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Illinois Workers’ Compensation

The Three Major Benefits for Illinois Injured Workers under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law

Question: What are the three major benefits for an injured worker under Illinois Workers’ Compensation law?

The First Major Benefit under Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law: The first Major Benefit under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act is medical treatment paid for by the employer/workers’ compensation insurance company 820 ILCS 305/8(a). Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, an injured worker has the right by law to choose two medical providers and the referrals from each of these two chosen providers. The law states that:

  1. The employer shall pay for medical services for the employee’s First choice of medical provider and any provider in this chain of referrals from this first choice provider. 820 ILCS 305/8(a)(2)  
  2. The Employer shall pay for medical services for the employee’s Second choice of medical provider and any provider in this chain of referrals from this second choice of provider. 820 ILCS 305/8(a)(3)

The Second Major Benefit under Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law: The second major benefit under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation law is temporary total disability (TTD) 820 ILCS 305/8(b)

The Third Major Benefit under Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law: The third major benefit under Illinois Workers’ Compensation law is typically a lump sum settlement to compensate the injured worker for the permanent disability they suffer from the work injury. 

Three Major Workers’ Compensation Benefits under Missouri Workers’ Compensation Law

Missouri Workers’ Compensation Benefits:

The Three Major Benefits under Missouri Workers’ Compensation are the following:

  1. Authorized medical treatment paid for by the employer/insurer. In Missouri, the medical provider is chosen by employer/insurer, which is called authorized medical treatment. Authorized medical treatment is explained in Missouri law in the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) Section 287.140
  2. Temporary Total Disability (TTD): This is a check that you get each week you are off work because of the work injury. TTD checks are equal to two-thirds of your gross average weekly wage (AWW). Temporary total disability is explained in RSMo Section 287.170
  3. Typically a lump sum settlement or a lump sum awarded to you by the trial judge to compensate you for the permanent disability you suffered due to the work injury. See Code of State Regulations (CSR) under 8 CSR 50-1.010 et seq.

Common Problems and Issues for Injured Workers in Missouri Workers’ Compensation Cases:

Employers and workers’ compensation insurance companies often pay injured workers a lower, incorrect amount of temporary total disability (TTD) and under settle cases with injured workers who are not represented by a workers’ compensation attorney. Employers will often terminate medical treatment when it become too expensive despite the fact that you are not finished with medical treatment and require further surgery or evaluation.

Please call our office immediately to discuss your rights and benefits under Missouri law and to protect you from these common Missouri workers’ compensation issues.

Steven A. Edelman, Attorney