Workers’ Compensation Hearings for UPS Drivers

Chicago Lawyers for Injured Employees

As a UPS driver, you face the risk of many different types of job-related injuries. These can range from repetitive stress injuries arising from long hours controlling the wheel of a big truck to acute injuries like paralysis that are sustained in an accident. Workers’ compensation hearings for UPS drivers may be needed when insurers deny benefits even for legitimate claims. If you are issued a denial of benefits, you can request a workers’ compensation hearing. As an injured UPS driver, you should call the seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca for a consultation.

Workers’ Compensation Hearings for UPS Drivers

Once your claim is received, UPS and its insurer should let you know whether it will be honored or denied. Insurers may start paying claims even though they are still investigating. However, they may unexpectedly terminate your benefits if they decide your injuries aren’t job-related or you are not eligible for a particular benefit. If your claim is partially or fully denied, you can request a hearing before an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission. You should receive a written explanation of why your claim was denied. An insurer may deny a claim for a number of different reasons. It may believe the UPS driver’s injury is not work-related. It may believe you are malingering. Or it may believe you failed to provide notice of the injury within the proper time period.

You’ll need to file an Application for Adjustment of Claim with the Commission if your claim is denied and you hope to get benefits. The Application must be filed within 3 years of you being injured or within 2 years of the last payment you received from UPS’s insurer. If your Application is not timely filed, the denial will be permanent. It is wise to file an Application even if you are getting paid benefits in order to speed up the process in case benefits are stopped.

After you’ve filed your Application, an arbitrator will be assigned. You will receive status calls until you ask for a hearing or you notify the arbitrator you’ve reached a settlement with the insurer.

At the Hearing

During a workers’ compensation hearing, the assigned arbitrator will hear arguments from both you and UPS’ insurer. The insurer may argue you shouldn’t receive benefits at all or may contest your entitlement to a particular benefit or treatment.

You may need to testify at your hearing. Your lawyer can help you prepare for this testimony beforehand. Often there are critical aspects of your case that you’ll need to have in the front of your mind so you can provide beneficial testimony for yourself. Among other things, you’ll likely be asked how you were injured. If you were injured in a collision with another vehicle, for instance, you may be asked the details of that accident. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system, but you may still be asked for details because they may help to establish or disprove whether you were on the job when you were injured.

Petition for Immediate Hearing

In some cases, it is appropriate to request an emergency hearing under section 19(b). An emergency hearing is conducted to determine certain issues, such as whether the insurer must pay for a surgery or whether you’re owed temporary disability benefits. You can’t get this kind of emergency hearing if you’ve already gone back to driving for UPS and its insurer owes you less than 12 weeks of temporary total disability benefits.

UPS’ insurer has 15 days to file a response to your petition. A hearing will be scheduled before an arbitrator.

Hire an Experienced Chicago Attorney

Injured employees should approach workers’ compensation hearings for UPS drivers well prepared. If you need to request a workers’ compensation hearing, you should talk to the seasoned lawyers of Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca about your claim. We handle the claims of injured UPS drivers in Chicago, Quincy, Aurora, Champaign, and Rockford. We also represent UPS drivers in Winnebago, Cook, Adams, Sangamon, and Kane Counties. Call us at 312-724-5846 or complete our online form.