Legal Question in Workers Comp in Illinois
Confused...
3 years ago husband severly broke leg at work..surgeon said one of worst ever..had surgery, had plate and 13 screws inserted..2 years later they had to remove it due to the fact that he is get arthritis..he is back at work, he is limited to what he can do, walks with a permanent limp, doctor says he will only get progressively worse (he is 45yo) and it completely wipes him out after 8 hours of work. We gave the insurance company a number, they did not counter. After 6 months they say they do not want to make a counter. So atty says we have to go to trial, which would be open medical and a % for permanent partial disability. Our atty doesn't seem to explain anything to us so that we can understand it. How much $$ are we talking? It just seems like we hear of all of these people getting tons of money. We are not wanting to become rich, but we are looking to invest for the future that he may not be working. Can we ask for a jury trial instead of a bench trial? We are very disheartened about this whole process. It has completely changed our lives. Husband can only walk for so long before he is in complete pain, and vicadine does not help.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Confused...
I think you need to sit down with your attorney.
There is a lot of miscommunication here.
No one can provide you with all of these answers with one short paragraph.
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If you husband has returned to work at his old occupation, and wage, then you are limited in recovering for your permanent injury based upon a percentage loss of his leg or foot/ankle.
Depending on the date of the accident, a foot is worth a maximum of 167 weeks of pay (at the rate of 60% of your AWW)and a leg is 215 weeks of pay (at the 60% rate).
so for simplicity - his average weekly wage is $1000. 60% of that amount is $600.
50% of a leg is 107.50 weeks of pay.
107.5 weeks at $600 per week is $64,500.
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If he did NOT return to his old occupation then they would have pay him a wage differential not a percentage of permanency.
In that case, the amount of money would most likely be higher - the insurance company would have to pay him 2/3 of the difference between the new wage and the amount of money your husband WOULD HAVE made if the accident never happened.
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Your next question about "bench/jury trials" indicates to me that you have been explained nothing about your situation.
There is no bench trial and no jury trial. That is for a lawsuit.
You have a workers compensation claim. There is a hearing before an arbitrator - which is significantly different in procedure and result.
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Again, I would suggest that you call your lawyer and set up an appointment to discuss your case. That is the only way to answer your questions completely and accurately.
Good luck,
Matt Belcher
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