What Qualifies as a Work-Related Injury in Illinois

Not every workplace injury looks the same.

Getting hurt at work can create immediate uncertainty.

You may be worried about your medical treatment, how you will pay your bills, and how long you will be away from work. You may also have another concern: Can my employer fire me for reporting my workplace injury or filing a workers’ compensation claim?

Not every workplace injury happens because of a sudden accident. Many Illinois workers develop injuries over time due to repetitive motions required by their jobs. These injuries can affect office workers, healthcare professionals, factory employees, warehouse workers, construction workers, and many others throughout Champaign-Urbana and Danville.

A workplace injury can leave you dealing with medical appointments, lost income, and uncertainty about your future. Many injured workers assume that once they report an injury and file a claim, benefits will automatically be approved. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Workers' compensation claims are denied every day in Illinois, leaving injured employees wondering what to do next.

Workplace injuries can disrupt every aspect of your life, from your ability to earn income to your long-term health and stability. If you have been hurt on the job in Champaign-Urbana, understanding how workers’ compensation works is essential to protecting your rights and securing the benefits you deserve.

Hurt On the Job, But Your Employer Says It Isn’t Their Problem?

If you get hurt in the course of your job and you’re an employee, your employer owes you Workers’ Compensation benefits to help you recover and financially survive.

If you’re not an employee but an independent contractor, they’re off the hook.

It sounds simple, but some employers try to skirt their responsibility by illegally misclassifying you as an independent contractor when you’re actually an employee.

YOU DESERVE PROTECTION FOR DANGEROUS WORK

As you well know, some jobs are just more dangerous than others.

That’s why the State of Illinois instituted the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act – to protect you if you work a job with a high risk for certain kinds of diseases.

This law helps you collect Workers’ Compensation benefits for job-related diseases including:

THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE PAYMENT THAT FITS ALL WORKPLACE INJURIES

Some Workers’ Compensation defense attorneys and insurance adjusters will try to tell you there is a standard payment depending on your type of injury. But don’t trust the first number you hear.

THE LAWYERS AT SCHIRO & THEMER CAN HELP YOU FIGURE OUT EXACTLY HOW MUCH YOU’RE ENTITLED TO BASED UPON YOUR INJURY, THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU WILL MISS FROM WORK, AND ANY MEDICAL TREATMENT YOU NEED.