A work-related injury can cause a great deal of difficulty in a person’s life. After being injured, a person may require emergency medical treatment and ongoing care, and their ability to return to work may be affected. Fortunately, workers’ compensation is available for anyone who has been injured on the job. In addition to fully covering the costs of medical treatment related to an injury, workers’ comp will also provide benefits that address a person’s loss of income due to an inability to work. Injured workers should be sure to understand when they will qualify for different types of workers’ compensation disability benefits.

Temporary or Permanent Disability Benefits

When an injury temporarily affects a person’s ability to work, they will qualify for disability benefits while recovering. These benefits will last until they reach the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI). If a person misses at least four days of work, they can receive temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. These benefits will not cover the first three days of missed work unless the person misses a total of at least 14 days of work. These benefits will be paid during a period where a doctor states that the person is unable to work or when they are able to do light work but their employer cannot meet these accommodations. TTD benefits pay 66 ⅔ percent of the average weekly wage (AWW) that a person earned in the 52 weeks before the date of their injury.

If a person can return to work on a part-time basis while they are recovering, or if they will be limited to working in a position that pays less than what they earned before they were injured, they will qualify for temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. These benefits address the losses a person experiences when working at a reduced capacity. TPD benefits pay 66 ⅔ percent of the difference between the person’s AWW and the amount they earn while they are temporarily disabled.

Tractor-trailer trucks and other commercial vehicles are much larger and heavier than passenger cars and trucks. This means that when truck accidents occur, people in other vehicles are much more likely to be seriously injured. There are many potential causes of semi-truck accidents, and one issue that is often overlooked is the danger of cargo that is not properly secured on a truck. Following a cargo-related truck accident, multiple parties may be liable for the injuries suffered by the victims.

Liability for Cargo-Related Truck Accidents

When cargo is loaded on a truck, it should be properly distributed in the truck’s bed or trailer, and it should be tied down or secured to ensure that it does not shift during transit. There are multiple ways in which cargo that was not loaded properly can lead to truck accidents, including:

• Cargo that is not distributed correctly may cause a truck to become unbalanced. With too much weight on one side or near the front or back of a trailer, a truck driver may lose control when going around curves, and this could potentially lead to a rollover accident. Improperly distributed cargo can also affect the traction of a truck, making it more difficult for a driver to slow down properly.

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Nursing homes and assisted living facilities provide essential services for many people who are elderly or disabled. Those who are unable to care for themselves can benefit by living in a facility where staff members can make sure they are receiving the proper medical treatment and nutrition while also socializing with others and participating in activities they enjoy. Unfortunately, some nursing homes do not provide the proper care for their residents. This may occur because a facility is understaffed or because staff members do not have the proper training to address patients’ needs. In these cases, residents may suffer serious harm due to nursing home neglect, including injuries such as bedsores or falls.

Neglect Leading to Injuries for Nursing Home Residents

A nursing home’s staff should provide the necessary assistance to address a resident’s daily needs. If a facility does not have enough staff members to fully provide for everyone’s needs, or if staff fail to regularly check on patients and address any issues they are experiencing, a person can suffer serious harm. Bedsores and falls can affect patients in these cases, and they can not only cause a great deal of pain and discomfort, but they can have a negative impact on a person’s overall health.

Bedsores can occur when a person remains in one position for a long period of time. In these cases, the pressure placed on different parts of the body can restrict blood flow, leading to painful sores. Nursing home residents who cannot move about freely may be confined to a bed or wheelchair, and if staff members do not ensure that they adjust their position regularly, they may experience bedsores in areas such as the back of the legs, buttocks, shoulder blades, or heels. When left untreated, bedsores may cause damage to the skin and the underlying tissue, and they can also lead to dangerous infections.

The summer months offer many opportunities for people to travel and enjoy the outdoors. However, this increased amount of travel also brings the risk of car accidents. This is especially true for teen drivers, who will be spending more time on the road while they are on vacation from school. Safety advocates have deemed the months between Memorial Day and Labor Day as the “100 deadliest days of summer” for teens. During this time, the number of teens killed in car accidents is 26% higher than during the rest of the year. Those who are injured in car accidents involving teen drivers will need to work with a skilled attorney to determine their options for receiving financial compensation.

Safety Issues Involving Teen Drivers

Inexperience is one of the primary reasons why teenagers become involved in car accidents. While teens are usually required to take driver’s education courses and receive training from their parents on how to drive safely, they simply do not have the amount of time behind the wheel that provides older drivers with an understanding of how to avoid dangerous accidents. In addition, teens are prone to risk-taking, and they may not fully consider the consequences of their actions. As a result, the decisions made by teen drivers can lead to collisions that cause injuries to themselves, passengers in their vehicle, people in other vehicles, or pedestrians and bicyclists.

Distracted driving is one of the top causes of car accidents involving teen drivers, accounting for 60% of crashes. Teenagers frequently use cell phones and other electronic devices and attempting to use these devices while driving can be very dangerous. Drivers who take their eyes off the road to check their phone, take their hands off the wheel to make a call or send a text message, and pay attention to a device rather than what is happening on the road around them will be likely to miss important details that would allow them to prevent or avoid a collision. In addition to cell phone use, teen drivers are also likely to become distracted by passengers in their vehicle, as well as factors such as loud music or attempting to eat and drink while driving.

As the weather continues to warm up this spring, many Illinois residents are looking to enjoy the outdoors, and bicycling provides a great way to do so. In addition to getting fresh air, bicyclists can improve their health through exercise and save on transportation costs. However, these benefits also come with certain risks, since bicyclists can be seriously injured if they are involved in a collision with a motor vehicle. In many cases, bicycle accidents are caused by the negligence of drivers. Injured bicyclists can work with an attorney to establish liability for their accident and pursue compensation for their injuries.

Negligence That Can Cause Dangerous Bike Accidents

Drivers are required to share the road with bicycles, but many people fail to take the proper measures to protect the safety of bicyclists, either because they do not notice bicycles or because they do not respect bicyclists’ rights. Drivers may strike bicycles and cause serious injuries for a number of reasons, including:

• Failure to yield - Drivers should yield the right of way to bicycles just as they would to other vehicles. Before making a right or left turn or proceeding through an intersection, a driver should check in all directions to avoid striking a bicyclist who is proceeding through the intersection. 

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