CALIFORNIA:Lincoln resident Chris Hemenway is embarking on a new career path but she is confident in knowing her experience in workers compensation law will continue to help others.Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner appointed Hemenway to the role of Arbitrator to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.Hemenway previously worked for Country Financial as a workers’ compensation claims attorney where she managed catastrophic claims and employer liability and coverage lawsuits.
She served as a subject matter expert for the company and was the supervisor for the department that she started.Hemenway says she fell into the workers compensation field after working a couple years in the insurance industry.“I was working in an insurance agency, first as a secretary, and then worked my way up. I became an adjustor working around the workers comp claims area and I enjoyed the ability to help people whose lives have been changed,” said Hemenway.
She attended law school at the University of Missouri and went into private practice in Peoria. She was hired by County Financial in 1995 as a litigation attorney where her task was to create a workers’ compensation division.“I’ve worked 30 years in the business and 20 of those years were at Country. I’ve seen work accidents change lives for individuals and employers,” said Hemenway. Hemenway, a native of Mexico, Missouri, came to Lincoln to be closer to her family in Missouri.
