If you are permanently and totally disabled due to a work injury, and your lawyer is able to demonstrate your inability to find employment, then you have some hope under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.
Let’s take a quick look at a recent case example:
- Dianysios Liarakos was a school bus driver for Cicero School District # 99.
- On December 21, 2007, while cleaning the bus, he slipped and his right eye hit the handle used to open the bus door.
- What started as eye pain and headaches progressed to blurred vision in his right eye.
- After treatment that included bilateral laser peripheral iridotomies, he lost vision in his right eye.
- Doctors declared that he lost functional vision in his right eye, and could no longer drive a bus.
- His only functional eye (the left) had a cataract, which also gave him issues when attempting to train for other work using computers.
His lawyer helped establish entitlement to permanent total disability benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act by showing an unsuccessful job search, documented both by the client and with the help of a vocational placement service, also known as vocational rehabilitation. This case falls under what’s called “odd-lot permanent total disability,” as we discussed in, “Establishing “Odd-Lot” Permanent Total Disability,” because they established there were no jobs available to him due to his: age, training, education, experience, and condition.
The case was filed on April 9, 2008, and his lawyer had to work all the way until the Illinois Appellate Court upheld their win in 2016.
With an experienced attorney and proper handling of a case, there is hope for injured workers under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.
If you have a workers’ comp or personal injury case, contact us at Peter D. Corti Law Group. We will give you a free consultation and answers to your questions.
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, Odd-Lot Theory, Permanent Total Disability, Vocational Rehabilitation
