Looking for advice regarding brother's accident at work

[Subjection1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

My brother works as a dishwasher at a restaurant chain. Just a week ago, he was carrying a heavy stack of dishes on a floor that was wet and slippery (as it usually is) and he slipped and fell. His hand was cut on a broken piece of glass from one of the dishes that fell and broke and the bleeding was really bad. They called an ambulance that took him to the hospital, which then helicoptered him to a larger hospital about 100 miles away because the first hospital didn't have a hand surgeon. They stitched up his hand there and sent him back home the same day by taxi.

Now, supposedly Worker's Comp. covers something like this. My brother said that the cost of the helicopter flight was $49,000 . He also said the hospital gave him a voucher for the taxi ride too. He has to go back to that hospital on Oct. 26th to get the stitches removed. He said the transportation cost will be covered, although I don't know what method it will be.

Is there any advice about what my brother should do, or what he should be aware of at this point? I'm sure the company and Worker's Comp would have an interest in looking for ways to get out of making payments, but then again they might not. When it comes to legal things, it's best to be informed by those who know about such things. So I'm open to suggestions.

 

[adjusterjack]

Is there any advice about what my brother should do, or what he should be aware of at this point? I'm sure the company and Worker's Comp would have an interest in looking for ways to get out of making payments, but then again they might not.

That would be illegal.

When it comes to legal things, it's best to be informed by those who know about such things. So I'm open to suggestions.

Your brother should be pro-active about his claim. He should find out the insurance company that has his employer's workers comp insurance, call them, get his claim number and the name of the claim rep handling his file. Claim reps deal directly with injured workers all the time.

There's an easy way for him to find out who the carrier is, rather than hassle with the employer, which he should try to avoid.

Go to the Workers Comp Commission website. Click on Employer Insurance Coverage Search:

https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/iwcc/Pages/default.aspx

That'll get you to a search feature where you can look up the employer and find out where the insurance is.

What generally happens is all bills go directly to the insurance company if the provider knows it's a Workers Comp claim. If your brother gets any bills he should make copies and forward the originals to the claim rep at the insurance company.

If your brother is unable to work due to the injury, he should be getting weekly benefits of about two thirds of his weekly wage. There is a 7 day waiting period. Since it's been a week since the injury, he should be asking the claim rep about it ASAP.

If he runs into any issues along the way, he can call the Commission for assistance.

Feel free to come back to this thread if you need any more discussion.

 

[Subjection1]

That would be illegal.



Your brother should be pro-active about his claim. He should find out the insurance company that has his employer's workers comp insurance, call them, get his claim number and the name of the claim rep handling his file. Claim reps deal directly with injured workers all the time.

There's an easy way for him to find out who the carrier is, rather than hassle with the employer, which he should try to avoid.

Go to the Workers Comp Commission website. Click on Employer Insurance Coverage Search:

https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/iwcc/Pages/default.aspx

That'll get you to a search feature where you can look up the employer and find out where the insurance is.

What generally happens is all bills go directly to the insurance company if the provider knows it's a Workers Comp claim. If your brother gets any bills he should make copies and forward the originals to the claim rep at the insurance company.

If your brother is unable to work due to the injury, he should be getting weekly benefits of about two thirds of his weekly wage. There is a 7 day waiting period. Since it's been a week since the injury, he should be asking the claim rep about it ASAP.

If he runs into any issues along the way, he can call the Commission for assistance.

Feel free to come back to this thread if you need any more discussion.

Thank you for your help! I just sent an email to my brother informing him of everything you said. (I even looked up the insurance company and their phone number). Whether he follows it or not is another matter since he can be pretty stubborn sometimes.
I'll let you know if anything new comes up.

EDIT:
Actually, this is one more thing. The helicopter ride cost $49,000 and I've found out that the insurance limit for Worker's Comp. is $100,000. If the helicopter ride alone cost about half of that, then I'm concerned that the combined cost of the taxi ride home, then another round trip there and back again for follow-up, along with the initial treatment, not to mention the lawyer he's now working with will put the total over the $100,000 limit. What happens as far as charges after that? Does my brother then have to foot the rest of the bill?