Lockport Workers' Compensation Lawyer Asks:
Did You Get Injured?
Call The Lockport Workers' Compensation Lawyer ANY TIME!
312-500-4500
"My Injury Guy" Scott DeSalvo
Trial-Trained Workers' Compensation Lawyer for Lockport & Will County
Getting hurt at work turns your life upside down overnight. The paychecks stop or shrink, the bills keep coming, and suddenly you're dealing with an insurance adjuster who works for your employer, not for you.
Lockport workers do some of the hardest jobs in Will County: warehouse and distribution work, manufacturing, construction along the I-355 and Route 7 corridors, delivery driving, and public works. Those jobs come with real risks, like falls, lifting injuries, forklift accidents, and machinery injuries.
Here's what many injured workers don't know: Illinois workers' compensation lets YOU choose your own doctors, and the company's insurance doctor doesn't get the final word. Those rules can make the difference between getting the surgery you need and being pushed back to work too soon.
I'm Scott DeSalvo, and I've represented injured workers for almost 30 years. If your injury wasn't work-related, see my Lockport personal injury attorney page.
My fee in a workers' comp case is set by Illinois law at 20%, and you pay nothing unless I recover money for you. Call me any time at 312-500-4500.
My father drove a truck and was a Teamster. When I was nine, he was injured on the job, and his life was never the same. His comp case took seventeen years, and at the end his own lawyer sued him for more fees.
Every injured worker I represent gets what my dad never did: a lawyer who answers the phone, explains what's happening, and fights for every benefit the law allows.
Free. Not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by this chat. Prefer to talk? Call (312) 500-4500, answered 24/7.
Lockport's industrial parks and the warehouses and construction projects nearby mean a lot of physically demanding jobs. Many workers are hired through staffing agencies, which can make it confusing to know who your employer is and who pays your claim.
Under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, you can choose up to two doctors or medical providers, plus anyone they refer you to (820 ILCS 305/8(a)). The insurance company can send you to its own doctor for an exam, but that doctor's opinion isn't the final word. Your treating doctor's opinion matters, and the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission decides disputes.
If your doctor takes you off work, you're generally entitled to temporary total disability benefits equal to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, within state minimums and maximums (820 ILCS 305/8(b)). Insurers sometimes calculate that wage wrong, leaving out overtime or a second job. I check the math.
Workers' comp never pays for pain and suffering. But if someone other than your employer caused your injury, such as a contractor, a property owner, an equipment maker, or another company's driver, you may have a separate personal injury lawsuit worth much more.
Bottom Line: Comp is the floor, not the ceiling.
Forklift crashes, falling freight, loading dock falls, and repetitive lifting injuries to the back and shoulders.
Falls from ladders, roofs, and scaffolds, trench collapses, and struck-by accidents. See my construction accident lawyer page for more.
Crush injuries, amputations, and burns from machines without proper guards or lockout procedures.
If you were driving for work and another driver hit you, you may have a comp claim AND a claim against the other driver.
Picture this. You work at a warehouse near Lockport. A driver from an outside trucking company pulls away from the dock while you're still unloading his trailer. You fall and break your wrist and injure your back. Your employer's comp carrier pays part of your lost wages and medical bills. But the trucking company caused the accident, and it may owe you pain and suffering and your full lost income.
Look, workers' comp insurers have their own playbook, and it's different from a car insurance company's:
Here's what most lawyers won't tell you: some comp lawyers settle the comp case and never look for a third-party claim. That second claim can be the bigger one. I always look.
Bottom Line: The insurance doctor works for the insurance company. Your doctor works for you.
Most comp cases settle, and a fair settlement is usually the goal. But comp insurers settle fairly when they know your lawyer is ready to go to hearing at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, and to trial on any third-party case.
I'm a graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College and the exclusive Keenan Trial Institute. I've invested more than $100,000 in advanced trial training, tried more than 30 jury trials, and handled more than 100 arbitrations.
Illinois law limits workers' comp attorney fees to 20% of the recovery. You pay nothing up front, and there's no fee unless I recover money for you.
Through workers' comp:
Through a third-party lawsuit, if available:
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
Call me for a free consultation. I'll explain your rights and tell you honestly what I think.
If you hire me, I file your claim with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, make sure your benefits are paid correctly, and fight denials. Comp claims for Will County workers are generally heard by an arbitrator at a Commission hearing site serving the area. When your treatment is complete, I negotiate the value of your permanent injury. And if a third party is responsible, I pursue that case too.
Hurt at work in Lockport? Call 312-500-4500, day or night.
Evidence fades fast, and the insurance company has already started working on its side of the story. Call me for a free consultation, 24/7/365. No money out of pocket. No fee unless we win.
Nearest office: The Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo, LLC, 116 N Chicago St, Suite 301 - Kendall, Joliet, IL 60432, about 15 minutes from Lockport. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and by appointment.
Call me now: 312-500-4500
Illinois law caps attorney fees in workers' compensation cases at 20% of the recovery, and I don't charge anything up front. You pay no money out of pocket, and if I don't recover anything for you, there's no fee. If you also have a third-party injury case, that fee is 33⅓%, or 40% if a lawsuit is filed. Call 24/7/365 at 312-500-4500.
Yes. The Illinois Workers' Compensation Act lets you choose up to two doctors or medical providers, plus any specialists they refer you to (820 ILCS 305/8(a)). Company clinics you didn't pick usually don't count against your two choices. Your employer's insurer can require you to attend an examination with its own doctor, but that opinion can be challenged.
You must notify your employer within 45 days of the accident (820 ILCS 305/6(c)). You generally have three years from the injury, or two years from the last benefit payment, whichever is later, to file a claim with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (820 ILCS 305/6(d)). Report it right away.
It's illegal in Illinois for an employer to fire, threaten, or retaliate against you for exercising your workers' comp rights (820 ILCS 305/4(h)). If you were fired because you filed a claim, you may have a separate retaliatory discharge case.
Usually not. Workers' comp is generally your only remedy against your employer. But you can often sue a third party whose negligence caused your injury, such as a contractor, equipment maker, property owner, or another driver, and recover damages comp doesn't pay, like pain and suffering.
If the company's doctor says you can work but your own doctor disagrees, the dispute can be decided by the Commission. Don't quit treatment or go back to work against your doctor's advice without talking to a lawyer. Your benefits may depend on it.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
No Fee Unless You Win | Free Consultation | 24/7 Availability Call or Text: (312) 500-4500
>>Read More
Oak Brook - Main Office
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
New Cases: 312-500-4500
Office: 312-895-0545
Fax: 866-629-1817
service@desalvolaw.com
Chicago and Other Suburban Offices
By Appointment Only
Joliet Office
116 N. Chicago Street
Suite 301 – Kendall Office
Joliet, IL 60432
312-500-4500
