Workers Comp Lawyer

While carrying a roll of visqueen down a ladder, claimant slipped on the bottom step.  He did not fall, but his body twisted in an awkward manner.

Six years prior to this accident, claimant sustained a herniated disk in his low back for which he had surgery.  Afterward, he returned to work as a finisher.  However, this new accident aggravated the prior back problems with the onset of pain.  No new surgery was recommended, and testing revealed that claimant could return to work with restrictions to stay within medium work levels.  Even with those capabilities, claimant was not able to perform the requirements of his job as a union cement finisher.

This implicated the “wage-differential” provisions of the Workers Compensation Act.  Those sections of law allow an employee to recover compensation for two-thirds of the difference between his regular occupation and a suitable post-accident job.  If a person receives a wage-differential award at trial, the benefits are paid weekly.  However, since many claimants prefer a lump sum instead of weekly payments, if may be possible to negotiate a compromise lump sum settlement. 

“In this case, we were able to negotiate a lump-sum settlement of $225,000” according to claimant’s lawyer, Douglas Rallo, of Libertyville.  “This was after getting our client $48,000 in weekly TTD benefits and full payment of his accident related medical expenses”.