You may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if you have been injured while performing your employment duties. The Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers with Parente & Norem will discuss your situation and help you determine if you are eligible for these benefits.
Workers’ compensation is different from a personal injury lawsuit. Workers’ compensation is an administrative procedure involving the state, the workers’ compensation lawyers representing the injured employee, the injured employee, and the employer and the employer’s legal representative. Because this is an administrative procedure as opposed to litigation, the rules governing a workers’ compensation case differ greatly from that of a personal injury lawsuit.
Usually, employees who are injured on the job cannot choose between applying for workers’ compensation and initiating a personal injury lawsuit. The injured employee must apply for workers’ compensation to receive monetary compensation for his or her injury. Further, the amount of money received is dictated by statute, as opposed to being decided upon by a judge or jury as in the case of a personal injury lawsuit.
A benefit to the employee that workers’ compensation offers is that employees who are eligible for workers’ compensation do not need to prove negligence or fault on the part of their employer in order to be awarded monetary compensation. Because the employee does not have to prove negligence or fault, the time involved to finalize a workers’ compensation procedure is typically significantly less than with a personal injury lawsuit.
Not all employees are eligible for workers’ compensation. For example, some state and federal government employees may be exempt from workers’ compensation benefits. Further, not all workplace injuries are covered by workers’ compensation. With Parente & Norem in Chicago, our workers’ compensation lawyers have several years of experience with the workers’ compensation system.
If you have been injured in conjunction with your job, even if you were not on your employer’s property at the time of the injury, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. Contact our Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers at Parente & Norem to schedule a free case evaluation.