If the petitioner has two cases the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission can award both a permanent partial disability award and a wage loss differential award.
Go here to see a video of me discussing the case Deerfield case with TJ Hart on Let’s Talk Law.
In the case entitled Deerfield vs the Illinois Worker’s Compensation Commission the appellate court ruled that a petitioner who is injured twice at work can receive award for both permanent partial disability and wage loss. In Deerfield, both cases were consolidated because they both involve the same workplace and the same injured worker. The workplace (Respondent) tried to argue that Petitioner could only get either a wage loss differential or a permanent partial disability award. This is not a very well taken position in my opinion. The court rejected it completely.
I sincerely doubt that the Respondent thought it would win this case. I do find that sometimes respondents or defendants take positions they know they will lose just a stall the case. Unfortunately, this puts financial strain on the injury victim to settle the case. If the victim is under enough strain financially they often settle their claim too cheaply. While this appeal could not be considered “frivolous,” I think it is close. Nevertheless, the respondent managed to take this up on appeal. The appeals process probably took over two years. The injured worker would have gone that long without any workers compensation benefits.
Wage loss differential’s cases are frequently fought hard by the defense. The defense knows that the injury victim is being paid much less money than he or she used to get before the injury. The injury victim in a wage loss differential case is entitled to benefits for life. The workplace will often try to make the injury victim settle the claim or a lump sum basis for significantly less money than the person would get if they took the income stream. By refusing to pay the stream for a period of years the workplace can starve out the injury victim.
Ackerman Law Office aggressively pursues all its cases, including cases where injury victims are not able to make as much money as they did before the injury. In these situations the worker has to prove that they are making as much as they can in their new line of work. This often involves complicated vocational testimony, which many lawyers do not understand. Contact Ackerman Law Office if you have a wage loss differential claim. We limit our cases so that we have time for you.