Workers Compensation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Work Injury Attorney

Many people that call us are not aware of their rights when it comes to being hurt on the job.   There is nothing more important than your health and in some cases the actions of an employer can jeopardize your health.

Specifically, if your employer tells you that you can only treat with the company doctor, they are risking your health.  Many of these groups are really places that have you see a physician's assistant or don't really examine you.  If you have compartment syndrome in your leg or a herniated disc in your back or neck, failure to get appropriate and timely treatment could make a fixable situation a life altering problem.

Remember, you have a right to choose your doctor for any reasonable care that is related to your Illinois work accident.  If you have a serious injury you should get with an orthopedic doctor or neurologist as soon as possible.   These physicians are best for serious injuries and give you the best chance of a good result in the long run.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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This is by far the number one question we get on any Illinois workers' compensation case from a prospective client.  We don't blame you, it would be in the back of our minds too.  The money you can get if you are seriously injured is significant and tax free which doesn't hurt either.

All that said, we are brutally honest with our clients.  There is no way to tell you what a case is worth without reviewing your medical records and your job situation.  We can make an educated guess, but certainly would never recommend that to anyone.  We strongly feel that it's important to do a work injury case right, not quickly.  This means looking at every relevant medical record and fully assessing the situation. 

Often it's not in a client's best interests to settle their case.  Sometimes they need more medical treatment.  Sometimes we need to make sure that they can work without problems.  Bottom line is that we will do whatever we can to maximize the recovery for you with your long term best interests in mind.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation. 

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Under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, an employer or their insurance company has two weeks to either pay TTD benefits or approve medical care or have a good faith dispute as to why they are not paying.  If they don't, we as Illinois workers' compensation lawyers can hit them for penalties.  These penalties can be as much as $10,000 for failure to pay TTD and 50% of the cost of any unpaid medical bills or procedures that are not reasonably denied.  All of that money goes in to the pocket of the injured worker because under Section 16 of the Act they would have to pay our 20% fee as well.

It amazes us that so many law firms don't take advantage of this law.  If we have a client that needs a back fusion and they can't get it, if the surgery is being unreasonably denied, a penalties petition is great leverage for getting it approved.

Two weeks is also an important time frame because while your employer doesn't have to pay you for the first three days you miss from work due to a work injury, once you hit 14 days - and that includes days you aren't scheduled to work - they do.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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We just received a call from someone who works part time and hurt his back on the job.  His employer told him that he wasn't eligible for workers' compensation because he only worked 30 hours a week.  He asked if this is true?

No.

Same thing for the person that e-mailed asking if she could get benefits when she was hurt on the first day on the job.  First day, first minute you are covered.  Part time, you are  covered.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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 A lot of the people that contact us have two or more jobs, especially in today's tough economy.  When looking to settle your workers' compensation case or figuring out what you are owed for TTD benefits, all of these jobs matter in most cases.

The basic law is that if you have two jobs then both count in determining your average weekly wage.  In other words if your full time job pays $600 a week and your part time job pays $200 a week then your average weekly wage is $800.

The catch is that the employer that you work for must be aware of the 2nd job.  If they are not then only the one job will be taken into consideration.

In the end, not including the 2nd job could be the difference of thousands of dollars when figuring out what your case is worth.  As we preach throughout this blog, being honest and telling the truth is key in getting the best result possible.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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Everyone knows the economy sucks.  It's not uncommon to get hurt on the job and a year later lose your job because of downsizing.  It's also not uncommon to have permanent restrictions that can't be accommodated by your employer.

If that happens to you, you need to demand vocational rehabilitation.  If you have permanent restrictions and no job the insurance company needs to find you a job within your restrictions or give you training for a new field.  Sometimes they'll send you back to college to get a degree.  Other times they'll teach you a new skill.

If you cooperate with vocational rehabilitation then you will continue to receive TTD benefits.  If the new job doesn't pay as much as the old job would currently (IMPORTANT, we go by what the old job would be paying, not what you used to make so if your old job pays $25 an hour now and it used to pay $20 then we use the $25 figure) then you are entitled to 2/3 of the difference.  This is called a wage differential.

If you have any questions about this please contact us at (312) 346-5578.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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Lately we've seen a lot of cases where people looking for an Illinois work comp lawyer are being told that even though their doctor recommends physical therapy or surgery, it's not going to be approved.  I spent 30 minutes with a physical therapist this morning whose clients are continually being denied treatment by medical management companies.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission rules are clear. If the treatment is reasonable and related then it should be covered.  Treatment should not be denied unless the insurance company has a medical opinion from a doctor that says the treatment is not necessary or not related to a work injury.

The good news is that when this non-sense happens we can file what is called a Section 19b petition for immediate hearing.  We can also file a petition for penalties and fees that works kind of like punitive damages.

When you are dealing with nonsense you can either roll over and take it or send a message that it's not acceptable.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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Under Illinois workers' compensation laws, if you fall on stairs or on the floor, it's not automatically a compensable case.  You have to prove why you slipped.

For example, if you are walking down the stairs at work and simply miss a step and fall, resulting in a broken arm, you would likely lose your case.  You have to prove that something about your employment caused your injury.  For example, the following scenarios would likely make your case a winner:  You were running to a meeting, you slipped on a wet stair, there was some other defect in the stairs, you were carrying a box for work, etc.

Similarly, if you fall on the floor, you can't just say "I don't know why I fell" and expect to win the case.  You must show that something about your job contributed to your accident.

Always tell the truth in these situations.  Do not give the insurance adjuster a recorded statement about what happened as they may try to manipulate the situation and make it appear as if your job had nothing to do with the injury.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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Not much stuns us anymore, but this one did.  A new client was working on a telephone pole when he fell 35 feet after a ladder collapsed.  Prior to the injury he was not receiving any medical care for any problems and worked out four days a week. 

As a result of the fall he has herniated discs in his back, a likely torn rotator cuff and a knee injury.  The insurance company sent him for an IME that said his back and shoulder problems were pre-existing and not due to the fall.

Now a lot of IME doctors are legit and then some like this guy are company whores.  I question how guys like that sleep at night.  I also can't wait to see his deposition and how he tries to justify his opinion.  Our client fell 35 feet!!!  He's lucky he's not dead or paralyzed.

They want him to put his bills through group insurance.  Not gonna happen.  We are going to file for an immediate trial and petition the Arbitrator to award penalties and fees.  Just absolutely stunning what some insurance companies will do.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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We received a call from a nice guy with a fairly major injury that happened after a car accident on the job that was someone else's fault.  He hired a workers' compensation attorney who told him that he could handle the whole case.  Problem was that was a lie so that attorney recommended a "friend."  The car accident lawyer said his fee would be 1/3, but then sent a contract that said 40%.

I pointed out to this caller that it should be a red flag that the first two interactions with his attorneys started with lies.  "Yes, but I checked them out and they are members of the Illinois Bar Association so that impressed me."  I let him know that the Illinois Bar Association is just a club and that while they surely have many fine attorneys that have joined, any Illinois attorney can join so that membership shouldn't add anything to the evaluation process.

I further pointed out that the workers' compensation insurance carrier will have a lien against the personal injury case for up to 75% of what they end up spending.  Because he's paying two law firms instead of one, he's going to net less money in the end.

We usually recommend a work injury attorney that just handles job accidents.  But when a personal injury case is part of the claim it can often serve you well to have a work comp lawyer that knows a thing or two about Illinois personal injury lawsuits or has a partner that handles those cases.  It will save you money, allow you to have attorneys that are really working together and will prevent you from having to communicate the same thing twice.

No matter what the facts are, if you hire someone because they are a member of a club and they start off the relationship with lies, don't be surprised when down the road you don't feel that they are fighting for you or giving you the customer service that you deserve.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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You are a Federal employee.  Those work injuries fall under a whole different set of laws.  In fact, we don't know of any attorney in Chicago that handles federal workers' compensation cases.  We are aware of one attorney in Florida that handles these cases throughout the country.

As we understand it, the government has more or less screwed employees and attorneys in these matters.  Apparently attorneys have to hope that their clients will write a check after they collect.

Hopefully some day the powerful unions that most Federal workers are in will act up to protect their workers.  Until then, if you are a post office worker, FBI agent or other US government employee we can't help.

Now if you work for the state of Illinois on the other hand you get the benefit of our great laws and we'd love to help you.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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Every case that is filed at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission requires an accident date.  It's clear cut when you hurt yourself lifting a box, but if you have carpal tunnel or another repetitive problem then it's not so obvious.

The law states that the accident date is supposed to be the day that the injury manifests itself (when the condition became apparent).  That has been liberally interpreted and often is held to be the first time that the worker sought medical treatment for the problem or the first time that someone suggested that the problem is work related.

As a worker, it's very important that as soon as you know of a problem you tell your employer because you are supposed to report an accident within 45 days of when it happened.  Failure to do so could cause a legitimate case to be dismissed.

We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys.  Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.

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