Illinois Workers Comp Settlement Chart

How Illinois turns a body-part injury into a settlement number

Illinois is a scheduled-loss state. The state legislature set a fixed number of weeks for each scheduled body part, and you collect 66⅔% of your average weekly wage for that number of weeks. The check is capped at the state maximum and floored at the state minimum, regardless of what you actually earn.

The math is simple, even if the law around it is not:

1. Take your average weekly wage in the 52 weeks before the injury.
2. Multiply by two-thirds. That is your weekly comp check.
3. If the weekly check exceeds $1,976.97, the state caps it. If it falls below $741.48, the state floors it.
4. Multiply the weekly check by the number of weeks listed in the schedule for the body part you lost.
5. That total is the maximum permanent partial disability (PPD) award.

Illinois workers comp settlement chart by body part

Each row is the number of weeks Illinois law assigns for the total loss (or 100% loss of use) of that body part. The max payout column multiplies those weeks by the current state maximum weekly benefit of $1,976.97. Click a body part to see the Illinois settlement page for that injury, with the worked math and surgery scenarios.

• The max payout column assumes the injured worker earned at or above the state cap before the injury. A worker earning less collects two-thirds of their own average weekly wage instead.
• Loss of use works the same as loss of the limb. A doctor's impairment rating sets the percentage of use lost, and the payout scales down. A 25% loss of arm pays 25% of the total-loss arm value.
• These numbers cover permanent partial disability only. Medical bills, mileage, vocational rehab, and any temporary disability already paid are separate.

When will Illinois workers comp offer a settlement?

Most Illinois cases do not produce a settlement offer until the injured worker reaches maximum medical improvement, normally written MMI. MMI is the medical opinion that further treatment is unlikely to make the worker meaningfully better. Until that point, the insurance carrier usually prefers to keep paying weekly temporary disability and medical bills rather than buy out the claim with a lump sum. The carrier does not yet know how much the case is worth, so it has no incentive to settle early.

Once the doctor declares MMI, the case takes a different shape. A doctor assigns a permanent impairment rating, the state schedule applies, and the carrier knows the maximum PPD value of the claim. That turns the claim into a math problem the carrier can price. From the worker's side it is the first real chance to weigh a one-time payment against years of partial weekly checks plus the cost and friction of continued medical care.

Surgery is the other common trigger. Carriers often hold off on settlement talks until a recommended surgery is either completed or formally refused, because surgery changes the impairment rating and the long-term medical cost projection.

How long after a Illinois settlement is approved until I get paid?

Once a Illinois workers comp judge signs the settlement, the carrier has a statutory window to deliver payment. The typical pattern in Illinois runs roughly two to four weeks for a paper check, and a few days faster for a direct deposit.

Structured settlements bought through an annuity company add time. Medicare Set-Aside arrangements add weeks or months when the worker is a Medicare beneficiary or close to becoming one. Outstanding medical liens from providers also delay disbursement, since the settlement check usually goes through the worker's attorney's trust account and gets paid out only after each lien is cleared.

Is a Illinois workers comp settlement taxable?

No. Under IRS Publication 525 and Internal Revenue Code § 104(a)(1), money you receive under a state workers compensation act for an occupational injury or illness is excluded from federal gross income. That covers your weekly TTD and TPD checks, your final PPD or PTD award, and any lump-sum settlement that takes the place of those benefits.

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) alongside workers comp, the federal offset rules can make a portion of your SSDI taxable. If your settlement includes a non-workers-comp component, like a third-party liability piece against an outside contractor, that part has its own tax treatment.

What this chart does not show

The chart on this page values permanent partial disability. It is the statutory ceiling for that one piece of the case. A real Illinois workers comp settlement bundles several other components not on this chart:

• Medical care, past and future. The carrier pays for covered medical treatment. A settlement often closes out future medical care for a lump sum.
• Temporary total disability already paid. The weekly checks you collected while unable to work do not come out of the PPD pot.
• Mileage and travel. Illinois reimburses travel to medical appointments at the state per-mile rate.
• Vocational rehabilitation. If the injury keeps you from returning to your prior job, the carrier may have to pay for retraining or job placement.
• Death benefits. Fatal injuries trigger a separate set of benefits for surviving spouses and dependents.

Sources for this page

Every number on this page comes from a public Illinois or federal source.

• Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Benefit Rates
• 820 ILCS 305/8 Compensation Schedule
• DOL OWCP State Workers' Compensation Officials