Sometimes our good health does not last forever. For example, a person in their middle age may develop type 2 diabetes, the complications of which may make it impossible to work. This can be a devastating blow not only to their health, but also to their pocketbook....
Many jobs involve repetitive use of the hands or arms. This upper limb overuse can cause repetitive stress (or strain) injuries (RSI), which can range in severity from mild to debilitating. When a work-related RSI like carpal tunnel syndrome prevents work altogether...
As we find our way through the myriad of challenges imposed by COVID-19, Illinois faces an unresolved workers’ compensation issue – how to determine eligibility for first responders and essential workers who contract the coronavirus. Arising out of and in the course...
Now that it is spring, it will become more common to see roofers at elevated heights on new construction or on established buildings needing roofing services. Obviously, roofing is an inherently dangerous occupation. State and federal work safety laws require Illinois...
On April 27, a revised Social Security regulation will take effect that will remove a person's limited English proficiency (LEP) from consideration as a factor in disability claims for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)....
Illinois has a prominent position within the Midwest farm belt, with high production of corn, soybeans, wheat, rye, oats and sorghum. With such high grain yields, farm and agricultural employees who work with grain are at risk of serious injury and even death from...
Since 1978, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has taken what you might say is a whole-person view of when someone is disabled from working for purposes of eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - at...
On Dec. 17, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), part of the Department of Labor, issued a news release about 2018 government data detailing aspects of on-the-job work fatalities that year. According to the agency, there were 5,250 work-related deaths in 2018 -...
Anyone who has experienced anxiety that has risen to the level of a medical disorder knows that its not "just stress." Our society has come a long way in understanding and recognizing that anxiety can be a medical condition with severe symptoms and a...
Across America, fancy countertops are all the rage. Tragically, some of the workers who cut these slabs of granite, marble and engineered stone are getting silicosis, a lung disease from inhaling crystalline silica dust generated during the cutting, shaping, grinding...
