Illinois motor vehicle accidents where victims were driving (1) on the job or (2) performing job tasks at the time of the crash are entitled to help from their employer pursuant to Illinois law. State lawmakers have enacted legislation specifically to help Illinois workers hurt in work-related car crashes in a manner similar to that of Indiana and other states. For more on Indiana’s protections, see Indiana Workers Injured in a Motor Vehicle Accident While Driving On the Job.
Motor Vehicle Accidents: Cause of Almost Half of All Illinois Worker Fatalities
Anyone working in the State of Illinois is wise to be alert to the dangers of being fatally harmed while behind the wheel for work, because the risk they face is shocking. First, the country as a whole is facing a runaway “epidemic” in motor vehicle accident fatalities according to safety experts. Read, New Safety Report: Epidemic of Roadway Fatalities is “Out of Control.”
Second, there is the greater concern found in the death statistics for state employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports more workers in Illinois die from bodily injuries sustained in a “transportation incident” than in any other type of on-the-job event.
In 2020, almost half of all worker deaths (41%) were due to on-the-job motor vehicle accidents in the State of Illinois according to BLS data.
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act
As the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission explains, over a century ago a tragedy in Cherry, Illinois, provided the incentive in this country for the creation of workers’ compensation legislation to protect employees who suffer injury or are killed on the job. For more, read The Cherry Mine Disaster published on January 19, 2022 by the Illinois Library.
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (“IWCA”) was passed to establish legal responsibilities for employers to help workers who have been hurt or killed while on the job. This is a separate series of laws from those set up to create legal duties of care and safety that try and make employers prevent workers from being hurt on the job in the first place.
Under the IWCA, the employer must purchase a workers’ compensation insurance policy unless the state approves the employer’s application to “self-insure,” in which case the employer takes full responsibility for paying its workers’ compensation claims. The IWCA makes it a criminal act for any employer to fail to get workers’ compensation insurance coverage. It is a misdemeanor crime if the employer does so by mistake; however, it is a felony under the IWCA if the coverage was intentionally avoided.
Defined Damages
Workers who are hurt or killed in a motor vehicle accident while on the job are able to file claims with their employer for things to be paid as they are defined by the IWCA. The Illinois workers’ compensation benefits are:
- Medical care that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the employee of the effects of the injury;
- Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits while the employee is off work, recovering from the injury;
- For injuries that occur on or after February 1, 2006, temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits while the employee is recovering from the injury but working on light duty for less compensation;
- Vocational rehabilitation/maintenance benefits are provided to an injured employee who is participating in an approved vocational rehabilitation program;
- Permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits for an employee who sustains some permanent disability or disfigurement, but can work;
- Permanent total disability (PTD) benefits for an employee who is rendered permanently unable to work; and
- Death benefits for surviving family members.
As with the Hoosier state, the worker’s pain and suffering damages are not covered under the workers’ compensation policy.
Arbitration Instead of Civil Trial – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
In order to obtain workers’ compensation benefits after a work-related car crash, workers must file claims for coverage which will be processed and overseen by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. There is no lawsuit. Instead, there are hearings before the IWCC through an arbitration process.
Personal Injury Lawsuits for Illinois Workers Hurt or Killed in a Crash
Accident victims may still have legal redress in the civil courtrooms of Illinois. These instances can include situations where (1) third parties are involved, such as manufacturers, distributors, or designers of defective products that have been determined to have caused the accident; and (2) situations where the motor vehicle accident can be shown to be the result of the intentional misconduct of the employer.
Read: Job Site Injury in Illinois or Indiana: When Accidents at Work Are Not Worker’s Compensation Claims.
Defining an Employee Under the IWCA: Course and Scope of Employment
For Illinois workers who have been hurt or killed in a work-related motor vehicle accident, coverage may be a legal battleground. First off, one of the key considerations regarding whether or not a workers’ compensation claim will be pursued or if a personal injury lawsuit will be filed is the definition of “employee” under the IWCA. Independent contractors are not covered by these policies.
Moreover, the employee has to be on the job or doing work tasks at the time of the motor vehicle accident in order to be covered. If the victim was acting in the “course and scope of employment” at the time of the crash, then the IWCA will apply to the accident and a claim for workers’ compensation benefits must be made. However, if the victim was not in the course and scope of employment, then the IWCA will not apply. The accident will be adjudicated as any other serious or deadly motor vehicle accident under Illinois personal injury law.
These are important determinations to be made, and under the IWCA’s edict, it is the burden of the accident victim to prove they were on the job at the time of the accident. Sadly, all too often, employers and their insurance carriers will seek to challenge the victim was an “employee” or that an employee was on the job or doing a work-related task at the time of the crash.
Of course, these challenges are easier to meet for a trucker or delivery van driver who is involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving a company vehicle on an assigned route. However, for other workers this can be a critical component of their ability to obtain help from their employer.
For example, drivers for ride-sharing services such as Uber or Lyft may have a fight on their hands, as they will be argued to be “independent contractors” and not “employees” that are required by law to be covered under the IWCA. Read, “Contractor Status Keeps Rideshare Drivers’ Pay Below Minimum Wage, Report Says,” written by David Roeder and published by the Chicago Sun Times on March 14, 2022.
For more on Uber or Lyft accidents in Illinois or Chicago, see:
- Chicago Uber and Lyft Ridesharing Accident Cases are Different from Other Illinois Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
- Lyft or Uber Driver Car Crash: Liability in Rideshare Driver Accidents
- Ridesharing Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Uber and Lyft Injury Claims.
Justice for Victims of Work-Related Motor Vehicle Accidents in the State of Illinois
Illinois motor vehicle accidents where victims are on-the-job or on work-related tasks at the time of impact will have legal protections established by law to make the employer provide monetary help in the aftermath of the crash.
However, things can become complicated for the Illinois motor vehicle accident victim for many reasons, including whether or not their particular circumstances provide legal relief independent of the state’s workers’ compensation laws. Employers are notorious for asserting defenses against a sturdy and respectable claim because they argue things like:
- the victim is not their “employee” as defined by the IWCA; or
- if so, the victim was not on the job in the “course and scope of employment” at the time the injuries were sustained.
These accident victims and their families should be aware the law allows them to independently investigate their crash and its aftermath, as well as their ability to get help from experienced legal advocates to protect their legal rights.
For more, read:
- Workers’ Compensation in Indiana and Illinois: Work-Related Injuries and the Fight Against Corporate Greed
- Employer Liability for Distracted Driving Accidents in Indiana or Illinois
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care
- Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois.
Driving for work in the State of Illinois is a dangerous thing to do these days, and the risk of serious or deadly injury while on the job is high. Please be careful out there!
