Scope of Coverage for Illinois Workers' Compensation: Illinois Personal Injury Attorney - YouTube

So is everyone covered by workers compensation firstly everybody who works in the state of Illinois is going to be covered by workers

compensation

There are some exceptions a major category of people who aren't covered by workers

Compensation are people who are employed by the federal government people who work for?

The post office or the VA or any of the other federal government agencies?

there's a separate workers compensation system that covers federal employees only a second category of people who are excluded from

coverage by the workers compensation act our railroad employees

Railroad employees have their own special statute called the federal employers Liability Act, which is actually a fault based system

But it applies only to people who are employed by the railroads

There are certain categories of agricultural employees who are going to be excluded from workers comp

It's a relatively small subset of people probably the biggest group of people who are going to be excluded from workers compensation

Are people who are quote unquote independent contractors having an employer employee relationship

is one of the essential things that's really required for a valid workers compensation claim and if you're considered to be an

Independent contractor that that's different from an employee or employee relationship so that becomes a big issue

Especially in the construction industry. It's becoming a bigger and bigger issue in the trucking industry

It was always a big issue in the trucking industry with regard to people who are owner operators people who own their own truck

but then drive for another trucking company, but more and more truck drivers are being called 1099 drivers whether they're really

employees, but they're being treated for various reasons as independent contractors when they're really not

Independent contractors are in theory excluded from coverage under the Workers Compensation Act

now you'll be covered for activities that you do which are work-related and the technical language and the workers comp Act is

arising out of an in the course of your employment which basically means that this is a work-related injury now if you're you know,

Quote-unquote on the clock and you're doing something that's very clearly work-related you will you know almost always be covered by workers comp

There's a whole category of cases where the accident happens when you're technically off the clock

It's an important issue with people who travel for work

There's a fairly famous case in the workers comp world where there's a gentleman who is in Hawaii for work?

And he was kind of an excursion like touring a volcano and he slipped down a cliffside

That was considered to be still covered by workers compensation believe it or not. And there's a whole line of cases that serving

examined that kind of a situation

there's a series of cases that are referred to in the business as

Coming and going cases where you've arrived at work and you either haven't punched in yet or you've punched out and you're leaving

under certain circumstances

You may still be covered by workers comp even though you haven't technically punched in or you've already punched out for the day

But you're coming and going so cases like that where there is some, you know, real nexus to the work

It's certainly worth a close examination

As to whether or not you'd be covered by workers comp and what kinds of injuries are covered by workers comp

Well, the whole scope of injuries are going to be be covered

I mean obviously traumatic injuries such as a fracture if you slip and fall

Those are certainly going to be covered. There's a category of injuries called repetitive trauma injuries and classically the you know,

This is like carpal tunnel low back injuries tend to be repetitive trauma injuries

there's some shoulder injuries that are really described by that there has to be a causal relationship between the the

work-related activity and the entries are being claimed and because

coverage under workers compensation is so often a really clearly established issue the

real battle where things get fought is over this issue of the causal relationship between

The work in the injuries that are being claimed it's more difficult with repetitive trauma injuries than the obvious traumatic injuries

but it's something that

We with the right kind of help. You should be able to establish. There are certain types of

Occupational illnesses that are going to be covered through staches. It's very similar to the Workers Compensation Act

all the occupational disease Act which basically is going to cover you if he if you were made ill by

Your employment. So those are all things that tend to be covered now

It's also important to keep in mind with workers compensation cases that the way that the law regards

pre-existing conditions is

That the employer takes the employee as they find them

So the fact that you might have a prior injury or pre-existing condition isn't going to exclude you from being covered by workers

compensation as long as your work was a cause of

you know the injuries that you're claiming as part of your claim, so, you know the fact that you know you may have

Degenerative junk in your back and have bone spurs and all these other things that people tend to have over age 30

If you're doing okay

you know kind of day in and day out and one day you're at work and you'd bend down to pick something up and

Is you're straightening up you feel a pop on your back and you have all kinds of problems after that

You still should be covered by workers compensation. That should be an injury that's compensable under workers compensation

Thanks, Barry. You've been watching fighting for what's right with personal injury attorney buried oil for more information

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