“What do Workers Compensation Benefits Include?”
Ask the Illinois Personal Injury and Worker’s Compensation Lawyer
Today’s question: “I had a hand injury in machinery at work. While a couple of nails are disfigured, and I have scars, I only missed one day of work. What are my workers’ comp benefits other than my medical bills?”
Chicago Personal Injury Attorney: “Three basic benefits are available under worker’s compensation. The first of these is lost time. If a doctor keeps you off work for more than three working days. In your case, you didn’t sustain any compensable lost time.
The other two benefits that are available are medical bills, which in your case have apparently been paid. And the third is compensation for permanency. Permanency can take the form of either disability or disfigurement. Generally speaking, disability is worth more in terms of compensation benefits than disfigurement. Disability can be proven by any sort of objective clinical findings, such as loss of motion, loss of sensation, any sort of permanent pain, loss of grip or things of that nature.
If you don’t have any disability, you can still recover compensation for disfigurement, based on scarring to certain parts of the body. It appears to me that in your case, you do have some permanent disfigurement. If that disfigurement is serious and lasts more than six months, a viewing can be held in front of an arbitrator at the Industrial Commission, which is the court that hears workers compensation cases. The arbitrator will determine the amount of compensation you are entitled to receive for your disfigurement.”
If you were injured on the job in Illinois, personal injury lawyers can help you recover the compensation you deserve. If you have questions, Chicago personal injury attorneys who specialize in workers comp cases will have the answers you need.
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