Start the Workers’ Compensation Process on The Right Foot

While some jobs, like working in the manufacturing or construction industries, present inherent dangers, the fact of the matter is that just about anyone in Illinois can be injured on the job. For example, a worker who strains to lift a heavy box could injure their back. Or, a person who types at a computer all day every day could develop a repetitive stress injury.

Under Illinois law, if a worker is injured on-the-job, he or she has 45 days from the time the incident occurred to report any injuries. While oral reports are permissible, a written report may be the better choice, as a person can make a copy of the report that they can keep for themselves. The 45-day time limit applies to both one-time injuries as well as repetitive stress injuries. For repetitive stress injuries, one must make the report within 45 days starting from when the injury appeared.

While this may seem relatively straightforward, it is only one step that must be taken to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. In fact, there are other requirements that a worker may need to fulfill. Understanding what to do to receive workers’ comp can be confusing, especially if you have never been injured on-the-job before. Missing any crucial step could lengthen the time it takes to receive benefits, or even result in an outright denial of benefits, necessitating an appeal. Obviously, this is an outcome injured workers will want to avoid.

At our firm we understand that sometimes there are roadblocks in the road towards receiving workers’ compensation benefits, and sometimes the entire process can be intimidating. We believe in helping those injured on-the-job as they pursue the benefits they need to make ends meet financially, so they can focus on recovery. Reporting your on-the-job injury is just one step in to take. Some may find our webpage on reporting workers’ compensation benefits to be informational as they begin their journey through the workers’ compensation process.