Call or email us. It’s completely confidential.
Speak to a lawyer about your situation for free.
We give you advice and/or a lawyer referral.
How Permanent Restrictions Affect Your Settlement
We have been helping injured Illinois workers since 2001. Permanent restrictions affect what a case is worth and we’ve helped thousands of people get big settlements. Contact us at 312-346-5320 to speak with a lawyer for free.
The question most often asked of workers compensation lawyers is, “What is my case worth?” There are so many factors and variables that lead to that dollar amount. One of the biggest is how have you recovered from your injury and can you return to work without restrictions?
Having permanent restrictions will greatly impact your settlement. For example, if you are able to return to work and fulfill all of your job duties, you are entitled to a settlement. However, if there are work restrictions, meaning you are not able to or allowed to perform certain job duties, your case will be worth much more.
There are many types of work restrictions. Your doctor will determine the specific restrictions based on their test results and your response to treatment. The most common restriction is for lifting. For example, your doctor might say that you can’t lift anything over 10 pounds. That will likely limit the type of work you can do. Other work restrictions include limits on climbing, standing, bending over, walking, reaching overhead, pushing, pulling, and typing.
If it is determined that you do have permanent work restrictions, the next question to answer is, can your employer accommodate those restrictions with a real job?
If your employer can put you in a different position that accounts for those restrictions, your case will be worth more than if you made a full recovery and had no restrictions. Your field of work will also impact the settlement amount. A nurse who is restricted from lifting 40 pounds or more will be compensated more than an administrative assistant in the same situation because it’s more difficult to do the job of a nurse with that lifting restriction. Plus, the nurse’s future income is more likely to be negatively impacted. But both cases would be worth more than someone who made a full recovery.
What Clients Are Saying
"Highly recommend"
I was skeptical, but the attorney you recommended was so nice and was everything you said he’d be and more. Thank you so much. I would recommend this site to anyone.
"They were great"
The workers’ compensation law firm you referred my friend to has been great. They really stopped jerking him around once he hired the attorney you suggested.
Permanent restrictions really make the settlement amount balloon if your employer does not have a job for you. Wage differential benefits may come into play. That means that if you earned $X (a high wage) before the injury, and now, due to restrictions, you can do a job where you only earn $Y (a lower wage), you’d get paid 2/3 of the difference between $X and $Y. You would get those benefits until you turn 65. We’ve seen cases that would settle for $30,000 without restrictions become worth more than $400,000 with them due to a significant wage loss.
Yet another factor that impacts the settlement amount has to do with the job market. If your employer does not have a job for you given your restrictions, but there is no stable job market for you, then the settlement amount will increase to account for this. You could be found to be permanently disabled from working. There is no time cap as to how long permanent disability benefits can be paid. That makes those cases worth a significant amount.
The bottom line is that it’s critical to consult an attorney that has decades of experience representing injured workers with permanent restrictions. The difference could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.