Hurt At Work? Know Your Rights!

If you get injured while on duty—whether it is physical, mental or from repetitive stress—do not tell the manager or clerk to put you in the "Sick Book." 

Tell them "I need to go Injured On Duty." The acronym is "IOD."

IOD is not a contractural process like the "Sick Book." It is a part of Illinois State Law. 

1. Get medical attention.
2. Get an IOD claim number.
3. Get an attorney.

Here's all the details about doing those three things:

As of June 2023, there is a new system to report IOD and Sick Book. This is called a "Third Party Administrator." It is the same company. The same number. The same website. Sometimes, the manager on duty will get this process started for you at work. The step-by-step process is on this linked flier below:

CTA Sick Book Procedure by Chicago Transit Justice Coa...

Sedgwick Service Center Number: 844-CTA-7038 (0700-2030 Monday-Friday)

Sedgwick Online: mysedgwick.com/CTA (registration is ridiculously long and does not work well with Firefox). Using the website seems to be the best method.

Sedgwick fax, mail and email:
859-825-7048
Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc
P.O. Box 14566
Lexington, KY 40512
CTADocs@sedgwick.com

The CTA has rules that we must report all injuries immediately. You will be drug-tested and you may be written up (if they do not do a drug test, that is not anything you need to remind them about as it is their responsibility). 

If you feel nothing, that doesn't mean you are not injured! Injuries can manifest themselves much later. If you do not report it immediately, a mismanager may hit you with a 2-Year Safety Violation. 

What the CTA mismanagement won't tell you is that you have 45 days to report the injury. See the poster above.

Regardless, always seek medical attention—whether you report the injury or not.

Watch out! The CTA Law Department may harass you with stupid letters asking why you went to see a doctor. They cannot punish you if you do not respond. I'm not telling you not to respond. But I will tell you I have very little tolerance for harassment from CTA mismanagement—and so should you!

Please consult an injury attorney as soon as possible! This is the most important part! StromLawyers.com has an excellent blog about understanding your rights. Like all other injury attorneys, they also do free consultation (although this is not an advertisement for Strom, I have used their services and referred others to them).

For even more information about workers' compensation (getting injured or sick at work), you read the state of Illinois Handbook on Workers' Compensation and Occupational Diseases. 

Below is a summary poster published by the State of Illinois below: