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​Experienced ILLINOIS Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
& CHICAGO Injury Lawyers

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

CHICAGO LAWYERS FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION WORKERS WHO NEED A NEW JOB

Road construction is an ongoing need on highways and streets around Illinois. Many road construction workers find themselves on the road, or on the side of the road, and at risk of sustaining injuries in an accident every day. While you may be on the road to make it safer, that doesn’t change that you are placed at risk when you are on the job. If you were injured on the job as a road construction worker and can no longer do the same line of work, you should call Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca. We’ve fought for compensation for workers for more than 60 years.

LAWYERS VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION BENEFITS

Accidents from road construction work can leave you catastrophically injured and unable to work in the same line of business. For instance, if you suffered complex fractures as the result of a negligent driver who fails to obey the signs for road work, you may find that you’re unable to do the lifting and walking and other rigorous work needed for your job. You may be eligible for vocational rehabilitation benefits. These are benefits that would allow you to retrain or get education for a different job.

Under Section 8(a), you can seek vocational rehabilitation benefits through the workers’ compensation system. Your employer’s insurer may offer them to you if you have permanent disability benefits but appear able to do some other type of work. Far more often, however, you’ll need to make a claim and then fight for your right to these benefits. It’s important to seek legal counsel to represent you in connection with this claim. Unlike some of the other benefits for which you may be eligible, there is no bright line rule about when you can get vocational rehabilitation. Our attorneys may be able to advise and represent you through the process of getting retrained or educated for other work.

WHAT VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR?

Vocational rehabilitation benefits can include education, counseling, job training, or treatment that you need if you were injured on the job and can no longer do the road construction work you did before. It may be the case that you can do a desk job with the same employer, but in some cases, it may be appropriate to shift industries altogether. Your employer’s insurer should provide you not only with the means to get a different job assuming you can still work, but also maintenance costs and expenses.

The Chicago road construction company you work for is required to lay out a vocational rehabilitation plan. Rule 7110.10 provides that this plan needs to be prepared if you can’t resume your regular work duty or the period of your total incapacity is greater than 120 days. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has specified that this plan is mandatory.

You may find yourself with more difficult injuries, injuries for which you’re not sure whether you’re fully disabled. Or the company might want to retrain you itself in another job, such as a desk job, that you are physically able to do.

WHAT IF A ROAD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY DENIES YOU VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION?

If you’re denied vocational rehabilitation that you need, our Chicago attorneys can request a hearing in front of an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. At the hearing, an arbitrator will examine whether your ability to earn income has been reduced by your work-related injuries and whether you’d be able to earn more money if you were given retraining or education.

Among the factors to be considered in this analysis are whether there are jobs on the market you could get with training, whether these are stable jobs, whether you’ve been through vocational rehabilitation before, and whether you’re an age where it makes sense to be retrained for a different line of work.

CONSULT ATTORNEYS ABOUT YOUR CHICAGO ROAD CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT

If you are a road construction worker who is no longer able to work in the business, you should give us a call. We have more than 60 years of experience and may be able to represent you in Rockford, Aurora, Champaign, or Quincy, or anywhere in Winnebago, Kane, Sangamon, Cook, and Adams Counties. We’ve got you covered: our firm 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.