The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act Covers Construction Workers
If you are injured while performing work on a construction site in Illinois, you are generally entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq.). This is true regardless of how the injury happened, whether you contributed to it in some way, and — critically — regardless of your immigration status. The Act covers virtually all employees, and Illinois courts have consistently held that undocumented workers are entitled to the same workers’ compensation benefits as any other employee.
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. You do not have to prove that your employer was negligent. You do not have to prove that a safety rule was violated. As long as your injury arose out of and in the course of your employment, you are entitled to benefits. Learn more about what qualifies as a work-related injury under Illinois law.
Construction Sites Are Complicated: Multiple Employers, One Injury
A major construction project typically involves a general contractor, multiple subcontractors, and a workforce that may include both direct employees and workers supplied through staffing or labor agencies. This layered structure creates real complexity when a worker is injured: which employer’s workers’ compensation insurance applies, and which employer bears legal responsibility?
Under Illinois law, your direct employer — the company that hired you, controls your work, and pays your wages — is typically the party whose workers’ compensation insurance covers your injury. If you were hired through a staffing or labor agency and assigned to a construction project, the situation can become more complex, involving what Illinois courts call the loaning and borrowing employer doctrine. In those situations, both the staffing agency and the company to which you were assigned may be treated as your employer for workers’ compensation purposes, and determining which carrier covers your claim requires a careful analysis of who controlled your day-to-day work. Our earlier post on loaning and borrowing employers explains this doctrine in detail.
It is also worth knowing that in Illinois, a general contractor who fails to ensure that a subcontractor carries workers’ compensation insurance can be held liable as the “borrowing employer” for injuries suffered by that subcontractor’s workers. If you were injured working for a subcontractor that lacked proper insurance coverage, you may still have a path to benefits.
Workers’ Compensation Is Not Always the Only Remedy
In most workplace injury cases, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your employer — meaning you cannot sue your employer in civil court even if its negligence caused your injury. The tradeoff is that workers’ compensation does not require proof of fault and provides guaranteed benefits regardless of how the accident happened.
Construction sites are different, however, because many parties other than your employer are present and potentially at fault. If your injury was caused in whole or in part by the negligence of a third party — a general contractor who did not employ you directly, another subcontractor’s crew, an equipment manufacturer whose product was defective, or a property owner who created a dangerous condition — you may have a separate civil lawsuit (called a third-party claim) in addition to your workers’ compensation claim.
Third-party claims are important because workers’ compensation does not compensate for pain and suffering or make you fully whole for your lost earnings. A successful third-party lawsuit can provide damages that go well beyond what the workers’ compensation system pays. That said, Illinois law requires that any workers’ compensation benefits you have received be repaid from the proceeds of a third-party settlement or judgment — a process called subrogation. Understanding how subrogation works and how to structure a resolution that maximizes your net recovery is one of the key reasons to have an attorney handling your case.
Common Construction Injuries and the Benefits Available
Construction workers face a wide range of injury types, each of which can give rise to workers’ compensation benefits. Falls from ladders, scaffolding, rooftops, or elevated platforms are among the most serious, often resulting in fractures, spinal injuries, or traumatic brain injuries. Struck-by accidents — in which a worker is hit by falling objects, moving equipment, or vehicles — account for a large share of construction fatalities. Caught-in or caught-between injuries from machinery and equipment can result in crushing injuries or amputations. And repetitive-motion injuries affecting the shoulders, knees, and back are common among workers who perform the same physically demanding tasks day after day.
Regardless of the injury type, workers’ compensation under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act covers all reasonably necessary and related medical treatment — including emergency care, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, and medical equipment. If your injury prevents you from working, you are entitled to temporary total disability (TTD) benefits equal to two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you are off duty. If you are left with permanent restrictions or impairment, you may be entitled to permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits, which can take the form of a scheduled award for a specific body part or, if your earning capacity has been reduced, wage differential benefits under Section 8(d)(1) of the Act.
What to Do Immediately After a Construction Site Injury
The steps you take in the hours and days after a construction injury can significantly affect your case. First, report your injury to your supervisor or employer as soon as possible. Illinois law requires that work injuries be reported, and delays in reporting can give the employer or insurance company grounds to challenge your claim. Get the report in writing if you can.
Second, seek medical attention promptly. Do not wait to see how you feel in a few days. Delayed treatment is one of the most common ways insurance companies argue that an injury was not serious or was not caused by the work accident. Be thorough when describing your symptoms to your doctor — explain how and where you were injured, what you were doing at the time, and every part of your body that is painful or limited.
Third, document the scene if you are able. Photographs of the hazardous condition, the equipment involved, or the area where the accident occurred can be critical evidence — especially if the site is cleaned up or altered before an investigation can take place. If there were witnesses to the accident, note their names.
Fourth, consult a workers’ compensation attorney before giving a recorded statement to the insurance company. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways that can minimize your claim or introduce doubt about the cause of your injury. You have the right to have an attorney present — and the right to decline to give a recorded statement altogether.
Construction Injury Claims Require Early, Careful Attention
Construction injury cases are among the most legally complex in Illinois workers’ compensation. The presence of multiple employers, potential third-party defendants, subrogation obligations, and serious, long-term physical injuries means that decisions made early in the case — about who to notify, what medical treatment to pursue, and how to interact with the insurance company — can have lasting consequences.
If you have been injured on a construction site, do not try to navigate this process alone. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney can help you identify all available sources of recovery, protect you from common insurance company tactics, and ensure that your medical treatment and lost wages are covered from the outset. Learn more about how our workers’ compensation attorneys fight for injured workers in Illinois.
If you have been injured on a construction site and have questions about your rights, the attorneys at The Law Offices of Millon & Peskin, Ltd. are here to help. We represent injured workers throughout the Chicagoland area, including DuPage, Cook, Will, Kane, and Lake counties. Call us today at 630-449-3884 for a free consultation to discuss your case.