If you are injured in a car accident while running a work-related errand outside of normal business hours, can you receive workers’ compensation for your injuries? In Illinois, the answer is yes, depending on the particular situation. A case heard by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission involved a car accident in which a director of>> Read More

Here are a few things about workplace injuries that employers and their insurance companies don’t want to hear: that the full extent of your injuries may not be apparent at first; that you have the right to seek medical treatment from someone other than the “company doctor;” and that you have the right to deny>> Read More

Earlier this month, a 60-year-old Chicago man was badly injured in a construction accident on the Far South Side. His story is an unfortunate example of how construction remains one of the most dangerous industries for workers today, even though it has made strides over the past few decades in protecting workers. According to the Chicago>> Read More

There are some professions in which danger and injury is a normal part of the job. One of those professions is that of a Chicago firefighter. Despite the training, the safety gear and all of the precautions, it still happens occasionally that a firefighter suffers an on-the-job injury. In Oak Lawn recently there occurred a>> Read More

Chicago is home to one regional office of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. The federal agency investigates all kinds of work-related accidents, but it pays special attention to fatal accidents, which happen all too often in the construction business. But even when OSHA rules that an employer was in violation of federal guidelines in>> Read More

There shouldn’t be any question: employees in Chicago and throughout Illinois are entitled to a reasonably safe workplace. This right is granted by law in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, otherwise known as OSHA, enforces. Employers who neglect to take the necessary steps to ensure a safe>> Read More

In a recent post we discussed an explosion at a Caterpillar plant that seriously injured a worker. Unfortunately, a similar catastrophe has occurred at another Illinois factory, injuring three workers this time. The workers in the more recent accidents may face the same struggles, both in their physical recovery from burn injuries and their attempts>> Read More

When a Chicago worker suffers an on-the-job injury, the employer and the employee may have different motivations and thoughts about what should happen next. An employer may want the worker to get back on the job as quickly as possible and minimize the financial impact. An employee may be more concerned about healing, and more>> Read More

In Chicago, road construction is an activity that goes on 24/7 during most of the year. When a road is being repaired, the lanes may close down from five to three or four, and the traffic backs up. This construction-made traffic jam is filled with motorists and truck drivers as well as buses. A road>> Read More

It is easy to form an opinion about something when someone hasn’t had a personal experience with the matter. Being injured on the job and then losing the ability to work and support one’s family is a significant loss. Having to fight for workers’ compensation claims is rarely something that an injured worker wants to>> Read More

Everyone in Illinois, and in other states, knows how dangerous construction zones can be. Both workers and drivers must be observant at all times. One moment of inattentiveness could lead to a serious, or sometimes even fatal, accident. Such is the case for a 22-year-old man who was killed earlier this month in Kansas. An>> Read More

Determining proper wages is an essential issue in every worker’s compensation claim. It has been written by legal experts in this field that the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Act is a “wage driven system.” Why is this so? The short answer is that all benefits received under the act are derived from the Average Weekly Wage>> Read More