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:

• Lung disease
• Skin diseases
• Hearing loss

When you face problems with air quality, cleanliness, noise or other unsafe condition where you work – and now you can’t work after developing an illness – you deserve these Workers’ Comp benefits.

In Springfield-Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Danville and across Central Illinois, the lawyers at Schiro & Themer can help.

Who Does the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act Protect?

The law provides special help for firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and workers in other jobs that expose them to hazards.

In other words, it protects the men and women who protect our community.

If you’re a first responder who becomes sick in the line of duty, these benefits are designed for you, so you can pay your bills and stay financially stable.

But winning benefits isn’t always easy.

The experienced Workers’ Comp lawyers at Schiro & Themer can help.

Contact us today for a free evaluation of your case.

How Does a Claim Under the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act Differ from Regular Workers’ Comp?

When you’re injured on the job under the regular Workers’ Comp law, it may be easier to prove.

There’s typically an accident involved, a specific incident that can be documented by your employer’s human resources department, doctors in the emergency room, your doctor and others.

But filing under the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act can be different. Instead, you may need to show a condition that developed gradually over time.

While the Act itself was designed to protect workers in high-risk jobs, you have to meet special criteria depending on your situation:

• Make sure you notify your employer of your occupational disease right away.
• File your claim before your time runs out. For most occupational diseases, you have 2 years from the date you were diagnosed.
• If you develop a disability because of your occupational disease, you must inform your employer within 2 years of your last exposure to the hazard that caused your disability.
• If you develop a disease from exposure to beryllium or asbestos, you have 3 years to file for benefits.
• If your disease is a result of exposure to radiation, you have up to 25 years to file your claim.

Do I Need a Lawyer to File a Claim?

You’ve put in hard work in tough conditions, protecting others or helping our economy run. You earned the right to Workers’ Comp benefits when your work harms your health.

If you’re diagnosed with an occupational disease, you’re already dealing with managing your condition and covering all of your expenses after you’ve been forced off the job.

You shouldn’t have to take on the extra burden of sifting through the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act and understanding all of its rules and deadlines.

A Workers’ Comp lawyer from Schiro & Themer will take care of that for you.

If you’re sick because of the hazards you faced on the job, don’t delay.

Call us today!