In Illinois, when an employee gets a work-related injury or an occupational disease and the impairment is work-related, the exclusive legal remedy. Many people do not know how a workers’ compensation claim begins or the options for review and appeal should the claim...
Rockford Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Blog
Illinois workers’ compensation: Misclassifying an employee as a contractor
Imagine the surprise of someone who has worked for an employer under the assumption they were employed in the following situation. The worker suffers an injury on the job, files a workers’ compensation claim and the “employer” refuses to pay the claim because they say...
Takeaways for claimants from a recent Illinois workers’ compensation case
In Gonzalez v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, a March 2020 case from the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, the court agreed with the Commission’s conclusion that the claimant, Hugo Gonzalez, had not proven by a preponderance of the evidence that...
SSDI and SSI: Social Security Administration responds to COVID-19
We recently posted here about the Social Security Administration (SSA) plan to hold administrative hearings before administrative law judges (ALJs) via the remote Internet video platform Microsoft Teams, beginning sometime this fall. As we discussed, in appeals for...
IL high court clarifies when injury arises out of job for workers’ comp
On Sept. 24, the Supreme Court of Illinois released its opinion in McAllister v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC), a case that elaborates on when an injury “arises out of” employment for purposes of workers’ compensation eligibility. The case...
Social Security Administration to start video ALJ hearings this fall
In response to the coronavirus, the Social Security Administration (SSA) shut its doors to walk-in services in mid-March, remaining open for business only via its website, telephone, mail and fax, and allowing in-person appointments with strict controls to prevent...
SSDI and SSI: What is a representative payee?
Anyone eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) meets the federal definition of disability – meaning that they have a severe physical or mental medical impairment or combination of impairments expected to last at...
When are disabled children in Illinois eligible for SSI?
We post here often about Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), a federal disability insurance program into which workers pay and earn coverage should they become disabled and unable to work. But for some who have not earned coverage or are otherwise ineligible,...
Illinois workers’ comp for work-related psychological injuries
People may think of work injuries and occupational diseases as strictly physical harm for purposes of eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits in Illinois. However, in three kinds of situations, mental or psychological injury is also compensable under Illinois...
Illinois workers’ compensation: Harm from workplace violence
Unfortunately, workplace violence is a reality of modern American life. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), it ranks as the third-leading cause of work-related deaths here in the United States. But what are the legal remedies for...
