If you are injured in the course and scope of your employment, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for your injuries. You may be entitled to be compensated for the time you are off work by doctor’s orders (TTD), your medical bills for doctors of your choosing should be paid for by worker’s compensation, and you may be entitled to compensation for the extent of your permanent disability. (PPD)

The attorneys of Faerber & Anderson, P.C., have successfully pursued workers’ compensation claims for all types of employees, including heavy equipment operators, operating engineers of the Local 520, telephone company employees, construction employees, office workers, sales workers, truck drivers and clerical staff.

One of the most important rights you have under Illinois workers’ compensation is the right to choose your own doctor. You do not have to go to the doctor that the employer or insurance company tries to send you to unless it is for an independent medical exam.

This right is not unlimited. You have the right to go to two different doctors and any health care provider that you are referred to by one of those doctors.

In addition to impacting your prognosis, the doctor you choose will be your most important witness in your case. So choose wisely. Contact our legal team for help in selecting the right treating physician.

While you are off work by doctor’s orders, you are entitled to TTD benefits, which are 66 2/3rds of your average weekly wage. Also, if the doctor puts restrictions on you, such as light duty, and the employer cannot provide work within those restrictions, you are also entitled to receive TTD benefits. Make sure you give all off-work slips or restricted work slips to your employer and keep a copy.

There are waiting periods that apply. In addition, correctly calculating the amount of your average weekly wage is extremely important, as it impacts the amount of your TTD benefits and your PPD settlement benefits.

Once you have reached maximum medical improvement, which means you are not going to get any better or any worse, you are probably ready to settle your case. The amount of settlement benefits you will receive is based on a formula that uses pre-determined numbers of how much different areas of the body are worth. For instance, the formula uses a maximum worth of 200 weeks for a leg injury. If you have a 10 percent permanent partial disability from a knee injury, your gross settlement value would be 20 weeks multiplied by your permanent partial disability rate, which is 60 percent of your average weekly wage, subject to applicable maximum rates.

The attorneys at Faerber & Anderson, P.C., can help obtain the best settlement possible under the facts of your case. Call us for a free consultation.

If your injury renders you permanently disabled from performing a highly paid or specialized job that you were previously able to perform, you might be entitled to some vocational rehabilitation or re-training. You might also be able to obtain wage differential benefits, which are a percentage of the difference between the wages you used to earn and the limited wages you are able to earn now.

Employees who are rendered totally disabled from all gainful employment as a result of a work injury may be entitled to permanent total disability. Permanent total disability entitles the employee to receive weekly benefits for life. The attorneys at Faerber & Anderson, P.C., can help convert these weekly benefits into a lump sum settlement. This can help a permanently and totally disabled person to use a lump sum of cash to start over, while at the same time preserving that person’s eligibility for some governmental benefits, like Social Security.