Workers’ Compensation Injuries Can Be Disfiguring

The types of injuries a person can suffer in the workplace can span from repetitive trauma injuries to back injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries and more. However, some of the most severe injuries a person in Illinois can suffer from are injuries that cause disfigurement. It is important for workers to know when a person can seek workers’ compensation for disfiguring injuries suffered in the workplace.

Section 8(c) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act addresses disfiguring injuries. Per the Illinois Supreme Court, a disfiguring injury is one that disturbs the worker’s bodily beauty and symmetry. Unlike other types of workers’ compensation injuries, injuries involving disfigurements are not permitted to be settled or arbitrated until the disfigurement has lasted at least six months.

To succeed, the arbitrator must determine that the disfigurement caused by the workplace injury is both serious and permanent. The disfigurement is permanent if it lasts at least six months following the date the injury-causing incident occurred. The injury is serious if it can be seen from four to six feet under normal office lighting. If the disfigurement is in the form of the scar, the scar must be in a compensable area of the body.

At our firm, we represent workers who have suffered a variety of workplace injuries, including disfiguring injuries. These types of injuries can be very distressing, and they could require ongoing medical care and time away from work while the person recovers. This can cause a lot of financial strain on a person, which is why obtaining workers’ compensation benefits is so important. Our firm’s webpage on workers’ compensation injuries may be of use to those who want to learn more about workplace injuries.