Conclusions from Recent Study about Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claims
A recent article in Risk & Insurance Magazine details a 2008 study by the Worker’s Compensation Research Institute, which showed that workers injured on the job in Illinois were more likely to receive a lump-sum payment than workers who suffered similar injuries in other states.
Another interesting finding was that, when compared to other states, Illinois had a higher rate of attorney involvement on the defense side—in other words, attorneys seeking to defend employers and insurance companies against workers’ compensation claims. The study showed that once defense attorneys became involved in a case, the course of the case through the Illinois workers’ compensation dispute resolution process became more “routine”—and the payment per claim in such cases was substantially lower than in similar cases in other states.
If you are considering filing a workers’ compensation claim in Illinois, or if you’ve already begun the claim process and a defense attorney has become involved in the case, you owe it to yourself to consult and possibly hire an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to represent you. Such an attorney would understand the workers’ compensation rules, know the outcomes of cases that may be similar to yours, and provide the negotiation and argumentation skills required in this process. For example, a lump-sum payment may not be the best option in your particular situation; if you are not sure about the relative advantages and disadvantages of lump-sum payments as compared to structured settlements, you should discuss that issue with a workers’ compensation attorney.
Most workers’ compensation claims end in a settlement, rather than in contested hearings; the real question is how to reach a settlement that will truly reflect the extent of your injuries, and cover all your medical bills.
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