Reported settlements in Illinois worker's comp cases

One question that we receive frequently from potential clients is, "Why is my worker's comp settlement so much less than someone else who had the same injury?"

There are a few good reasons for this:

1.  The two main factors for determining the amount of a lump sum settlement are the nature of the injury and the injured person's average weekly wage (AWW).  A settlement in a worker's compensation case is for permanent partial disability (PPD) which is paid according to a schedule set in the Worker's Compensation Act at 60% of the AWW.  This means that if you suffered 50% of the loss of use of a body part that the Act values at 100 weeks pay, you would get 30 weeks pay at your average weekly wage.  This 100 weeks x 50% x 60% = 30 weeks pay.

The bottom line on this:  if someone has a higher average weekly wage, they will receive a higher settlement, even when the cases are otherwise identical.

2.  No two cases are truly identical, and there may be other factors which are coming into play, most likely that there is evidence of pre-existing conditions or that the injury you are making a comparison to is not truly the same kind of injury you had. 

The bottom line is that you need to evaluate your case on its own merits, and not look at what someone else is saying they go on their worker's compensation case as a guide for the value of your worker's compensation case.