Duty Disability Benefits

Amount

Duty disability provides a benefit payment equal to 75% of salary on date of injury OR 50% if the disability resulted from any physical defect or disease which existed at the time injury was sustained.

Duty disability benefit payments are subject to an offset/reduction by any payment received from the County under the Worker's Compensation Act or the Workers' Occupational Disease Act.

Maximum Benefit Time Period

Provided disability continues, a benefit is payable until the employee attains age 65.  If they disability commences after the age 60, the benefit is payable during the disability for a period not to exceed 5 years.

Workers' Compensation

Before any action can be taken by the Board on an application for duty disability, an employee must file a timely claim for workers' compensation with their departments Safety Officer, Supervisor or directly with the Cook County Department of Risk Management and the applicant must receive compensation or payment for the claim or the claim must otherwise be finally adjudicated.

The employee is required to maintain an active and complete applciation with the Fund while awaiting a decision on their workers' compensation claim.

Application Timing

An application must be made while the disability exists.

Once you submit your application, you are afforded 90 days to submit all supporting documentation for your application.  If documentation is not received within the requested 90 days, an additional 30 days extension will be granted.  Failure to complete an application in a timely fashion will result in a recommendation to the Board for a denial of benefit.

Child Benefit

An employee that is in receipt of a duty disability benefit is also entitled to receive an amount of $10 per month on account of each unmarried child less than the age of 18, provided that the child's disability benefit does not exceed 15% of such employees' salary at the date of injury.