Illinois Workers' Compensation: Deadlines, Benefits and How to File

Employers must buy workers' compensation insurance or get Commission approval to self-insure. Most employees who are hired, injured, or whose employment is based in Illinois are covered from their first day on the job. Employers may not charge employees for any part of the premium or benefits. Operating without coverage can bring criminal charges and civil penalties of $500 for each day without coverage.

The employee must notify the employer of the accident as soon as practicable, and generally no later than 45 days after the accident. For radiological exposure the limit is 90 days, and for occupational diseases notice is due as soon as practicable after the employee learns of the condition. Any delay can delay payment of benefits.

In most cases, the employee must file a claim with the Commission within three years after the injury, death or disablement from occupational disease, or within two years after the last payment of temporary total disability benefits or a medical bill, whichever is later. Some disease and death cases have different time limits.

Temporary total disability is not paid for the first three lost workdays unless the employee misses 14 or more calendar days because of the injury. The employer should make the first payment within 14 days after receiving notice of the injury.

Temporary total disability is two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the employee's gross average weekly wage over the 52 weeks before the injury, subject to minimum and maximum limits. It is paid while the employee cannot work (or is on light duty the employer cannot accommodate) until the employee returns to work or reaches maximum medical improvement. Benefits are not taxable.

For injuries from July 15, 2026 through January 14, 2027, the maximum weekly temporary total disability benefit is $2,045.63 (it was $2,008.60 from January 15 to July 14, 2026). The TTD minimum depends on the number of dependents, from $400 (no spouse or children) to $600 (four or more), but is never more than the employee's average weekly wage. Rates change every January 15 and July 15 based on the statewide average weekly wage.

Generally, the employee may choose the medical provider. If the employer has no Preferred Provider Program (PPP), the employee may choose any two providers, plus referrals from them; first aid, emergency care and care before reporting the injury do not count toward the two. If the employer has a PPP (and notifies the employee in writing on the Commission's form), the employee chooses two physicians from the PPP network, or may decline the PPP in writing, which counts as one of the two choices.

Permanent partial disability is decided after maximum medical improvement and takes one of four forms: a wage-differential award (two-thirds of the difference between pre-injury and post-injury earnings; for injuries on or after September 1, 2011, paid for five years or until age 67, whichever is later); scheduled losses of body parts (a set number of weeks per body part times the percentage of loss, paid at 60% of the average weekly wage); person-as-a-whole injuries (a percentage of 500 weeks at 60% of the average weekly wage); or serious disfigurement (up to 162 weeks). Permanent total disability is paid to an employee who is rendered permanently unable to work.

Survivors receive two-thirds of the employee's gross average weekly wage, subject to minimum and maximum limits; the spouse and children under 18 are the primary beneficiaries, then totally dependent parents, then persons at least 50% dependent. Death benefits are paid for 25 years or $500,000, whichever is greater. A spouse who remarries with no eligible children receives a final lump sum of two years' benefits. The burial benefit is $8,000 for deaths from injuries after February 1, 2006.

Tell your employer about the injury. If the employer does not pay benefits after you contact it, file a claim with the Commission; an accident report alone does not start a Commission case. Since April 21, 2021, attorneys and self-represented workers must file cases electronically through the Commission's CompFile system. The case is then assigned to an arbitrator and set for status calls every three months.

An arbitrator holds the trial and issues a decision within 60 days. Either side may appeal to a panel of three commissioners, who review the record, hear brief oral argument and must decide within 60 days. Except in cases involving State of Illinois employees (where the Commission's decision is final), either party may then appeal to the circuit court, and from there to the Appellate Court and in some cases the Illinois Supreme Court. Emergency hearings (Section 19(b)) are available for disputes over ongoing medical or TTD benefits.

It is illegal for an employer to harass, discharge, refuse to rehire, or discriminate in any way against an employee for exercising rights under the Workers' Compensation Act. Such conduct may give the employee the right to file a separate lawsuit for damages in circuit court. An employee with a pending claim may still be disciplined or fired for other reasons.

Temporary total disability (TTD) is paid until the employee returns to work or reaches maximum medical improvement; temporary partial disability is paid until the employee returns to the regular job or reaches maximum medical improvement. There is no set maximum number of weeks for either. Permanent partial disability is paid for a set number of weeks: scheduled body parts have a fixed number of weeks each, injuries to the person as a whole are a percentage of 500 weeks, and serious disfigurement is up to 162 weeks. Wage-differential benefits for injuries on or after September 1, 2011 are paid for five years after the award or until age 67, whichever is later (for life for earlier injuries). Permanent total disability is paid for life.

Yes. Most cases are resolved through a settlement contract, an agreement between the employee and employer to close the claim. The terms are written on the Commission's Settlement Contract form and submitted through CompFile for approval by the arbitrator assigned to the case; a settlement is not legally binding unless the Commission approves it. An employee without a lawyer must appear in person before the arbitrator, who reviews the settlement to make sure it is fair and the employee understands its effect. An approved settlement generally ends the employee's rights to any future cash or medical benefits, even if the condition worsens, unless the contract clearly keeps a benefit open. Settlements can be paid as a single lump sum. A settlement made without Commission approval does not close out the employee's rights, and any settlement made within seven days of the injury is presumed fraudulent.

In Illinois, tell your employer about a work injury as soon as practicable and no later than 45 days after the accident (orally or in writing, with the approximate date and place). The employer must inform its insurance carrier or administrator and report accidents to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission on Form 45, Employer's First Report of Injury, for injuries causing more than three lost workdays; an accident report does not trigger any action by the Commission. If the employer does not pay benefits, the worker may file a claim at the Commission, which is done electronically in CompFile (pro se workers must register for a CompFile account). Help: Chicago 312-814-6500, Springfield 217-785-7087, Collinsville 618-346-3484, TDD/TTY 866-383-4370; wcc.compfile@illinois.gov.

Illinois limits a claimant attorney's fee in workers' comp cases to 20% of compensation recovered, up to 20% of 364 weeks of the maximum TTD benefit, unless a hearing is held and the Commission approves additional fees. No fee may be charged on payments the employer made voluntarily and on time; if the employer made a written offer, the fee applies only to the amount recovered above the offer and may never exceed 20% of the total award. The fee must be stated on the Attorney Representation Agreement form, signed by the employee and approved by the Commission.

An employee covered by the Workers' Compensation Act has no right to sue the employer, its insurer, or certain related safety-service organizations for a work injury or death other than through workers' comp benefits. The Act allows a civil action against the employer when compensation would be barred by a period of repose.

If someone other than the employer is legally liable for the injury, the worker may sue that person even though workers' comp is paid. The employer is repaid the compensation paid out of the recovery (paying its share of costs and, absent another agreement, 25% of its reimbursement as attorney's fees) and has a lien on the recovery. The worker must notify the employer of the lawsuit by personal service or registered mail, and a settlement needs the written consent of both. If the worker has not sued by 3 months before the deadline, the employer may sue.

According to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, an employer that fails to carry workers' comp loses the Act's protections for the period of noncompliance, so a worker injured during that time may choose to sue the employer in civil court. Negligent failure to insure is a Class A misdemeanor for each day without coverage, knowing failure is a Class 4 felony for each day, and an uninsured employer may face a civil penalty of $500 per day (minimum $10,000) and citation fines of $500 to $2,500; if the employer knowingly failed to insure, the Commission may issue a stop-work order until it gets coverage.

A disputed claim is heard first by an arbitrator of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. To appeal the arbitrator's decision to the Commission (a panel of three commissioners), a party must file a petition for review within 30 days of receiving the arbitration decision; to take the Commission's decision to circuit court, a party must file a request for summons within 20 days of receiving the review decision. Commission decisions are final for cases involving State of Illinois employees.