workers compensation

The attorneys at Lipkin & Apter have successful experience processing mold and toxic tort cases and OSHA air quality restrictions. In this case, we successfully negotiated a settlement of $420,000. Defendants initially offered a total of only $20,000. Our investigation and medical testimony proved to the Defendants that our client’s claims were severe and possessed a strong likelihood of success at trial.

A 53-year-old long term and reliable school custodian JS contacted Lipkin & Apter after his school district failed to accommodate his light-duty work restrictions and denied him worker compensation, financial and medical benefits. He was told by his supervisor that the restriction written by his rheumatologist could not be honored - he either had to work full duty or not at all, at which point JS went home. As a result, JS had now been unemployed and penniless for several months and was not receiving any temporary total disability benefits or weekly workers compensation and a petition for an emergency trial was filed immediately. During the trial, the school district attempted to discredit JS's account by discrediting the number of pieces of furniture he had to move each night and the number of classrooms for which he was responsible. On the other hand, Lipkin & Apter attorneys cross-examined his supervisors to reveal that JS performed his job well and so they had little reason to actually watch him work. Meaning they did not know how he rearranged the chairs and desks. Nor did they know the distance the equipment had to be moved. Following the trial, the arbitrator Awarded Medical Benefit, Temporary Total Disability, Back Pay, and Permanent Disability to JS.

Rather than allowing the stigma of workers compensation cases getting into the way of what you rightfully deserve, it's important that you take the steps necessary to be granted your benefits.

A worker injured on the job can sometimes qualify and receive Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits in ADDITION to receiving workman’s compensation benefits. The criteria for SSDI eligibility and workers comp are different, but more serious workplace injuries often wind up with a claimant getting both. Nevertheless, to be entitled to Social Security Disability, you have to prove that you cannot work in ANY capacity before being entitled to benefits. In the normal legal course, the injured worker will first apply for workers' compensation benefits then for SSDI benefits. Understanding how the workman’s compensation and Social Security Disability benefits work together must be understood by your legal representative.

A Cook County correctional client’s knee surgery caused DVT, leading to a heart attack weeks later. Lipkin & Apter attorneys earned him the workers compensation settlement he deserved.

People are generally familiar with the idea that an accident which occurs while working may constitute a workers compensation case, while an accident that occurs outside of work may constitute a personal injury case. There are times, however, when a single accident invokes BOTH a workers compensation AND a personal injury case.

An Independent Medical Exam (IME) is an opportunity for the employer to have you examined by a doctor of their choosing. But the IME doctor is not going to engage you in a doctor-patient relationship. And they may not agree with the treating doctor. Here are your options.

When S. G. was released from care by his hand surgeon, Lipkin & Apter resolved his Workers’ Compensation claim for approximately $35,000.00. On the eve of the personal injury trial against the store owners, we resolved S.G.’s personal injury case for and additional $200,000.00. This resolution resulted in a total recovery of $235,000.00.

Can a Construction Worker Collect Workers Compensation for a Birth Defect Discovered During Surgery? A 31-year-old Illinois construction worker (cement finisher) suffered a stroke after climbing up and down a ladder multiple times on the job. He underwent three brain surgeries, during which it was found that he had been born with a congenital anomaly (an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM). We convinced the Court at trial, through the testimony of the client’s surgeon, that climbing up and down the ladder, and the frequent positional changes required by his job, altered the client’s blood pressure and led to the stroke (in his case, bursting of a weakened artery). In the end, our client was awarded a 50% permanent disability, two years of back pay, and $250,000 in medical bills. He was eventually able to return to work.