Workers’ compensation pays for costs needed to heal from an injury. This includes:

• First aid
• Emergency care
• Doctor’s visits
• Hospital care
• Surgery
• Physical therapy
• Chiropractic treatment
• Medicines
• Prosthetic devices
• Prescribed medical appliances
• Devices such as a lift or wheelchair
• Changes to your home such as a wheelchair ramp

Workers’ compensation also includes benefits if you are:

• Off work to heal from an injury. This is known as Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits
• At work on light duty while healing from the injury. This is known as Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) benefits
• In an approved vocational recovery program
• Permanently disabled or disfigured, but can work. This is known as Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits
• Made permanently unable to work. This is known as Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits

Workers’ compensation also pays death benefits. These are benefits to surviving family members.

Who chooses my medical provider when I am injured or sick?

You choose your own medical provider.

Your choice will be limited to a selected network if your employer has joined a Preferred Provider Program (PPP). You can choose any 2 physicians who are part of your employer's PPP network.

If your employer does not have a PPP, then you can choose to go to any medical provider. You can also choose another provider for a second opinion. You may go to any provider that either of your 2 choices refers you to.

If you choose a third doctor without your employer's approval, the employer is usually not required to pay.

First aid and emergency care do not count as one of your 2 choices.

You may be evaluated by your employer's own medical provider

Your employer may have you get a full exam by a doctor they choose. They must give you money to cover the cost of the exam. This includes travel expenses, meals, lost wages, and other expenses.

The exam must be at a reasonable time and place. You must let the employer’s doctor examine you, but you do not have to accept any treatment.

The doctor must give you and your employer the same exam report as soon as possible. It must be at least 48 hours before an arbitration hearing. You may also ask for a copy of all relevant medical records in your employer's possession.

Cost of treatment in workers' compensation cases

The law on workers' compensation includes a list of the cost of most treatments. This list of costs is called a “fee schedule.” The employer will pay the provider’s actual charge, or the amount set by the fee schedule, whichever is less.

Your employer may contract with a provider to cover care required by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. The cost will be agreed to in the contract.

Temporary total disability (TTD)

TTD is a benefit available to injured workers who are:

• unable to work for a short period, or
• able to do light-duty work, but their employer cannot give light-duty work to them.

The employer pays TTD benefits to an injured employee until

• The worker has returned to work, or
• The worker has finished healing.

TTD is not paid for the first three lost work days, unless the employee misses 14 or more calendar days due to the injury.

The benefit amount is two-thirds of the employee’s average weekly wage. This amount is subject to minimums and maximums. The employee should send a written demand for TTD benefits as soon as possible and include a doctor's note. The employer should make the first TTD payment within 14 days of notice of the injury.

Temporary partial disability (TPD)

TPD is a benefit covering the time in which an injured employee is still healing and is working light duty, on a part-time or full-time basis. The employee is earning less than he or she would earn in the pre-injury job(s). The employer pays TPD benefits to an injured employee until the worker has returned to his or her regular job or has finished healing.

Permanent partial disability (PPD)

PPD is:

• The complete or partial loss of a part of the body,
• The complete or partial loss of use of a part of the body, or
• The partial loss of use of the body as a whole.

Loss of use is not specifically defined in the law. It usually means the employee cannot do things he or she was able to do before the injury.

Permanent total disability (PTD)

PTD is either:

• The permanent and complete loss of use of:
  • Both hands;
  • Both arms;
  • Both feet;
  • Both legs;
  • Both eyes;
  • Or any two such parts, like one leg and one arm; or,
• A complete disability that renders the employee permanently unable to do any kind of work for which there is a reasonably stable job market.

An employee who is found to be permanently and totally disabled is entitled to a weekly benefit equal to two-thirds (66.67%) of their average weekly wage for life. This is subject to minimum and maximum limits.

Counseling and other programs for getting back to work

Vocational rehabilitation may be available to a person who is getting workers’ compensation. This includes counseling for job searches, supervising a job search program, and vocational retraining. This may include education at an accredited learning institution.

If the employee cannot return to the pre-injury job, the employer must pay for treatment, instruction, and training necessary for the physical, mental, and vocational training of the employee. The employee must cooperate in the recovery program(s).

The employee may choose the provider of such services or may accept the services of a provider selected by the employer.

Are benefits provided in cases of fatal injuries?

In case of fatal injuries, workers’ compensation pays burial and survivors' benefits to surviving family members.

The burial benefit is $8,000 for injuries resulting in death occurring after February 1, 2006. For injuries resulting in death prior to February 1, 2006, the benefit is $4,200.

The survivor's benefit is two-thirds of the employee's gross average weekly wage during the 52 weeks prior to the injury. The primary beneficiaries of survivors' benefits are the employee's spouse and children under the age of 18.

Need help getting information on workers' compensation?

For more information on getting workers' compensation benefits in Illinois, see the Workers' Compensation and Occupational Diseases Handbook.

You can also visit the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission website.