Permanent total disability benefits a/k/a I only made $100 a week but am being paid $441.93 for life

Illinois has a lot of strong laws on behalf of injured workers.  One of the strongest has to do with the amount you will be paid if you are permanently totally disabled (or killed) due to a job accident.

Depending on the date of your accident, there is a minimum amount that you have to be paid if you are permanently disabled.  For example, for accidents between January 15, 2008 and June 30, 2008, the minimum weekly payment is $441.93. 

In other words, let's say that you took a job 10 hours a week making $10.00 an hour.  Your weekly wage would e $100.00.  Let's also assume that one day on the job you are lifting a box, herniate a disc in your back and after medical treatment your doctor determines that there is no work in the world that you can reasonably do (or through vocational rehabilitation, an expert feels the same way).  At that point you are permanently disabled.

Before a Judge finds that you are permanently disabled, you would receive a weekly benefit of $100.00 which is the minimum TTD rate for when you got hurt.  This would continue indefinitely and the insurance company would likely be in no hurry to agree that you are unable to ever work again.

On the flip side, you would have a big motivation to get before an Arbitrator because the moment you do, the weekly benefits you are receiving would dramatically increase.  And unless your case is settled or your physical situation changes you can expect that you'd receive these benefits for the rest of your life.

Many attorneys tell their clients that if they are receiving benefits that there is no need to get in to court and sometimes that is true.  But if your weekly pay rate is low and it can be increased, your lawyer should do whatever they can to get you before a Judge.  If this is your situation, don't delay.  It literally can cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you sit back and do nothing.