Losing a limb at an Illinois workplace can net an injured person the second greatest payout among all states at a whopping $439,858, according to a report from injury law firm Bader Scott, based in Georgia.
The report issued last week says the average maximum compensation for losing one arm across the country is $169,878, but the range is vast as each state determines payment rates under workers’ compensation systems.
Maximum compensation can be found in Nevada, where losing an arm or leg can net nearly twice as much as Illinois at $859,634.
Following Illinois on the top five list is Kentucky at $402,227, Pennsylvania at $389,910 and Iowa at $361,750.
Alabama’s compensation system is the worst at $48,840 for an arm loss payout, followed by Massachusetts at $52,254, Rhode Island at $56,160, Kansas at $75,000 and Oklahoma at $88,825 on the top five “worst” list.
In a press release announcing the findings, Bader Scott featured the arm injury suffered by Kelci Saffery “Saff,” as depicted on the Netflix series Tiger King.
Saffery opted for amputation rather than reconstruction after a tiger ripped off his arm when he stuck it through a cage, though he didn’t blame Joe Exotic or the park located in Wynnewood, OK, a state where he might have been compensated roughly $90,000 had he asserted negligence on the part of his employer.
Bader Scott’s report says that Kentucky has the highest rate of limb loss at 97.4 out of 100,000, whereas Illinois has about half at 52.5 out of 100,000.
Arms are safest in Utah where 33.9 out of 100,000 underwent amputation.
The analysis was derived with amputation data from 2010 to 2014 and looked at the percentage increase in the number of amputations performed per state, calculating trends up to 2020, and standardizing that per 100,000 population, the report indicates.