Work accidents

Commonwealth Edison Lawyers for Work Accidents

When you work for an electric company such as Commonwealth Edison you may be confronted by serious physical dangers while on the job. You may suffer repetitive stress injuries even if you work in a more sedentary position in an electric company office. If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a work accident, you should call one of our experienced Chicago Commonwealth Edison worker attorneys. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we seek the best results for electric company workers. When we review the facts of a case, we examine it not only for whether it fulfills the mandates of workers’ compensation law, but also to see whether it is appropriate to pursue Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or a personal injury lawsuit.

Work Accidents in or Around Chicago

Commonwealth Edison employees face risks of catastrophic injuries on the job. In some cases, these injuries are fatal or become so some time after the initial accident. For instance, an employee could be severely burned by an arcing power line and go into shock, only to die a few days later. Work accidents can involve falls from heights, falling objects, electrical shocks, electrocution and defective or malfunctioning equipment, or some combination of these. Common injuries include burns, organ damage, cardiac arrest, nerve and muscle damage, internal bleeding, arc burns, scarring and disfigurement.

Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, you are entitled to benefits regardless of fault. ComEd and its insurer cannot get your benefits reduced, as they could with a damages award, based on your percentage of fault for the accident. Rather, you must be paid benefits so long as your injuries were sustained in a work-related accident. Benefits can include:

• Reasonable and necessary medical benefits,
• Permanent and temporary disability benefits,
• Vocational rehabilitation.

When you get into a work accident that results in your injuries, you should seek emergency care. You will also have the opportunity to select a healthcare provider. You will be able to obtain disability benefits that are based on your average weekly wage.

Death Benefits

As a surviving spouse or child of a ComEd employee, you may be able to obtain death benefits in the event that a work accident results in the employee’s death. These benefits can include funeral and burial expenses up to a certain cap and a portion of his replacement wages. They are 2/3 of a decedent’s average weekly wage in the 52 weeks before the decedent died.

Attorneys for Benefits and Third-Party Lawsuits in Chicago

In most cases, workers’ compensation is not sufficient to cover all of an employee’s losses. They do not include the full scope of lost wages. They don’t cover emotional harms arising out of the work accident such as emotional distress and anguish. However, it may be appropriate for our law firm to file a third-party lawsuit for economic and noneconomic damages after you’re injured in a work accident.

The circumstances under which you were injured on the job will determine whether you can obtain remedies available in a third-party lawsuit. If you were injured out in the field or in the office because of malfunctioning equipment, our lawyers may be able to pursue damages in a product liability lawsuit. If you were injured as the result of a dangerous property condition about which a property owner other than ComEd knew or should have known, our attorneys may be able to recover damages in a premises liability lawsuit.

Sometimes work accidents result in the untimely death of a ComEd employee. When the employee is killed by the negligence of someone other than his employer, his family may be able to pursue damages in a wrongful death lawsuit in court. The wrongful death lawsuit needs to be brought by a personal representative of a deceased victim. Usually, a personal representative is an immediate family member like an adult child, a parent, or a spouse.

Hire a Work Accidents Lawyer Who Represents Commonwealth Edison Employees

Our Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys handle the workers’ compensation claims of Commonwealth Edison employees in Champaign, Rockford, Quincy, and Aurora, along with Cook, Kane, Sangamon, Winnebago, and Adams Counties. We also handle Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) claims and third-party lawsuits on behalf of those who work for Commonwealth Edison. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.