Your employer must pay for worker's compensation benefits if you are injured at work or contract a work-related illness. These benefits include medical care and disability as well as rehabilitation.
So, if you experienced such an injury or illness, then you will most likely obtain worker's compensation benefits. Almost any non-superficial injury will entitle you to worker's compensation benefits.
As far as permanent disability once your initial medical treatment has ended, these benefits are determined based on a review of your condition and medical records, prior cases decided by the Illinois Worker's Compensation Commission and the status of your job. In other states, there is something called "permanency" or a "permanency award" that is provided based on the permanent loss of function determined by a doctor. There is no such thing as permanency, permanency ratings or a permanency award in Illinois. Permanent disability is based, again, on your medical records, precedent and the status of your job.
With settlements, depending on your case, your best bet may be not to settle. If you settle, you close your case. If your injury persists or gets worse, you are in an unfortunate situation. But, if you go to trial, your medical rights will remain open for life as it relates to your injury. You will not receive a lump sum, of course, but you will still get compensated and be able to keep your medical rights open.
Take the situation of a wrist injury where hardware is set in place that may need to be replaced some day. When you settle, you accept a settlement amount that may not cover the future replacement cost. If, however, you go to trial and leave your medical rights open, you keep open the opportunity to have that replacement cost covered.
A good Illinois worker's compensation attorney will evaluate your case to determine if the injury or illness is more than a superficial injury. They will only pursue cases where there has been actual and realized injury/illness. One of the reasons they will only pursue such cases is because they will be paid on a contingent basis. Never pay your worker's compensation attorney anything up front.
Contingency basis means that if you win, your attorney gets a percentage, which under Illinois law, is not more than 20%. If you lose, your attorney gets nothing but worker's compensation attorneys know that this is the cost of doing business.
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