Workers’ Rights Lawyer Chicago

As an employee of someone else, you have rights that are designed to protect your safety and protect your earning capacity. If you’ve been injured on the job, the losses you suffer in the present can continue to affect you into the future, and working closely with an experienced workers’ rights lawyer in Chicago is in your best interest. 

Your Employer’s Workers’ Compensation Coverage

As an employee, you are covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation policy, which is designed to help balance your rights as an employee with your employer’s right to protect his or her business. The way this works is that negligence – or fault – is taken out of the dynamic and, except in extreme situations, doesn’t play a role in workers’ compensation claims. 

If you are injured on the job, you are covered and do not have to concern yourself with proving your employer’s negligence. Further, your employer does not have to concern himself or herself with defending the business against a lawsuit. Employees also enjoy the advantage of being covered from the day they start working for the employer in question (with no lengthy waiting periods). Along with this convenience, however, comes concessions on your part. 

Recovering on Your Incurred Losses

If you are injured on the job, you can seek compensation for your losses (or legal damages), but they are limited to the following:

• All the medical costs that are associated with your work-related injury (and that are determined to be necessary by the workers’ comp insurer)
• Your lost income on the job at a specific percentage of your actual earnings 

The concessions you make – relative to a personal injury claim that is based on negligence – are that you give up the right to seek damages for your pain and suffering and that workers’ compensation insurance is stricter about the medical costs it covers – in addition to only compensating you for a percentage of your wage drop. 

Protecting Your Workers’ Rights

Yes, you have rights as an employee, but you can count on the workers’ compensation company, which is profit-based, to pay out as little as it can get away with on your claim, which makes protecting it from the outset critical. All of the following can help:

• Even if you don’t think you were seriously injured in the accident in question, seek medical attention as soon as you are able to do so. Seemingly minor injuries can morph into far more threatening injuries and shouldn’t be ignored. 
• Follow your doctor’s instructions and advice carefully.
• Notify your boss, manager, or supervisor about the accident and your injuries as soon after it happens as possible. 
• Discuss your claims and concerns with a savvy workers’ rights lawyer early in the process.

You Need an Experienced Workers’ Rights Lawyer in Chicago on Your Side

The distinguished workers’ rights lawyers at Saks, Robinson & Rittenberg, Ltd., in Chicago use their impressive experience and legal insight to bolster their clients’ rights and protect their best interests. We’re on your side, so please don’t delay contacting us for more information today.