Three Types of Benefits That Workers’ Compensation Provides
Getting injured at work can be a scary experience. Not only are you suffering a physical injury, but you are also probably worried about how you will pay your bills if you cannot work. Thankfully, all employers are required to have what is called workers’ compensation insurance, which is insurance designed to help workers who are injured on the job. In Illinois, workers’ compensation is required to provide three types of benefits to injured workers: medical benefits, disability benefits, and death benefits. These different types of benefits can greatly help employees and their families if an accident does happen.
Medical Benefits
The first and most basic benefit that is provided by workers’ compensation is medical benefits. If you are injured while you are at work, your employer is required to pay for all of the medical expenses relating to your injury. Expenses that are covered can include:
- First aid;
- Emergency care, such as ER costs and ambulance rides;
- Doctor visits;
- Hospital care;
- Surgery;
- Physical therapy;
- Chiropractic treatment;
- Prosthetics;
- Prescription medications; and
- Medical appliances.
If your injury results in a permanent disability, the cost of devices, such as a wheelchair or wheelchair ramp, may be covered as well.
Disability Benefits
These types of benefits can come in many different forms. Disability benefits will be awarded to you based on whether you are fully or partially disabled, and whether you are temporarily or permanently disabled. If you are unable to return to work after your injury or are not able to return to the same type of work you were doing, you will most likely be eligible for disability benefits. Disability benefits are subject to minimum and maximum weekly payments that are set by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and payments are calculated using your current salary, though the method differs depending on which type of disability you are on. The four types of disability benefits include:
- Temporary total disability (TTD);
- Temporary partial disability (TPD);
- Permanent partial disability (PPD); and
- Permanent total disability (PTD).
Death Benefits
In the unfortunate event that you or a loved one is killed while on the job, workers’ compensation provides for death benefits to be paid to the family of the employee. Part of the death benefit includes a burial or funeral benefit, which in Illinois, is $8,000 to be put toward the cost of the funeral. Survivors, including the spouse of the employee, and any children of the employee, are entitled to payments that are equal to two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage.
Get in Touch With a Kane County Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed on the job, you should get help from an experienced Aurora workers’ compensation attorney. When you put your case in the care of Kinnally Flaherty Krentz Loran Hodge & Masur P.C., you can be sure that your fate is in good hands. Contact the office today by calling 630-907-0909 to set up a consultation.
Sources:
https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/iwcc/Documents/handbook.pdf
https://www.insurancejournal.com/blogs/academy-journal/2015/03/23/360655.htm
