Maywood is a hospital town, and the people who keep those hospitals running are among the most likely of anyone here to be hurt on the job. Nurses, aides, technicians, orderlies, and housekeeping staff at Loyola University Medical Center, the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, and the clinics and care facilities around them do physically punishing work. They lift and transfer patients who cannot move themselves. They are stuck by needles. They are exposed to infection. They wrench their backs and shoulders turning a patient in a bed. A town organized around delivering healthcare is also a town where the healthcare workforce itself gets injured — and Illinois workers' compensation is supposed to cover exactly these injuries.
I am Scott DeSalvo, and for nearly 30 years I have helped injured workers get the medical care and wage protection the law promises them. Workers' comp sounds simple: you get hurt at work, the insurer pays. In practice, the insurance company has every reason to minimize your injury, cut your benefits early, and push you back to work before you are ready. When your employer is a large self-insured hospital system, the resources on the other side are considerable. This page explains how the system works, the specific injuries healthcare workers face, and how to keep a claim from being quietly underpaid.
The injuries I see most in a hospital town come from the physical reality of patient care. Lifting and transferring patients — moving someone from a bed to a wheelchair, repositioning a person who cannot help — is one of the leading causes of serious back, neck, and shoulder injuries in the country. A single bad lift can herniate a disc; years of them wear a body down. Needlesticks carry the risk of bloodborne infection and the anxiety of months of testing. Exposure to communicable illness, slips on wet floors, and repetitive strain from the same motions all send healthcare workers into the very emergency rooms where they work.
These injuries are covered by Illinois workers' compensation, including the ones that build up over time. You do not need one dramatic accident. Illinois recognizes repetitive-trauma injuries — the back, joint, and nerve conditions that develop from doing the same demanding work day after day. What you need is solid medical evidence tying the condition to your job, and a claim that is filed and documented correctly.
Illinois workers' compensation should cover your medical treatment, a portion of your lost wages, and compensation for lasting impairment. That includes the care you need to recover, temporary benefits while you cannot work, and a settlement or award for any permanent effects of the injury. It applies regardless of who was at fault — you do not have to prove your employer did anything wrong, only that the injury arose out of and in the course of your work.
The trade-off is that the insurer controls a great deal of the process, and that control is where workers lose out. The carrier decides what to authorize, when to dispute treatment, and when to try to end your benefits. Without someone pushing back, injured workers routinely receive less than they are owed — which is precisely why representation tends to pay for itself.
One of the most important things to know is that in Illinois, you get to choose your own treating doctor. The insurer will often steer you to a company clinic or to its own examining physician, and those doctors answer to the people paying them, not to you. They frequently have reason to clear you before you are truly ready, to release you to full duty, or to attribute your injury to something other than work. You are entitled to care from a physician you trust, and the difference between an honest treating doctor and an insurer's examiner can decide the entire claim.
This matters especially for hospital workers, who sometimes feel pressure to be treated within their own system. Getting independent, well-documented medical care that accurately reflects your injuries and restrictions is one of the most protective things you can do, and I help clients navigate it.
A common tactic is to use a questionable light-duty release to reduce or stop your benefits before you are able to work. The insurer's examiner clears you for "light duty," your employer offers work that either ignores your real restrictions or is designed to push you out, and your wage benefits are cut on that basis. This happens constantly, and it is often improper. The right response is to rely on your own treating physician's restrictions, get them documented clearly, and challenge a light-duty offer that does not respect them. Do not quit, refuse, or accept anything without advice first — how you respond can affect the whole claim.
Reporting deadlines matter too, and healthcare workers sometimes wait too long because they are used to working through pain. Illinois allows three years to file a workers' comp claim, but you usually must notify your employer within 45 days of the injury. For a repetitive-trauma injury, the clock can turn on when you knew or should have known the condition was work-related. Reporting promptly and getting advice early protects you.
Sometimes a work injury is caused by a third party, and that opens a second, separate claim beyond workers' comp. If defective equipment injures you, a negligent driver hits you while you are working, or a contractor's carelessness on site causes the harm, you may have a personal injury claim against that party in addition to your comp benefits. These third-party claims can recover categories of damages — like full pain and suffering — that workers' comp alone does not. Spotting them requires looking closely at how the injury happened.
Coordinating a comp claim and a third-party claim together is technical, and doing it right protects your net recovery. I handle both sides so the pieces work together rather than against each other.
In Illinois, the workers' comp attorney's fee is capped by law at 20% of your recovery — the same everywhere, with nothing up front. You do not pay unless I recover for you. Because insurers so often underpay workers who go it alone, most people come out ahead even after the fee. There is no risk in finding out where you stand.
And it is illegal for your employer to fire or punish you for filing a legitimate claim. Retaliation gives you a separate case against the employer. It can be hard to prove, but it can absolutely be won, and you should never let fear of retaliation stop you from claiming benefits you are entitled to.
If you were hurt on the job in Maywood, the smartest first step is a free conversation with a Maywood Personal Injury Attorney who handles work injuries and will tell you plainly what your claim should look like. It costs nothing to call, and nothing unless I win.
"Scott is absolutely fantastic. He will always go the extra mile for his clients. They always take the time to return phone calls at all hours and I highly recommend him to all my friends."
-Melissa Brooks
"Great people and Scott's a great lawyer. They helped me make the wisest decision for my case, and that's important in serious legal matters. I trust him completely. He is the one to call."
-Tony Skvarenina
"Beyond satisfied with the services I received from this law firm. Definitely recommend! They got me fully paid and all the doctor bills, too. If you want the best, this is the law firm for your injury case!"
-Cynthia Rodriguez
"Scott represented me and I was really pleased with everything, my car accident paid a lot and quick. If you want a good Lawyer who is responsive, and straight with you, I highly recommend him."
-Greg Garcia
Rely on your own treating physician's restrictions and get them documented clearly. A light-duty offer that ignores those restrictions, or that's really designed to push you out, can be challenged — and improperly cutting your benefits because of a questionable light-duty release is a common tactic. Call me before you accept or refuse anything, so we protect your claim.
No. Illinois law lets you choose your own treating physician. The company clinic and the insurer's examiner answer to them, not you, and often have reason to clear you before you're ready. You're entitled to care from a doctor you trust.
The fee is capped by state law at 20% of your recovery, the same everywhere, with nothing up front and nothing unless I recover for you. Because insurers so often underpay workers without a lawyer, most people come out ahead even after the fee.
No. Retaliating against you for a legitimate workers' comp claim is illegal in Illinois and gives you a separate case against your employer. It can be hard to prove, since employers rarely admit the real reason, but these cases can absolutely be won.
Illinois covers repetitive-trauma injuries — the carpal tunnel, back, and joint conditions that develop from repeated work over months or years. You don't need one dramatic accident; you need solid medical evidence tying the condition to your job, and these claims are well worth bringing.
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
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
