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Serious injuries can have a long-lasting or permanent impact on a person’s life, and in some cases, they can affect a person’s ability to work. Fortunately, those who suffer these types of injuries while on the job have the right to receive workers’ compensation that will cover the costs of their immediate and ongoing medical care and provide disability benefits to address their loss of income. For those who have suffered injuries that will permanently affect their health and well-being and their ability to work, different types of permanent disability benefits are available. Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits will cover situations where a person is able to return to work, but their injuries have limited the income they are able to earn or have permanently damaged parts of their body.
Serious injuries can occur in multiple different types of situations, ranging from car accidents to construction accidents or slip-and-fall accidents, and much more. While many injuries are evident at the time that an accident took place, others may not always be immediately obvious. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often fall into the latter category, and the symptoms of these injuries may not become evident until days, weeks, or even months after the original incident. However, brain injuries can affect a person’s health and well-being for years, and in some cases, they can even lead to permanent impairment. Victims of these types of injuries should be sure to understand how they have been affected and how they can pursue compensation that will address the harm they have suffered.
UPDATE: Defective medical devices continue to affect many patients in the United States, and hundreds of products are recalled each year because they present safety issues. Some types of medical products that have caused injuries to patients in recent years include:
Alcohol and driving do not mix well, and every driver learns about the dangers of drunk driving and the consequences they can face if they are arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). However, in addition to alcohol, there are many other substances that can affect a person’s ability to drive safely. When drivers cause car accidents due to intoxication by legal or illegal drugs, victims may be able to hold them liable for their negligence.
In Illinois, as in most other states, a driver may be charged with DUI if they have a blood alcohol content (BAC) above the legal limit of .08%. While marijuana has been legalized in the state for adults over the age of 21, DUI charges may also apply if a test finds that a driver had at least five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood or 10 nanograms of THC per milliliter of a substance such as saliva or urine.
For those who are injured while on the job, workers’ compensation benefits can be crucial. Medical benefits will cover the costs of all treatment related to an employee’s injury, and wage benefits will provide compensation for the loss of income due to a temporary or permanent disability. However, even though employees are eligible to receive these benefits following any work-related injuries, whether they or their employer were at fault, some employers or their insurance companies deny workers’ comp claims. This can cause a great deal of financial difficulty for a person, since they may be unable to pay their medical expenses, especially if they are unable to work while recovering from their injury. Fortunately, employees who have been denied benefits can file a claim through the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) and take steps to receive the benefits they deserve.
Construction sites can be dangerous places due to the use of large, heavy equipment and materials and multiple people performing different tasks at once. When working in one of these areas, it is important to follow the proper safety procedures. However, even if employers and workers take precautions, construction accidents can still occur due to defective tools or equipment. People who have been injured because these types of items did not function properly may be able to pursue a product liability lawsuit against a manufacturer or a company that did not follow the correct practices when performing maintenance.
While any tool that fails can present hazards, some types of tools are more likely to cause serious injuries when they malfunction. These include:
When you visit a doctor, you expect them to properly evaluate your physical condition, listen to your concerns, and determine the best course of treatment to address any issues that affect you. However, if a doctor does not properly assess your condition and identify diseases or other issues that may impact your health and well-being, you may not be able to receive the proper treatment within the right amount of time. In some cases, doctors may misdiagnose a condition, or they may not make the correct diagnosis in time to provide the necessary treatment. This form of medical malpractice is much more prevalent than many people would expect; around 12 million people are misdiagnosed every year in the United States, and one out of every three cases involving misdiagnosis result in serious injuries or wrongful death.
Over the past decade, Amazon has skyrocketed from a small online forum for third-party vendors to the nation’s largest online retailer. Their cardboard boxes adorned with a smile-shaped arrow are delivered to billions of houses across the world on a daily basis. Consumers typically turn to Amazon as a one-stop-shop that offers cheaper products and quick shipping. With the high volume of packages that are delivered each day, some of the products are bound to be faulty—even Amazon can’t be perfect. But what happens when these quick-shipped, defective products lead to serious injuries? Will Amazon take the blame or leave you empty-handed?
One woman's battle with Amazon began back in 2016 when her recently purchased laptop battery exploded and left her with third-degree burns on her arms, legs, and feet as well as damaging her San Diego apartment. In the five years since the incident, the victim has had skin graft surgery to repair the scars that the $12.30 replacement battery left behind, and pursued a product liability case to hold Amazon accountable. The woman is not the first, and certainly not the last, person to be injured by products sold by the global enterprise. However, a California state appeals court ruled that Amazon can be held liable for defective products sold on their site this past August.
When employees suffer work-related injuries, they are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Injuries can occur in workplace accidents, employees may experience repetitive stress injuries due to the activities they perform while working, or they may contract illnesses after being exposed to toxic substances or infectious diseases in the workplace. The costs of medical treatment for work-related injuries will be fully covered by workers’ comp, but employees should be sure to understand their rights and the procedures that should be followed to receive medical benefits.
An employer’s workers’ compensation insurer will be required to pay all costs related to medical treatment that is needed to address the effects of a work-related injury. This includes any immediate or emergency medical care, as well as treatment that will address the ongoing effects of an injury and restore a person to their condition before being injured, or as close to that condition as possible. Covered treatment may include:
Commercial trucks are large, heavy vehicles that contain multiple types of complicated equipment. Trucks should be properly maintained at all times, since the failure of any of these systems can cause a driver to lose control of their vehicle, leading to dangerous truck accidents that are likely to cause serious injuries to people in other vehicles. Following this type of accident, victims will want to determine whether a truck driver, trucking company or other parties were responsible for equipment failure due to inadequate maintenance.
Before and during a trip, a truck driver should inspect their vehicle and identify any issues that need to be addressed. Regular maintenance should also be performed to ensure that all systems are working properly. Some maintenance issues that can lead to truck accidents include:
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2114 Deerpath Road, Aurora, IL 60506 630-907-0909
