehabilitation.

In most cases, benefits are less than the damages award to which a worker would be entitled if there is a claim against a third party other than the staffing agency.

THIRD PARTY LAWSUITS

There are circumstances that permit you to sue for compensation in court as a result of your injuries. This is called a third-party lawsuit; you can’t sue the staffing agency from which you can obtain benefits because workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy. For instance, if you are staffed to work at a company as a temporary administrative assistant and the elevator you take up to the staffing agency’s client’s office has a malfunction and drops to the bottom floor, resulting in your broken limbs and a concussion, you may need to file a product liability lawsuit for damages against the elevator manufacturer. Or you may need to recover damages in a premises liability lawsuit against the owner of the Chicago commercial building.

When it’s possible to establish liability in a third-party lawsuit, our attorneys may be able to obtain your full scope of economic and noneconomic damages. These tend to be more significant than workers’ compensation benefits, particularly when a staffed worker suffers serious injuries.

CONSULT A SEASONED STAFFING WORKER ATTORNEY

Our Chicago workers’ compensation law firm represents staffing agency workers harmed in work accidents in Quincy, Champaign, Rockford, and Aurora, along with Kane, Cook, Winnebago, Sangamon, and Adams Counties. We have more than sixty years of experience. Call us at 312-724-5846 to consult with us about whether you have a claim for which we could provide representation and counsel or complete our online form.