Friend Needed Rabies Shots After Bat Exposure At Work ($20k+). Employer Won’t Give Workers Comp Claim Number. [il]

Posting this for a friend who asked me to help him get advice. Location: Illinois.

He works for a contractor that delivers mail for USPS. One morning he was working inside the post office when a bat got into the workspace where people were sorting mail. A couple coworkers told him something like “just grab it and get it out of here,” and he ended up picking up the bat to remove it.

While doing that, he felt contact on his hand. He couldn’t tell if it was a scratch or bite, but since it was a bat, he went to the ER right after his shift. The doctor documented “possible scratch/bite from bat exposure” and started the full rabies post-exposure series. His health insurance has already been billed around $20k, and he has roughly $600 out of pocket so far.

The next day he told his manager what happened and mentioned in passing that “it probably wasn’t the smartest way to handle it.” He said this casually — not realizing it would come back later. The manager then asked him to write a very detailed statement repeating everything he said verbally, including the “wasn’t smart” comment. My friend pushed back and asked why that level of detail was needed, and after that the manager dropped the issue and hasn’t asked for anything more.

Now the problem is different: the manager keeps saying the workers comp claim “is being processed,” but still won’t provide a claim number or any contact info for the insurer. It’s been weeks. Without a claim number, his doctor and the hospital can’t bill workers comp, and he can’t talk to an adjuster.

He hasn’t gone to HR yet because he was trying to handle it through his manager first, but he’s starting to feel like they’re stalling.

His questions now:

• Is it normal for an employer to claim a workers comp case is “in process” but not give a claim number for weeks? • Does he have the right to get the claim number or the insurance carrier’s info directly? • Should he escalate this to HR or the state workers comp commission? • If they fire him over pushing for the claim, would that count as retaliation in IL?

He’s not trying to make this adversarial. He just wants the medical billing moved to workers comp (since it was a workplace exposure) and to avoid getting stuck with thousands of dollars for something that happened on the job. Plus, stand up for his rights for once because he is usually a bit of a pushover.

Any advice on what the next step should be would be appreciated and told directly to the redditless friend.