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Warehouse workers at Amazon face similar hazards to workers in any other warehouse. However, according to one study, Amazon workers get injured more than twice as many times as workers in other warehouse jobs. In 2021, there were more than 34,000 serious injuries to employees while on the job at Amazon facilities. Among all warehouse workers in the United States, Amazon employees make up roughly one-third of these workers, but nearly half of all injuries (49%)  happened at Amazon facilities.
Like any personal injury lawsuit, you’ll first need to prove that another person or business entity is responsible for your injuries and was negligent. Where a case becomes more complicated for a self-employed person is in the calculation of lost wages. If you work for someone else, either as an hourly or salaried employee, it is rather straightforward to calculate how many hours or days of work you lost due to your injuries and provide a letter stating what regular compensation and bonuses, commissions, or other forms of compensation you missed out on. You can also include any sick, vacation, or bonus days you had to use during your hospitalization and recovery. If you are self-employed, the process becomes more complicated.
If you’ve been injured on the job, you’ll need to file a claim first with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. In Illinois, you’re allowed to select your own doctor to treat workers’ comp injuries. This is so that you have a better chance of securing a physician who has your recovery and best interests in mind, rather than one who has a vested interest in the insurance company’s profits.  You will, however, need to secure a doctor who accepts workers’ comp insurance, so make sure you let them know upfront that you were injured on the job, and it will be the company’s insurance policy paying. The doctor will need to know this information ahead of time because the insurer will certainly require the doctor to obtain authorization before performing certain treatments or tests.
If you were injured in a trucking accident in Chicago, Berwyn, Oak Lawn, Cicero, or a nearby community, call the injury attorneys at Lloyd Miller Law for a free consultation.

Call: 773-838-8100

When You Have a Workers’ Compensation Claim and a Personal Injury Claim

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Sad disabled woman claiming on phone

The attorneys at Grazian and Volpe has dedicated their practice to both workers’ compensation and personal injury law for over 25 years. The coordination of these practices has allowed us to maximize settlement recoveries and negotiate minimum liens on all cases. Please join us on Facebook and on WCIU, You and Me in the Morning for more information on how you can assure maximum recovery whether you are a lawyer or client.

Personal injury attorneys and workers’ compensation lawyers should be aware of the potential pitfalls created by the existence of both causes of actions resulting from a single accident. Careful coordination of the workers’ compensation and third-party personal injury claims will often result in increased net recovery for the catastrophically injured client. Lawyers should have a working knowledge of their state’s workers’ compensation subrogation law-although this area of law is primarily statutory and varies widely from state to state, the strategies for getting a workers’ comp carrier to reduce its lien are the same in most jurisdictions.

There is a growing state trend to terminate future workers’ comp benefits if the worker fails to obtain the employer’s consent to the third-party settlement. Where the client will need lifetime medical treatment a lawyer needs to obtain the workers’ comp carrier’s consent and waiver of termination of future benefits before accepting the third-party settlement proceeds. While this situation is most prevalent when the third party has state minimum insurance limits-lawyers should be cognizant of this trend in all cases.

About the Author

Kurt D. Lloyd is a plaintiff’s trial lawyer who focuses on medical malpractice and other catastrophic injury cases. He lives in Chicago and represents injured clients throughout Illinois. He is also the founder of Lloyd Law Group, Ltd.

Chicago accident lawyer Kurt D. Lloyd