What if I cannot work after a construction accident?

Workers’ compensation disability benefits and personal injury damages both can provide financial assistance if you cannot work after a construction accident. You must take affirmative steps to receive disability benefits or lost wage compensation, or you could be left with no recourse.

Disability benefits through workers’ compensation are equal to 2/3 of your average weekly wages, subject to a weekly maximum and minimum. Benefits are available for both temporary disability and for permanent impairments. If a disability reduces earning potential but does not render you completely unable to work, partial disability benefits are also available.

Damages from a personal injury lawsuit also include payment of lost income, including a lifetime of lost wages if a construction accident makes you permanently unable to work.

Appropriate compensation for lost income in an injury case is determined as part of settlement negotiations, or a jury may determine the wages the injury has caused you to lose. Lawyers in Chicago who focus on construction accidents can assist in finding experts to prove the extent of lost income to maximize damages awarded by a jury.

Learn more on our page explaining what damages you can recover.