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Bloomington Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Injured workers in Illinois can receive compensation by filing a claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission. This statewide agency has hearing locations throughout the state, including a location at the Law & Justice Center at 104 W. Front Street in Bloomington. If you were injured on the job in Bloomington, or out of state but you work in Bloomington, your case would most likely be assigned to this location. This also applies for people who live/work in other cities in McLean County.

In Illinois, like most states, workers’ compensation cases are overseen by a state agency rather than the courts. So instead of filing a lawsuit, you file a claim with the Commission if you’re injured on the job. Illinois is a no-fault state when it comes to workers’ compensation, which means that you can receive benefits even if you were at fault in your injury. It also means that you can’t sue your employer if your injury was their fault. In the vast majority of cases, filing a claim is your only option.

Most work-related injuries are covered under workers’ comp. Back injuries are a common example. You should be eligible for benefits for an isolated back injury, as well as a repetitive stress injury. If you develop an illness because of your job, or if you have a condition that is made worse by your job, you should be eligible as well.

There are a variety of benefits available to injured workers in Illinois. The three main types are:

• Medical. Your medical bills should be covered 100%, so long as the expenses are reasonable and related to your work injury. There should be zero out-of-pocket expenses.
• Temporary Total Disability. If you are unable to work while you recover from your injury, or if your employer can’t accommodate your work restrictions, you can receive 2/3 of your average weekly wage during this time.
• Permanent Partial Disability. You can receive compensation for a permanent injury, which is a status determined by your doctor. If you can return to work but at a lesser paying position, you may be compensated for the difference.

Your first priority should be your health. Illinois workers’ compensation law allows injured workers to choose their own doctor. In some cases, you may be asked by the insurance company to attend an independent medical exam, or IME, which would be performed by a different doctor.

Another priority should be notifying your employer. In Illinois, you have 45 days to do this, or your claim could be denied. The time limit for filing a claim is longer – you have three years from the date of your injury to file a claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (although we recommend doing so right away). If you have received some benefits but not filed a claim, your deadline is two years from the date of your last payment. If you miss these deadlines, your case could be barred forever.

During a workers’ compensation case, you will be dealing with your employer’s insurance company rather than with your employer directly. This is one of the reasons we recommend hiring an experienced work injury attorney to represent you. The insurance company’s goal is to pay out as little as possible, so it’s a good idea to have someone on your side looking out for your best interests. In some cases, you may start receiving benefits right away without any problems. We still think you should file a claim and consult with an attorney to cover all your bases.

Workers’ compensation attorneys generally charge on a contingency basis. This means that if your attorney is able to get you benefits, you pay them a percentage of what you recover. Illinois limits contingency fees in workers’ compensation cases to 20%. In other words, if your attorney gets you $35,000, their fee would be $7,000. If you get nothing, you pay nothing.

We only recommend attorneys we know and would recommend to a family member or friend. These are experienced attorneys with track records of success in getting benefits for injured workers in Illinois. If you need help finding a workers’ compensation attorney in Bloomington, or elsewhere in Illinois, contact us. We’ll let you know who we think is the best attorney for your case.

Injuries that take place in the following cities are heard at the Bloomington status call:

Armington	Cropsey	Forrest	Livingston County (Pontiac)	Saybrook
Arrowsmith	Danvers	Goodfield	Mackinaw	Shirley
Bloomington	Deer Creek	Graymont	McLean	Sibley
Carlock	Downs	Gridley	McLean County (Bloomington)	Stanford
Chatsworth	El Paso	Heyworth	Merna	Strawn
Chenoa	Ellsworth	Holder	Normal	Towanda
Colfax	Fairbury	Hudson	Odell	Wapella
Congerville	Farmer City	Kappa	Pontiac	Weston
Cooksville	Flanagan	Lexinton	Saunemin

Findgreatlawyers.com helps with work injury cases throughout Illinois including Bloomington and other cities in and near McLean County. We help with all types of injuries including carpal tunnel, RSD, back injuries, knee, neck, shoulder and general repetitive trauma. See for yourself why access to our service is like having a lawyer in the family.