Suffering an on-the-job injury can be a harrowing experience. In addition to the pain and discomfort of the injury itself, there are often worries about keeping the bills paid and getting adequate medical care. To top it off, the injured worker is most often forced to deal with the red tape and bureaucracy of an insurance company who is choosing the doctors and controlling the amount of benefit checks, if any, that are issued to the injured worker.

As an experienced Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney, I have helped thousands of clients throughout Chicagoland receive Workers' Compensation benefits for their work-related injuries. I routinely handle cases for clients in construction and industrial work environments, as well as school teachers, municipal employees, hospital workers, hairdressers and countless other blue and white collar employees.  Additionally, the Firm also handles Personal Injury cases of all kinds.

I have over 25 years experience with, and understand the complexity of, all types of claims, including claims arising from repetitive use injuries, orthopedic and neurological injuries, fatal injuries and occupational exposures. I handle cases for clients in Chicago, Illinois and the surrounding cities and counties of Illinois in the following areas:

• Workers' Compensation
• Personal Injury
• Premises Liability
• Vehicle Accidents
• Worksite Accidents/Injuries
• Medical Malpractice
• Wrongful Death

Since 1982, my Firm has represented people injured either at work or in motor vehicle accidents. Back then, I took a solemn pledge to represent injured people only -- and never insurance companies. I put your interests first. I am solely focused on recovering money damages for you.

Illinois Workers' Compensation laws provide protection for people who become injured while working in the line and scope of their employment. Occupational diseases and gradual injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome are also covered. Illinois work injury laws cover every type of employee in every type of job -- including factory workers, office workers, supervisors, clean-up crew workers, computer technicians, heavy equipment operators and others. As a skilled Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney, I understand what it is like to suffer from a work injury, and I have the expertise and knowledge to guide you through the process while protecting your legal rights.

If you have been injured in a work related accident, it is important to preserve your rights by talking to a seasoned attorney now. Remember: any information gathered by an insurance company during its investigation is being used to build a case against you!

Workers' Compensation insurance companies know that you are facing certain time limits in protecting your rights, and they know that you can lose some of your legal rights if you are not careful about how you handle your on-the-job injury. I will file and manage your claim in a timely way, and take steps to ensure that your benefit checks are calculated at the proper amount, as well as the amount of your final settlement. I will also protect your right to appropriate medical care.

• $1.8 Million to a woman who suffered traumatic brain injury while she was a passenger in left turning car struck by construction truck
• $550,000 to a man injured by gunman who negligently discharged his weapon in a store
• $950,000 to a woman who fell and broke her hip when she tripped on a palate holding food products at a supermarket
• $500,000 to an infant who was deprived of oxygen during birth by doctor who was performing vacuum extraction
• $250,000 to a man who suffered fractured lumbar and thoracic vertebrae when he fell while working in an elevator shaft
• $300,000 to a man injured by hunter’s buckshot who was hurt as he was sitting at the base of a tree when he was mistaken for a squirrel

If you or someone you know in Illinois needs the assistance of an experienced attorney, call Kevin O'Brien today at 866-716-2733, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions 

Workers' Compensation:
Workers' compensation is insurance that an employer is required by law to carry in case an employee is injured on the job or becomes ill, temporarily or permanently disabled or fatally injured due to circumstances surrounding his or her job.

Although workers' compensation laws vary from state to state, covered medical care generally includes: medical, surgical and hospital services, dental services, crutches, hearing aids, chiropractic treatment, physical therapy, nursing care and prescribed medications. Additional monetary compensation may be provided if an injured employee is temporarily unable to work for more than a certain number of calendar days set by state law, hospitalized as an in-patient, or becomes permanently disabled due to a job-related injury or illness. The right to receive medical treatment at the employer's expense typically continues as long as treatment is reasonable and necessary to treat the injury.

Orthopedic injuries:
Orthopedic injuries can include injuries involving the spine, bones, joints, muscles, nerves and other parts of the skeletal system.  The most common orthopedic injuries are bone fractures and sprains and strains. Sprains describe an injury to a ligament and strains describe an injury to muscle. Treatment for orthopedic injuries include medical counseling, medications, casts, splints and therapies, such as exercise or surgery.

Repetitive Stress injury:
If an individual develops a repetitive stress injury (i.e., carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, tennis elbow, etc.) from duties performed while on the job, he or she may receive workers' compensation benefits including their choice of doctor(s), full medical care compensation, lost wage benefits, a lump-sum cash settlement, vocational retraining or re-schooling and permanent wage loss benefits.

Construction/Industrial Accidents:
Construction labor makes up one of the three most dangerous occupations in the United States today; each year producing thousands of debilitating injuries and wrongful deaths. Factors that contribute to construction accidents include workers lifting loads with worn and weathered cables, working on elevated platforms without fall protection or wearing defective safety harnesses and lanyards, and/or working in trenches with improper benching and using outdated tools and equipment.

Construction site personal injury law is not practiced nor understood by many personal injury attorneys. As a result, many personal injury construction claims are often subject to mediocre representation and minimal financial compensation due to improper legal counsel.  Injured construction workers are urged to seek a workers' compensation attorney who is knowledgeable in a variety of construction techniques and has successfully litigated numerous construction site personal injury cases.

Burn Injuries:
People who have suffered and survived the agony of second, third and even fourth degree burns describe the pain they experienced as among the most severe of all traumatic injuries. Personal injuries involving severe burns commonly result from explosions, premises fires, defective products, motor vehicle collisions or electric shock, as well as accidental exposure to harmful chemicals and radiation.

Toxic Exposure:
Due to the tremendous growth of corporate industry in the United States over the past fifty years, the number of dangerous, toxic substances in the environment has grown significantly. Some toxic substances are shown to cause substantial injury to people, such as lead-based paint (linked to brain damage, especially in children), asbestos (linked to lung cancer and restrictive lung disease), dry cleaning and other solvents (linked to brain damage and major organ damage), pesticides such as dioxin and DDT (linked to birth injuries) and toxic landfill waste (linked to leukemia).

Retaliatory Discharge:
If an individual is terminated from their place of employment after reporting a workers' compensation claim, he or she could be entitled to substantial damages in a retaliatory discharge lawsuit against their former employer.

Federal laws prohibit an employer from discharging or discriminating against an employee because of a workers' compensation injury.  If an employer fires or forces the resignation of an injured employee in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim, the employee can file a civil lawsuit against the employer seeking damages in court, provided the employee has evidence of such an allegation.  Also, if an employer denies permission for immediate medical attention following a work-related injury, or does not permit an employee to seek out the services of other medical professionals in conjunction with assigned company doctors, the employee can seek legal retribution under workers' compensation laws.

If you or someone you know in Illinois needs the assistance of an experienced Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney, call Kevin O'Brien today at 866-716-2733, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

If you or someone you know in Illinois needs the assistance of an experienced Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney, call Kevin O'Brien today at 866-716-2733, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Law Office of Kevin M. O'Brien
407 So. Dearborn St., Suite 1125
Chicago, IL 60605
Telephone: 866-716-2733
Fax: 312-583-9069

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Kevin M. O'Brien

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor of Arts, Political Science from the University of Dayton, 1976
• University of Dayton School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1979; Published writer and Law Review member

JURISDICTIONS LICENSED IN:

• Illinois

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

• American Bar Association
• American Trial Lawyers Association
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

Brad J. Balke

EDUCATION:

• Southern Illinois University, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, 1997
• DePaul University College of Law, 2000

JURISDICTIONS LICENSED IN:

• Illinois

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• Frequent speaker at CBA events
• Assistant Counsel to state Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, 2003