Legal Question in Workers Comp in Illinois
maximum amount
This might sound like a stupid question but here it goes. I am wondering if a person is declared total permanent. How much can a person expect to get. Using say the ODD LOT doctrine? Or lets say the wage differential process? So lets see if they say with w/d your a total loss. Then they pay you your TTD minus 60% of what your able to make say $300.00 new job which is $700.00 minus 60% which is $420.00 per week for life is this right? And the other is ODD LOT do they pay you the $1000.00 per week for life? And possibly settle with you with a life expectancy award say I am 50 then I have 27 years L/E left. Is it reasonable to believe that a person could get $1.296 million minus say 8% discount rate? $1.192 million. I see on here that there is something that says that it cannot be more than the max. PPD rate. Are they saying that all a person can get is 500 weeks times $600.00 PPD rate. If thats the case then a person cannot get more than $300,000.00 from w/c is this correct? You can ask these lawyers these questions but they saty clear of these kinds of questions and I dont know why? I have (3) w/c doctors saying that I cannot return to my pipe fitters job and 2 of them are saying cannot return to any kind of work at all. Thanks All
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: maximum amount
It is not a stupid question.
It is however a complicated one.
There is a maximum rate that can be paid but there is no "cap" or "max" amount you can collect...
A "permanent total" is best thought of as a person who cannot do ANY job. "Odd Lot" permanent total means that due to his injury and the vagaries of the job market for that person's skills and abilities, the injured worker is ESSENTIALLY unable to do any job.
If you cannot return to work and you are a permanent total, or an odd-lot permanent total, then you are to be paid weekly PTD payments(probably the max. rate) for the rest of your life.
If you cannot return to your prior occupation, but are not "permanently and totally disabled" then you are entitled to vocational rehabilitation.
After the rehabilitation, if you are placed in a job where you earn less than you would have earned as a pipefitter, than you are entitled to be paid 2/3rds of that wage difference for the rest of your life. Which is commonly called a "wage differential".
If you have a lawyer who is well versed in workers compensation, you can negotiate that you get paid all of those benefits at one time - taking into consideration the "time-value of money".
I would strongly suggest that you make an appointment with two or three lawyers and ask all of the questions in person.
Hiring a lawyer is an important decision that should be well thought out.
Beware of people who do not listen to your question and just tell you how much money someone else got...when the chips are down, you need an attorney who listens to your concerns, answers your questions and knows the law!
Good luck,
Matt Belcher
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