Posted on July 15, 2021 in Workers' Compensation

Developing an injury at your job can be very unpleasant. Severe, one time injuries - such as a fall or crash - gain a lot of media attention, however, the most common of workplace injuries arise from small everyday tasks and motions. This type of workplace injury is called a repetitive stress injury. If you have developed a repetitive stress injury, a DuPage County personal injury attorney can help you fight for your workers’ compensation.

What Is an RSI?

RSIs also go by other names such as repetitive motion injuries or overuse injuries. RSIs form a large umbrella over injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and rotator cuff syndrome. Because it takes a long time for injuries like these to become noticeably bothersome, it is vital to pay attention to them from the beginning. A key factor of receiving workers compensation for such injuries is that you can prove that it was directly caused from the job.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 05, 2021 in Slip and Fall

Property owners have a responsibility to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition by law. Of course, knowing what constitutes “reasonably safe” can be extremely difficult. If you or a loved one were recently injured in an apartment complex, restaurant, bar, retail store, or even a residential property, you may be interested in filing a premises liability claim and recovering compensation.

A successful premises liability claim may provide financial compensation for medical expenses, lost income from missed work, pain and suffering, and more. However, it can be hard to know if you have a valid claim. Read on to learn about Illinois’s premises liability laws and what you should do if you or a loved one were hurt on someone else’s property.

Illinois Premises Liability Laws

Head injuries, spine injuries, broken bones, burns, and countless other injuries may be caused by unsafe conditions on a commercial or residential property. In Illinois, a property owner’s duty or legal obligation to visitors varies. Commercial property owners owe the highest duty to invitees. Patrons at a business such as a nightclub or grocery store would fall under the category of invitees. Licensees are people who enter a property for social reasons. Property owners are required to keep properties free from unreasonably hazards for invitees and licensees. Property owners have lowest duty of care toward trespassers.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 24, 2021 in Personal Injury

Each year, millions of people get into car accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were more than 6.7 million traffic accidents that occurred across the country in 2019. Of those, more than 33,000 crashes involved at least one fatality. Being in a traffic accident can be a scary situation, resulting in extensive injuries and extreme damages. Luckily, filing a personal injury claim can help you regain some of the compensation that you deserve for your injuries.

Avoid These Mistakes During Your Personal Injury Case

If you have been injured in a car accident, filing a personal injury claim is often your best chance at obtaining the compensation that you need for your damages. Sometimes, personal injury cases can take a few months, if not longer, to be completed. During that time, it is important that you do not make any mistakes that could jeopardize your personal injury claim. If you have been injured in an accident, here are a few mistakes that you should try to avoid making:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 17, 2021 in Car Accidents

For many Americans, driving is a daily task that is pretty much unavoidable. Many people in the United States live in areas that do not have very good public transportation systems, forcing them to spend more time commuting in their own vehicles. Driving can be a frustrating task, but most people can manage the stresses that come with it. However, some people may become so angry and frustrated that they lash out, usually toward other drivers on the road. In some cases, road rage can be the cause of a car accident that can leave other drivers with serious injuries. Fortunately, many victims of road rage are able to file a personal injury claim to help recoup some of the losses experienced as a result.

What Is Road Rage?

In general, road rage is defined as angry or aggressive behaviors exhibited by drivers when they are behind the wheel of a vehicle. Even though it may sound extreme, road rage is not an uncommon occurrence. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), one survey found that 80 percent of drivers had exhibited aggressive or aggravated driving behaviors at least once in the year prior. Road rage can include a range of behavior, such as:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 10, 2021 in Workers' Compensation

Any type of injury that a person sustains has the possibility of temporarily affecting their life and their ability to work. However, some injuries can be more serious than others and can leave a person dealing with the effects of the injury for life. There are various types of benefits that are paid out by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC), both for injuries that are temporary and injuries that will last much longer. If an injury leaves a permanent scar or disfigures a person, they may be eligible for permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits from their employer. Disfigurement cases are notoriously subjective; what one person considers to be “disfigured,” another one may not. Having a skilled workers’ compensation lawyer on your side can be extremely beneficial to your case.

What Qualifies as Disfigurement?

Many different types of businesses see scarring and/or disfigurement injuries, however, manufacturing and other industrial jobs can be particularly prone to more serious injuries that may cause permanent scars or disfigurement. According to the Illinois Supreme Court, disfigurement comes into place when a healed scar “impairs or injures the beauty, symmetry or appearance of a person or thing; that which renders unsightly, misshapen or imperfect or deforms in some manner.”

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on June 03, 2021 in Workers' Compensation

Even though summer does not technically start until near the end of June, June typically marks the beginning of the summer season. The temperatures are rising and the sun is shining full blast most days, which can be fun for beach goers and other outdoor enthusiasts, but stressful and sometimes even deadly for some workers. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), overexposure to heat is a real concern for many U.S. workers. Overexposure to heat can lead to serious illness or even death, causing dozens of worker deaths each year. Your employer has a responsibility to protect you from heat exposure in your workplace. If you have suffered a heat illness while at work, you may be eligible to claim compensation.

Occupations That Face Heat Exposure

There are various occupations from many different industries that have a daily risk of overexposure to heat. Both indoor and outdoor occupations have the potential to cause heat exposure that can lead to serious injury. Some of the occupations that are most likely to expose employees to excessive heat include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 26, 2021 in Car Accidents

Following a car accident, most people’s concerns are focused on their immediate injuries, the ones they can feel and see. Next, they are focused on the injuries of the people around them. As time goes on and everyone heals, very few people focus on how the accident is affecting their emotional well being. A car accident is a scary experience, even if it is just a small rear-end collision. When circumstances are more serious, the accident can be traumatic and can leave a lasting effect on your mental state, which can develop into an issue that affects your everyday life. In some cases, you may be able to claim compensation for a mental illness or injury developed after a car accident.

What Is PTSD?

After a car accident, it is completely normal to experience some sort of anxiety or fear about the situation. However, most people will get better as the weeks go on. If they do not get better, there might be something more going on, possibly something such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Classic symptoms of PTSD include:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 20, 2021 in Workers' Compensation

Any kind of accident carries the possibility of changing your life forever. In some cases, an injury may be so severe that it takes years to heal. At times, an injury could even become permanent and chronic, condemning you will live with it for the rest of your life. It is not uncommon for an injured worker to no longer be able to perform the work they once did. Many times, this can cause them to earn less than what they used to earn, which can place unfair financial stress on their family. If you were injured at work and have lost wage earning capacity, you may be able to claim those losses in a workers’ compensation claim.

What Is Lost Earning Capacity?

Many people use the term “lost earning capacity” and “lost income” interchangeably or to mean the same thing. However, they actually mean two different things. Lost wages or income refer to the money that you have lost between the time you were injured and the present. Lost earning capacity refers to a partial or total loss of the amount of income you earned prior to becoming injured.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 12, 2021 in Workers' Compensation

In most cases involving injuries that happened at work, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Almost all Illinois employers are required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance, but that does not always mean that the employer will comply or pay out benefits when they are needed. Sometimes, an employer can deny a workers’ compensation claim, which can be stressful for any household, especially when you are unable to work because of your injury. If you are unable to work for three or more days, your employer must either begin paying benefits, inform you of what information they need to make a determination or provide a denial for your claim. Work injuries can be financially taxing and can take a toll on your entire family’s well being, especially if your claim is denied.

Reasons for a Denied Claim

Being denied benefits from workers’ compensation can be frustrating. If your claim is denied, your employer is required to state the reason for the denial in writing. After receiving notice that their claim has been denied, many people’s first question is, “Why?” Here are some of the most common reasons that your employer may deny your claim:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on May 07, 2021 in Catastrophic Injuries

Every day, people are injured for a variety of reasons. According to the National Safety Council, there were 48.3 million people who sought medical attention for unintentional injuries that they sustained. The majority of people who are injured from some sort of accident suffer things like broken bones or lacerations -- injuries that will eventually heal and go away. However, in some cases, injuries from an accident can be much more serious and can result in long-term or chronic effects. In many cases, these injuries are considered “catastrophic injuries” and can have devastating effects on a person and their entire family.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury?

There is no statewide definition for a catastrophic injury in Illinois. However, according to the U.S. Code, a catastrophic injury is an injury that permanently prevents a person from performing any gainful work. This definition would mean that any injury that prevents a person from working enough or doing work that would financially support themselves and their family would be considered a catastrophic injury.

Continue Reading ››