What Benefits Can You Receive from Illinois Workers’ Compensation?

An on-the-job injury in Illinois can cause significant disruptions to your life. Your injuries may result in costly medical bills, time off work, and lasting disability. Fortunately, employees can seek compensation for these losses through workers’ compensation claims.

Understanding the workers’ compensation benefits you may be entitled to is crucial for making the most of your claim. These benefits include medical expense coverage, partial wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation, and death benefits.

Medical Benefits

Workers’ comp medical benefits cover all reasonable and necessary medical treatment for your work injuries or illnesses. This treatment may include:

• Doctor visits
• Hospital stays
• Surgeries
• Physical therapy
• Prescription medications
• Medical devices

Medical coverage aims to get injured employees back to work and help them reach maximum medical improvement (MMI) as soon as possible. MMI is the point at which further treatment is unlikely to result in further recovery.

Temporary Total Disability Benefits

If your injuries prevent you from working while you recover, you may be eligible for Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits. These benefits provide two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a maximum amount set by the state. To receive back pay for the first three days of work you missed, you must be out of work for at least 14 consecutive days.

TTD benefits typically continue until you return to work or reach maximum medical improvement.

Temporary Partial Disability Benefits

If your injuries prevent you from working at full capacity while you recover, you may be eligible for Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits. These benefits provide two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury average weekly wages, up to a maximum amount set by the state.

As with TTD benefits, TPD benefits typically continue until you return to your full capacity work or reach maximum medical improvement.

Permanent Partial Disability Benefits

If you permanently lose a body part or the use of a body part, you may be eligible for Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits. The amount of compensation you could receive depends on your average weekly wage, the body part affected, and the degree of disability caused. For example, losing the full use of your hand is worth more than losing partial use.

PPD benefits can only be determined after an injured worker reaches maximum medical improvement.

Permanent Total Disability Benefits

If you are permanently unable to work due to your injuries, you may be eligible for Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits. These benefits cover two-thirds of your average weekly wage and are paid indefinitely or until you can work again. As with PPD benefits, PTD benefits can only be determined after you reach maximum medical improvement.

Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits

Vocational rehabilitation benefits are compensation provided to assist injured workers in finding new work that meets the restrictions placed on them by their doctors. If your injuries prevent you from returning to your old position, these benefits can help you seek education or training for a new role at the same or a different company.

Death Benefits

If your loved one died as a result of injuries sustained at work, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation death benefits. These benefits provide $8,000 for funeral and burial expenses and two-thirds of your loved one’s average weekly wage up to a maximum amount set by the state. The wage loss compensation continues for 25 years or until $500,000 has been paid, whichever is greater.

Contact Our Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyers

If you were injured at work in Illinois, contact Holley, Rosen & Beard, LLC, for a free initial consultation with one of our experienced and highly skilled workers’ compensation lawyers. We’ll review the details of the incident that harmed you, explain the benefits you could be entitled to, and walk you through the process of seeking those benefits.