B ehind the S cenes at SLG: F eaturing A shleigh Z urek Meet our superstar law
In the fall of 2020, Ashleigh started her first semester at the College of Law of Northern Illinois University. (Go Huskies!) She continues to work full time while going to law school. We’re always inspired by Ashleigh’s work ethic, and we’re blessed to have her on our team. Ashleigh graduated from Benedictine University with a bachelor’s in business management in 2019. In the past, she’s worked at another law firm, an insurance agency, and the Cinemark movie theater in Woodridge. In October 2019, Ashleigh ran the Chicago Marathon on behalf of a nonprofit organization called Blessons for Women, which provides educational resources to women in need. She also ran a half-marathon at Disney World in February 2020. She hopes to run a triathlon in 2021. (Fingers crossed!)
clerk and future lawyer: Ashleigh Zurek! Ashleigh joined our firm in the fall of 2019. She’s the oldest of six siblings and grew up in the western Chicago suburbs for most of her life.
Since then, she’s been crushing it behind the scenes at SLG. As soon as she came on board, Ashleigh hit the ground running. She was instrumental in opening our Chicago office located in the Bank of America Building. She’s also helped push our clients’ cases toward resolution as quickly as possible and improve our case management systems.
In her spare time, Ashleigh likes to experiment in the kitchen, read, write, and check out new trails to hike or run.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM IN ILLINOIS?
Generally, if you’re injured on the job, you must file a claim for benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act within three years of the date of the injury (or within two years of the last payment of benefits, whichever is later). For instance, if you are injured today, you will have until three years from today’s date to file a claim. However, let’s say your employer’s insurance company pays benefits for two years after your accident and then discontinues your benefits for whatever reason. In this situation, you have two years to file a workers’ comp claim from when benefits are terminated. But there is a much shorter time limit you need to be aware of if you are hurt on the job. Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, an employee must notify their employer of an injury within 45 days of the accident. If notice is not provided within 45 days, the employee may lose the right to workers’ compensation benefits. This notice may be oral, but written notice is best, particularly if a dispute arises down the road. So, even if the injury does not appear to be serious at first, you should report the date and location of your accident to your supervisor or foreman and ask to fill out an accident report.
Keep in mind that notice to a coworker or fellow employee is not proper notice under the Act. You must report your injury to someone in charge.
What is a Form 45?
Many times, you will be asked to complete a “Form 45: Employer’s First Report of Injury.” Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, an employer is required to submit a completed Form 45 to the Workers’ Compensation Commission to report any accident that causes an employee to miss three or more days of work. The Commission provides the Form 45 to assist employers in complying with this reporting requirement. If you have any questions about a workers’ compensation claim, you can contact us at any time. We’re happy to assist you and your family.
– Pat Anderson
2 www.shannonlawgroup.com
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