Katz Friedman | Eisenstein Johnson Bareck Bertuca
FREE CONSULTATION 312-724-5846 | En Español
Katz Friedman Eisenstein Johnson Bareck Bertuca

FREE CONSULTATION | 312-724-5846

[nap_names id="FIRM-NAME-2"]

En Español

312-724-5846

​Experienced ILLINOIS Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
& CHICAGO Injury Lawyers

  1. Home
    2.  » 
  2. Practice Areas
    3.  » 
  3. Workers’ Compensation
    4.  » City of Chicago Workers’ Compensation Claims

City of Chicago Workers’ Compensation Claims

Workers’ Compensation Lawyers for Public Employees in Chicago

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act governs workers’ compensation claims within the state. You must have an employer-employee relationship with a company or entity in order to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation insurance coverage is necessary in almost every kind of job, even when the employer has just one employee. The City of Chicago is an employer under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. If you are a City employee of the and you are injured on the job, you can seek workers’ compensation benefits. The City is a large employer, and it is advisable to retain a seasoned Chicago workers’ compensation attorney if you plan to make a claim.

City of Chicago Workers’ Compensation Claims

Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (IWCA), an employee includes anybody in the service of the State of Illinois or another governmental entity. Section 2 provides that some employers can choose to provide compensation for work-related injuries or not to provide compensation at all. Workers’ compensation coverage starts for a new city employee the moment they are hired. There’s no waiting period.

Like some big businesses, the City of Chicago is self-insured. They don’t pay premiums to obtain workers’ compensation insurance but instead the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) has approved them to pay all claims directly. Self-insured companies must be financially secure and they can use either a workers’ compensation adjustor to handle claims internally or a third party administrator.

If you work for the City of Chicago, it’s important to notify your supervisor right away in writing if you suffer an injury on the job. You should include the date and time of the accident that produced your injury, and you should describe what happened. This written notice can be important to your case. Your injuries must be job-related in order for you to obtain workers’ compensation benefits, and your notice can provide crucial evidence of the circumstances of the harm you experienced.

Sometimes, injured public employees are denied workers’ compensation benefits. The City may argue that the injuries were suffered when your conduct violated City policy. It may argue that your injuries were incurred when you weren’t actually on the job. It may argue that your injuries were sustained when you were perpetrating a serious crime. It may even argue that your injuries were self-inflicted. A knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer can help you put forth a claim and seek to counter these kinds of arguments.

Benefits

A wide range of benefits are available through City of Chicago workers’ compensation claims. You may be able obtain medical benefits, lost wage differential, job retraining, disability benefits, disfigurement, and vocational rehabilitation. The benefits available to you will vary depending on the nature of your injuries. There are many different kinds of workers at the City of Chicago, including those who work in risky jobs, such as laborers in the sewer department, and those who work in more sedentary positions as secretaries or administrators.

Reasonable and necessary medical expenses may be covered under workers’ compensation when they are causally related to a workplace accident and they are determined to be necessary to the diagnosis, relief, or cure of your injury under section 8(a) of the IWCA. To obtain coverage, you’ll bear the burden of showing the services you accessed were necessary and the costs you incurred were reasonable. If the City disputes the reasonableness or necessity of your medical expenses, it will become a question of fact for the IWCC. The Commission’s decision won’t be overturned unless it is found to be against the manifest weight of the evidence. This is why it is wise to retain a workers’ compensation attorney to assist you in pursuing benefits.

If an employee of the City of Chicago dies on the job, his family may be entitled to death benefits. Death benefits can include funeral and burial benefits. Dependents who are eligible can receive a maximum of 2/3 of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage. Family members considered dependents who may be entitled to death benefits include a spouse, a minor child, a child under 25 who is enrolled full time at an accredited educational institution, and a child of any age who is mentally or physically incapacitated. When a worker doesn’t have a spouse or child, other family members can potentially qualify for benefits.

Workers’ Compensation Attorneys for City Employees in Chicago

If you have a City of Chicago workers’ compensation claim, experienced attorney can help you navigate the claims process. At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we represent injured workers in Quincy, Aurora, Rockford, and Champaign, as well as Winnebago, Adams, Kane, Sangamon, and Cook Counties. Contact us at 312-724-5846 or by completing our online form.