Karolina M. Zielinska is a Partner at Elfenbaum Evers & Zielinska, P.C. with a concentration in litigating cases before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. She has devoted her career to helping injured workers and has represented over a thousand clients across Chicagoland and the Quad Cities.  

 

Karolina represents injured workers at both the trial and appellate level. She has argued before the Appellate Court and Illinois Supreme Court.

 

In September of 2020, Karolina won a landmark Illinois Supreme Court case (McAllister v Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission) which shaped the way Illinois courts determine what "arises out of employment." Karolina's argument led to the Supreme Court ruling that workers do not need to overcome extra evidentiary hurdles if they were injured while performing a common bodily movement such as bending, reaching or kneeling. Karolina's decision will benefit every employee that is injured on the job for generations to come.  

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Karolina is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy group, and the Workers' Compensation Lawyers' Association.

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Karolina was born in Gorlice, Poland and speaks fluent Polish.