Founding attorney of Eames Law Group, Brent Eames, secured a huge victory at trial this week by receiving an award of permanent total disability benefits on behalf of our client. This represents the largest award available under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. This award will provide a lifetime of weekly disability payments to our client, who was confirmed by the Commission to qualify as so handicapped that she is not regularly employable in any well-known branch of the labor market. The present cash value of this award of permanent total disability is over 14x larger than the final settlement offer which was provided by the insurance company prior to trial. Keep reading to learn more about permanent total disability benefits, and why Brent Eames is frequently cited as among the best workers’ compensation attorneys in Chicago, and the best workers’ compensation attorneys in Illinois.
An injured worker is entitled to permanent total disability benefits when he is unable to make some contribution to industry sufficient to justify the payment of wages. One does not have to be medically disabled to qualify for permanent total disability benefits. Where a claimant’s disability does not render him “obviously unemployable,” the claimant has the burden “to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she fits into an’odd lot’ category; that being an individual who, although not altogether incapacitated, is so handicapped that she is not regularly employable in any well-known branch of the labor market.” A claimant may satisfy this burden by (1) “a preponderance of medical evidence” (2) “showing a diligent but unsuccessful job search” or (3) “demonstrating that, because of age, training, education, experience, and condition, there are no available jobs for a person in [her] circumstance.”
After our client suffered an unwitnessed accident while working on the assembly line, her employer disputed her claim and initially refused to pay her any temporary disability benefits and refused to authorize any medical treatment, including a proposed shoulder surgery. Chicago Workers’ Compensation Attorney, Brent Eames, took the case to court, and ultimately her employer backed down and agreed to pay owed medical expenses, and temporary disability benefits. However, after our client was released from medical care with permanent restrictions, her employer once again cut off all benefits and refused to make any payments for any permanent injuries associated with the accident.
Brent Eames secured the expert testimony of our client’s treating surgeon and a vocational expert, who opined that our client’s limited education, advanced age, training, experience, and lack of any transferable skills would present too many barriers to securing employment given her work-related restrictions. After trial, the Arbitrator agreed and ruled in our client’s favor my issuing an award for permanent and total disability benefits. Additionally, the Arbitrator awarded penalties to our client of over $5,000.00 due to the employer’s lack of any good-faith basis to withhold weekly benefits at all.
We are proud to be consistently ranked among the top attorneys in Illinois in personal injury law, workers’ compensation law, and first responders’ injury law.
Eames Law Group, Ltd. never stops fighting for our clients, and we will aggressively push cases to trial in order to obtain justice when insurance companies attempt to trample on the rights of our clients. If an insurance company has denied your claim or refused to pay work comp benefits, you owe it to yourself to contact one of the best work comp attorneys in Chicago, Brent Eames, to discuss your rights. If you have been injured, you should immediately contact Brent Eames for a free consultation to discuss your options.
