Workers’ Compensation Hearings for Nurses

Chicago Lawyers Helping Injured Medical Professionals

The risks and dangers of working as a nurse are varied. There are increased risks of illness. There are also risks associated with lifting patients or slipping and falling while attending to multiple patients. If you concerned workers’ compensation hearings for nurses in Chicago, you should discuss your situation with an experienced attorney. The workers’ compensation system was designed to make it easier to obtain benefits than it is to obtain damages in court. Unfortunately, the workers’ compensation system is complex and intricate. It can be difficult to navigate. The outcome of a hearing may be crucial to your ability to get benefits you desperately need. You should consult the knowledgeable and experienced Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca.

Chicago Workers’ Compensation Hearings for Nurses

After sustaining a work injury as a nurse, your exclusive remedy is workers’ compensation benefits. For example, you may need to make a workers’ compensation claim if you suffer a disc rupture while transferring a heavy patient to another bed. For another example, if you acquire an illness on the job due to blood-borne pathogens spread via an improperly sterilized medical instrument, you may have a claim. If the medical practice you work for doesn’t pay workers’ compensation benefits or reduces the benefits you’re due, you can file a claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission in the form of an Application for Adjustment of Claim. Once the Commission gets the Application, the claim will be assigned a case number set for periodic, recurring status calls until you request a hearing.

Evidence in Workers’ Compensation Hearings for Nurses

A hearing is similar to a trial. At the hearing, you and your employer will be able to present evidence to support your position. This evidence may include both medical documentation and expert testimony. For instance, if you are asking for vocational rehabilitation your employer won’t pay, you may need to present the testimony of a vocational rehabilitation expert and his report. For another example, if you’re asking for a surgery your employer doesn’t believe is reasonable and necessary, it may present evidence obtained through an independent medical examination (IME), while we may need to present your medical records as well as your treating physician’s testimony. It is crucial to retain an attorney so that you can present the strongest possible case to the arbitrator hearing your case.

If your employer disputes how your injuries occurred or claims they aren’t work-related, it may be necessary to present testimony from your coworkers who witnessed the accident. For instance, if a maintenance staff member at the hospital where you work saw you slip and fall, we may need to call that staff member to testify and substantiate that your injuries are work-related.

Similarly, if your employer disputes the extent of your work-related injuries, we may need to call your family to provide testimony about how your work-related injuries have impacted your life. Your testimony alone may be insufficient, for instance, to convince the arbitrator that your elbow and shoulder injuries have left you completely debilitated for a portion of the day.

Right to Appeal

After the hearing, the arbitrator will issue an appealable decision. Either you or the employer can appeal this decision. At that point, your case will move to a panel of three commissioners. They can review the decision along with the evidence and transcript from the first hearing. Another hearing may be conducted before the commissioners. They usually issue a determination within 60 days of a hearing. Their decision can be appealed in the Illinois courts.

Retain an Experienced Lawyer in Chicago

Workers’ compensation hearings are a crucial stage of the workers’ compensation claims process in Chicago. As a nurse who needs a workers’ compensation hearing, you should talk to the seasoned attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca about your situation. Our firm also represent injured nurses in Champaign, Rockford, and Aurora, and as well as Kane, Cook, Sangamon, and Winnebago Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846. Alternatively, you may complete our online form.