Preparing for Civil Court Adjudication of Workers' Compensation Claims

Online, January 22, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Legislative action and increased regulatory oversight have made the modern workplace safer than at any point in history. However, this does not mean that the workplace is immune from accidents and negligence. As such, it is important that workers maintain the protections guaranteed by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act.

This past year, nearly 155,000 work-related injuries were reported to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Of these, just over 75,000 resulted in workers being either temporarily or permanently prevented from fulfilling the duties of their jobs.

Under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act, employers are required to maintain workers' compensation insurance. If an employee becomes disabled or injured as the result of a work-related injury, and their employer does not have the required workers' compensation insurance coverage, the employee has the option to forgo proceedings at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission and file a civil lawsuit against the employer in the circuit court. However, a circuit court action will require a different standard of proof then required in a proceeding before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.

Specifically, in a civil action filed in the circuit court, an employee must prove that the employer's negligence caused the injury to occur. This is in contrast to cases handled before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission which is based on a no-fault theory of recovery on behalf of the employee. As such, workers' do not have to prove wrongdoing on the pert of the employer; they need only establish that the injury occurred in the scope and course of their employment.  However, if the employee chooses to pursue a civil action against the uninsured employer in circuit court, proof of the injury shall constitute prima facie evidence of negligence on the part of the employer and the burden shall then be on the employer to show freedom of negligence resulting in the injury.

It is crucial that employees obtain immediate medical care and thoroughly document their recovery process. Doing so provides them an additional layer of protection should they need to file civil suit. "As a workers' compensation attorney in Chicago, I cannot stress enough the importance of having proper documentation in workers' compensation cases," commented Sheldon Minkow when asked for his view on steps workers can take to protect themselves.