Getting hurt on the job is frustrating. A Peoria worker may feel as though steps were missed in keeping them safe as they performed the duties of their employment or that the cause of their harm could have been prevented. Regardless of how they ended up with a work-related injury, that individual may miss time on the job and the pay that accompanies putting in the time at their place of employment.
Steps to take after a work-related injury
When Illinois workers suffer injuries while on the job the harm they experience can be devastating. As they recuperate from their injuries they may find themselves unable to work and they may discover that the bills they have incurred from seeking treatment for their ailments are more than they can financially manage. As they regain their capacity to work they may wonder what options they have regarding the recovery of their losses from their employers.
Illinois workplace safety could be improved
In Illinois, workers are hurt and killed while on the job every year. Whether it's in a warehouse, a heavy manufacturing facility or a healthcare setting - or any workplace - safety is crucial for all people who are on the job. Although Illinois workers see some of the lowest workplace fatality rates in the United States, there is still much that can be done to improve overall safety for workers in the state. Those who are injured can rely on workers' compensation for medical and financial assistance.
Supreme Court rules against workers' compensation insurers
Illinois does not have a workers' compensation fund -- at least not in the sense that it compensates with insurers to offer coverage to employers required to carry workers' compensation insurance. Nationally, about half the states have funds that will pay workers' compensation benefits when an employee is injured on the job. In four jurisdictions, the state is the sole provider of workers' compensation insurance. In the rest of the fund states, the state fund compensates with private insurers, ostensibly keeping premiums reasonable across the board.
Failed a drug test? You can still get workers’ compensation.
Drug tests are common after injuries at the workplace. If you fail a drug test, the thinking goes, then that was clearly the reason for the injury, which insurance companies in Illinois may use to automatically deny your workers’ compensation claim. However, these cases are still winnable, based on a few factors.
Illinois workplace accidents, fatalities should be preventable
After several years with a workplace fatality rate consistently near the national average, Illinois' rate of work place fatalities has fallen since 2013 from 3.1 deaths per 100,000 workers to 2.9 deaths per 100,000 workers - third lowest in the nation. This puts Illinois well ahead of the national workplace fatality rate of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 workers. Illinois' rate has not been reflected by the national level - where the on-the-job death rate has remained between 3.5 and 4 fatalities per 100,000 workers since 2007 - since 2010 when the rate spiked to 3.7 and matched the national levels.
