United Airlines Workers’ Compensation Claims

United Airlines is an Illinois company. It is headquartered at the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago, and O’Hare International Airport is its single largest hub in the world. With more than 18,000 employees based in the Chicago area, United is one of the biggest private employers in the entire state. Beyond that, through their union contract, flight attendants and pilots are based out of Chicago.

That means thousands of Illinois workers go to work for United Airlines every single day to keep one of the world’s busiest airports running. It’s hard, physical, high-pressure work. If you’ve been injured on the job working for United Airlines in Illinois, we can connect you with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who has successfully represented many airline employees. Contact us any time at 312-346-5320 for a free case review with an experienced lawyer.

United Airlines Jobs in Illinois

United employs workers across a wide range of roles at O’Hare and throughout its Illinois operations. Many of these jobs are physically demanding and carry real injury risks:

• Ramp agents and ground crew — loading and unloading luggage and cargo from aircraft, operating heavy ground support equipment, and working outdoors on the tarmac in all weather conditions
• Baggage handlers — lifting, sorting, and moving heavy bags under constant time pressure to meet tight turnaround windows
• Aircraft mechanics and maintenance technicians — performing repairs and inspections on aircraft using heavy tools, often in confined spaces or at height
• Flight attendants — working in cramped cabin environments, managing overhead bins loaded with heavy baggage, assisting passengers, and absorbing the physical impact of turbulence
• Customer service and gate agents — spending long shifts on hard airport floors, managing stressful crowd situations, and assisting passengers with mobility needs
• Fueling and line service technicians — working with aircraft fuel systems in outdoor environments through every season
• Cargo and freight handlers — managing heavy freight shipments in United’s large cargo operation at O’Hare
• Facilities and operations crew — maintaining the infrastructure of one of the world’s largest and busiest airports
• Pilots – obviously they fly the plane, but it is not unusual for them to lift items too

Common Injuries Among United Airlines Employees

The physical demands of airline work at a hub as large and busy as O’Hare lead to serious work injuries. United Airlines workers commonly suffer:

• Back and disc injuries — the single most common serious injury in the airline industry, caused by years of heavy lifting, bending, and twisting under time pressure
• Shoulder injuries — rotator cuff tears and labrum damage from repetitive overhead lifting and the awkward angles required to load cargo holds
• Knee injuries — from constant work on hard concrete surfaces, climbing in and out of cargo compartments, and kneeling in tight maintenance spaces
• Slip and fall injuries — wet tarmac, icy jet bridges, and cluttered ramp areas are a constant hazard
• Equipment and vehicle accidents — collisions between ground vehicles, tugs, and aircraft are a real and serious risk
• Hearing loss — chronic noise-induced hearing damage from years of exposure to jet engines without adequate protection
• Repetitive stress injuries — carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and other conditions that develop over time in workers performing the same physical motions thousands of times per shift
• Turbulence and in-flight injuries for flight attendants and sometimes pilots — falls and impacts during turbulence are among the most underreported injuries in the aviation industry
• Heat and cold-related illness — ramp crews at O’Hare work in extreme heat in summer and brutal wind chills in winter, both of which can cause serious medical emergencies

Many of these injuries are painful and potentially life-changing. A serious back surgery or permanent shoulder damage can mean you can never return to the same type of work again. Your workers’ comp claim and eventual settlement need to account for that.

Filing An Illinois Workers’ Comp Claim and Hiring a Lawyer

As stated above, United flight attendants and pilots can file for workers’ compensation in Illinois. This is a very big deal as our benefits are much better for injured workers than any other state. For some workers this can be the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars or more compared to their home state.

United is self insured for workers’ compensation claims, but works with a company called Sedgwick to handle their work comp cases. Sedgwick is a big, ruthless insurance company. Their goal is to minimize what a case costs United and if they do not do a good job at it, they will lose this very lucrative business. As a result, it is not uncommon for United workers to call us and state that their case has been denied or delayed without reason. This includes not approving medical care or not timely paying TTD benefits.

It’s critical to understand that a workers compensation claim is not a lawsuit. You are filing a claim for benefits to cover medical treatment and replace some of your wages when you are hurt on the job. When you are better, your attorney will get you a settlement. The size of the settlement depends on factors such as how bad your injury is, your recovery, age, what job you can return to and your future medical needs. The attorney fee is 20% of that settlement. Up until that point, the lawyer works for you for free. The best thing an attorney can do is get ahead of problems or tactics by United before they harm you. They also can respond aggressively if things happen like getting cut off by an IME doctor.

You can level the playing field by hiring an experienced Illinois workers’ comp attorney. Every attorney we recommend has taken on hundreds of cases against United and Sedgwick and knows how to deal with them. That does not guarantee a result, but gives you the best chance for success in the end. Any lawyer we recommend to you is someone who we would suggest to a friend or family member.

Complete our contact form, start a chat, or call us at 312-346-5320 for a free consultation. We would love to help you and will do whatever we can for you.