From comparatively minor muscle strains and ligament tears to life-altering bone fractures and amputations, suffering any kind of leg injury at work can interfere with your professional and personal life. Fortunately, both minor and major injuries of this nature can serve as grounds for workers’ compensation claims, provided you can prove the injury occurred while performing work-related tasks.
Knowing you are eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim is quite different from successfully achieving a favorable outcome. An experienced workplace injury attorney could explain the claims process and ensure you feel confident while pursuing compensation. If you want a fair chance at receiving the benefits you need, consider contacting a Waukegan workplace leg injury lawyer as soon as possible after your injury.
For both practical and legal reasons, seeking medical treatment from a licensed medical professional should be your top priority after sustaining a work-related leg injury. This will ensure the injury is stabilized and does not cause further damage while also producing formal medical documentation that could serve as vital evidence in an ensuing workers’ compensation claim.
To receive compensation, you must also notify your employer in writing within 45 days of sustaining your injury and file a claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) within three years of the accident. A seasoned work-related leg injury attorney in Waukegan could help you complete these steps promptly and provide crucial guidance through every stage of the claims process.
In addition to reimbursement for all reasonably necessary medical expenses stemming from a work-related leg injury, workers’ compensation can also provide disability benefits to make up for lost work wages caused by your injury. Temporary disability benefits are typically valued at two-thirds of your weekly wages or salary prior to getting injured, and they become available once you have missed at least three days of work due to your injury. The first three days’ lost wages are retroactively eligible for benefits if you miss at least 14 days of work in total.
If the damage to your leg is severe, a lawyer could argue you are permanently unable to work, even after the injury has healed to the fullest extent medically possible. In such cases, temporary disability benefits can sometimes be converted to permanent disability benefits. The value of these benefits will vary depending on the disability rating you receive from the IWCC, which a qualified Waukegan work accident leg injury attorney could explain in more detail during an initial consultation.
Becoming injured due to a workplace accident can be immensely inconvenient and, in severe cases, life-changing. You may be able to receive help covering related financial losses through your employer’s workers’ compensation coverage if you can effectively construct and file a strong workers’ compensation claim.
Assistance from an experienced and bilingual Waukegan workplace leg injury lawyer could dramatically increase your chances of securing a positive case result and getting the compensation you need. Learn more by calling Schlack & Bassmaji today.
