Joliet Workers' Compensation Lawyer Asks:
Did You Get Injured?
Call The Joliet Workers' Compensation Lawyer ANY TIME!
312-500-4500
"My Injury Guy" Scott DeSalvo
Trial-Trained Workers' Compensation Lawyer for Joliet & Will County
Joliet is one of the biggest freight hubs in North America. Intermodal yards, warehouses along Route 53 and Laraway Road, and a constant stream of trucks on I-80 and I-55 mean thousands of people here do physically demanding, risky work every day.
When one of those workers gets hurt, Illinois workers' compensation is supposed to pay for treatment and replace part of their income. Too often, the insurance company fights the claim instead.
Here's something many truck and delivery drivers don't know: Illinois treats "traveling employees" differently. If your job requires you to travel, you're generally covered for injuries that happen while you're doing things reasonable and foreseeable for the trip, not just while you're behind the wheel.
I'm Scott DeSalvo, and I've handled injury cases for almost 30 years. For other kinds of injuries, see my Joliet personal injury attorney page.
You pay nothing out of pocket, and there's no fee unless we win. Call me any time at 312-500-4500.
When I was nine, my father, a truck driver and Teamster, was badly hurt at work. His lawyer let his case drag on for seventeen years and then sued him for more fees.
I saw what that did to my family. That's why my clients get straight answers, returned calls, and a lawyer who's genuinely in their corner.
Free. Not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by this chat. Prefer to talk? Call (312) 500-4500, answered 24/7.
Loading, unloading, yard driving, and container handling cause crush injuries, falls, and back injuries.
Illinois courts recognize that employees whose work requires travel are generally covered for injuries from reasonable and foreseeable activities during that travel. That can include a fall at a truck stop or an injury while securing a load.
Temporary total disability is generally two-thirds of your average weekly wage (820 ILCS 305/8(b)). Overtime and per-mile pay can affect the calculation.
If another company's driver, equipment, or property caused your injury, you may have a separate lawsuit for pain and suffering.
Bottom Line: For drivers, the job site is wherever the job takes you.
Forklifts, conveyors, and lifting injuries.
Crashes, falls from trailers, and loading injuries. See my truck accident lawyer page for crash claims.
Falls and struck-by accidents on Joliet-area job sites.
Shoulder, knee, and back injuries that build up over time.
Picture this. You drive for a Joliet-based carrier. While waiting for a load at a distribution center in another state, you slip on an icy dock and tear your shoulder. The carrier's insurer says you weren't driving, so it's not covered. Under Illinois' traveling employee rule, it likely is.
Look, comp insurers use the same moves on Joliet's freight workers:
Here's what most lawyers won't tell you: for drivers paid by the mile, the average weekly wage is often miscalculated in the insurer's favor. Pay records and logs fix that. Bottom Line: Your benefit rate is only as accurate as the wage math.
Most cases settle, and a fair settlement is usually the best result. What gets insurers to pay fairly is knowing your lawyer is ready to win at trial.
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, and I've tried more than 30 jury trials.
Illinois caps workers' compensation attorney fees at 20%. You pay nothing up front, and there's no fee unless I recover for you.
Through workers' comp:
Through a third-party claim, if available: pain and suffering, full lost wages, and loss of a normal life.
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
It starts with a free, honest conversation. If you hire me, I gather the evidence while you focus on your health, then negotiate once the full picture of your losses is clear. If the other side won't be fair, I file suit and keep going. Joliet cases are filed in the Circuit Court of Will County, at 100 W. Jefferson Street downtown.
Call 312-500-4500 any time, 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, in downtown Joliet. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and by appointment.
Call me now: 312-500-4500
Illinois caps workers' comp attorney fees at 20%, and there's nothing to pay up front. If I don't recover anything, you owe no fee. A third-party injury case is 33⅓%, or 40% if a lawsuit is filed. Call 24/7/365 at 312-500-4500.
Generally, yes. Illinois recognizes the traveling employee doctrine, which covers employees whose work requires travel for injuries from reasonable and foreseeable activities during that travel.
Notify your employer within 45 days (820 ILCS 305/6(c)), and file with the Commission within three years of the injury or two years after the last payment, whichever is later (820 ILCS 305/6(d)).
Yes, up to two doctors or providers plus their referrals (820 ILCS 305/8(a)).
If a third party, like another company's driver or an equipment maker, caused your injury, you may have a separate lawsuit that includes pain and suffering.
Illinois law prohibits retaliation for exercising workers' comp rights (820 ILCS 305/4(h)).
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
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Joliet, IL 60432
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