Temporary and Total Disability for Injured City of Chicago Workers

Lawyers for Employees Harmed On the Job in Chicago

Temporary and total disability benefits are meant to replace wages until a medical condition or injury caused by work has been stabilized. The City of Chicago is self-insured just as many big businesses are. That means if you are a City of Chicago employee who is injured on the job, you will claim workers’ compensation from the City rather than an independent insurance entity. If you are a City of Chicago worker concerned about temporary and total disability benefits, you can speak with the dedicated Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Temporary and Total Disability for Injured City of Chicago Workers

There are many ways a City of Chicago worker can be injured on the job. A janitor for the City may slip and fall and sustain complex fractures. A public school employee may sustain a back injury. A bus driver may get into an accident. A secretary employed by the City of Chicago may suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. As an employee of the City, you should notify your employer of a work-related injury as soon as possible.

The City is supposed to take action within 14 days of you first being injured due to an accidental injury or occupational disease arising out of your job. It is supposed to begin paying temporary total disability payments during that timeframe. If the City denies it is liable for paying temporary total disability payments, it should give you a written explanation for its denial. If the City doesn’t have enough information to determine its liability for paying temporary total compensation, it should inform you in writing what information is needed to make a determination and give a written explanation for why the information sought is necessary.

If you’ve been receiving temporary total disability benefits and the City decides to terminate or suspend, you should be notified in writing of the reason. Sometimes the City claims it doesn’t have enough medical information to decide whether it should be liable, but it should try to get the information it needs if it knows who your medical providers are. A skilled workers’ compensation lawyer can help you assert your rights under these circumstances.

Amount of Temporary Total Disability Benefits

You may be concerned about the amount of temporary total disability benefits. Temporary total disability benefits are not taxed. They are calculated as 66 2/3% of your average weekly wage up to a maximum amount set by the state.

Maximum Medical Improvement

You may be required to undergo an independent medical examination while you are receiving temporary and total disability benefits. In spite of its name, the independent medical examination is not conducted by a truly independent doctor; the City may choose a doctor that tends to be conservative or who tries to get workers back on the job more quickly than is appropriate. There are situations in which your treating doctor and the City’s independent medical examiner may disagree about whether you’ve reached maximum medical improvement. If you depend on your own doctor’s opinion that you aren’t ready to go back to work, the employer is permitted to terminate your temporary total disability benefits.

If you are able to go back to light duty or part time work that pays less than what you’re usually paid, you may be entitled to temporary partial disability benefits, which are calculated by looking at 2/3 of the difference between what you could earn prior to injury and your current income.

Experienced Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Serving Chicago

If you’re an injured City of Chicago worker concerned about temporary and total disability benefits, we can potentially help. The seasoned lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca represent injured workers in Rockford, Champaign, Aurora and Quincy, as well as Sangamon, Winnebago, Cook, Adams, and Kane Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or via our online form.