If you are hurt on the job, it is your employer who, by law, must bear the burden of covering the cost for your injuries. However, it is important that injured workers know the law in order to receive the workers’ compensation benefits to which they are entitled.  

The steps below will greatly increase the chances of a successful outcome of a workplace-related injury claim.

1. Upon sustaining the injury, an employee must give notification of the accident to someone in a supervisory capacity within 45 days of the accident. Although the law provides for 45 days to report the accident, it is best to give notice of the accident to a supervisor as soon as possible.
2. Notice can be given to a supervisor either orally or in writing. Many companies require the injured person to complete an accident report form. The form should be filled out before the employee signs it, and he or she should retain a copy of the completed accident report.
3. After an on-the-job injury, the injured employee must file an Application for Adjustment of Claim form with the Illinois Industrial Commission within three years of the date of accident or within two years from the last payment of weekly benefits – whichever is later. If the Application for Adjustment of Claim form is not filed with the Illinois Industrial Commission within the time specified, the injured person loses all the rights and benefits.  
4. After reporting an on-the-job injury to a supervisor, the injured worker may be contacted by the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier requesting a statement detailing the circumstances of the accident. However, state law does not require the worker to give a statement in order to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Any statement can be used against the employee by the insurance company to dispute the claim for benefits.

A worker who sustains a work-related injury to a previously injured part of his or her body, regardless of whether the previous injury was work-related, is not barred from recovery under the law. Similarly, a worker who sustains an injury that aggravates or accelerates a pre-existing physical condition such as arthritis, is still entitled to all the rights and benefits provided by the law.

Injured workers who can no longer perform their usual trade or profession and must accept a lower paying position, could be entitled to benefits equal to two-thirds of the difference between the average gross weekly wage earned before the accident and the wage they are earning after the accident.

Injured workers who are unable to return to any type of gainful employment would be considered totally and permanently disabled and are entitled to weekly benefits for life or until such time as they are capable of returning to some type of gainful employment.

Note: This information was prepared as a public service by the Illinois State Bar Association and is a joint project with the Illinois Press Association. Its purpose is to inform citizens of their legal rights and obligations.