How to Win a Worker’s Compensation Claim in Illinois - Your 3 Basic Rights: The injured worker's guide to temporary total disability and medical benefits in Illinois

Book excerpt: Know your rights! Illinois workers have a powerful set of rights protecting them if they get injured. But you need to understand those rights in order to protect them. Author Mark Weissburg has won millions of dollars for injured workers, and now he reveals the secrets of winning these cases to you. In this abridged version of the full book you'll learn: The 3 basic rights you have under the Workers' Compensation Act. The insurance company has their handbook and their attorney. Who have you got in your corner? Benefit from the advice of an experienced attorney, protect your rights, and get the benefits you deserve. This abridged version is based on the Second Edition with changes to the law made in 2011 that have a significant impact on workers' rights. Introduction:Josie has been working hard all morning, and now she’s heading to the employee lunchroom for a break. She notices that her left knee is a little sore, and wonders if it’s from her early morning jog before work. In the lunchroom, she walks to the water cooler and slips on the floor, falling hard on her knee. It was sore, but now it’s incredibly painful. She tries to stand on it, but can’t, and it’s swelling up.Should Josie tell her supervisor what happened? Should she see her own doctor or the company doctor? Could she successfully file a claim for Workers’ Compensation benefits? How? Does it matter that she was on her lunch break? Does it make a difference that her knee was already sore before she fell? Does it matter what kind of shoes she was wearing, how old the floor is, or what day of the week it is?In an ideal world, Josie would be able to get her Workers’ Compensation benefits, get healthy, and get back to work. But there are several potential problems with her claim, and depending on how she deals with those problems, she may or may not get benefits. What should she know, what should she do, to smooth the road ahead. This book will answer those and many other questions. You’ll learn the 3 basic rights all Illinois workers have if they are injured at work. About the author: After working in film and video production for five years, Mark Weissburg studied law at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where he served on the editorial board of the law review and graduated in 1995 with honors.Since then, he has been practicing law with a focus on the rights of injured workers. He has helped thousands of injured people get the benefits they are entitled to. His areas of expertise include Workers' Compensation law, Medicare subrogation rights and set aside arrangements, and disability benefits law. He has also taught at The John Marshall Law School as an adjunct law professor.Mark Weissburg is a partner with Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates representing clients throughout the Chicago area.