It’s a law in Illinois that employers are supposed to post signs in common areas about certain State and Federal laws and rights of workers.  Included in that is listing who their workers’ compensation Insurance carrier is.  It’s a felony not to carry insurance for work injuries in Illinois.

Despite these laws, every now and then we get calls or e-mails from injured workers that go something like this:

“I got Hurt at work and was sent to urgent care.  When I got there they asked for my insurance info. When I told them I was hurt while working they told me they needed to know who the work comp carrier was.  I called my boss and he refused to give it to me. I left without seeing a doctor because I have no insurance and can’t afford the bills.”

What happens in these cases is either the injured worker pays his/her own medical bills which shouldn’t happen if they were hurt at work or they delay their medical care for so long that either the injury gets much worse or when they finally get to a doctor it’s impossible to prove that their injury is related to the work accident.

So what do you do in this situation?

1. Nothing’s more important than your health so at the very least go to an emergency room or some other doctor.  If your injury is work related 100% of your bills will be covered.  No co-pays, no out of pocket expenses.
2. You can call us or any other reputable law firm and we can look up who your employer’s insurance carrier is. We just need either their name or the tax ID number on your check.  It’s a free lookup.  Often people run multiple businesses under one corporation’s name so some times it takes a little digging.
3. It’s a felony to not carry insurance for employees if you have any employees.  While it’s possible your boss is breaking the law, there is a fund for injured workers in Illinois to help compensate victims in this scenario.

In almost every case we are able to find insurance and get benefits paid.  But no matter what you should go to the doctor because if you don’t it will hurt your chances for having a case and more importantly you can make a minor injury turn in to a long term problem if it’s not addressed right away.

Bonus tip.  Beware the employer who tells you that they’ll pay for your medical bills if you report to the hospital that you didn’t get hurt at work.  This is almost always a lie and will likely lead you to not having anyone who can pay your bills.  Don’t do it. It’s a nasty trick.

As always, if you have any questions about any of this, call us for a free consultation at (312) 346-5578 or fill out our contact form to the right and we’ll call you.