"I feel like my lawyer is working 3rd shift for my employer"
This tongue in cheek comment was made by a nice woman that called us venting about her current attorney and how he is doing nothing for her, doesn't return her calls, hasn't been an advocate for her, etc.
No lawyer can truly guarantee a result, but they certainly can control their effort. It doesn't take much to pick up the phone and call someone back, answer questions and basically treat someone like they would want to be treated.
Over at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission we see attorneys berate their clients and generally treat them as if they are a nobody. Of course this isn't everyone or even the majority of lawyers. Most Illinois work injury attorneys are good people that truly try their best for their clients. But some are able to treat their clients like garbage and still sleep at night. I will never understand how a lawyer can turn a deaf ear to a client they vowed to help who is now losing their home or can't get the medical treatment that they desperately need.
The system in Illinois favors injured workers. If your attorney isn't lazy and the facts are on your side you should almost always win. Whether it's our firm or someone else representing you, if you don't feel that your lawyer is in your corner (or if you feel that they are so favoring the employer they might be a co-worker!) switch before it's too late.
Sadly, many of the attorneys we hear complaints about are lawyers who seem to be in the pocket of some union stewards. The union tells the member who to hire and when things don't go right they do nothing about it. Fortunately for you, you can choose who to hire.
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.
I got hurt about a year and a half ago with a neck and shoulder injury. I hired an attorney about 6 months after the injury because I was getting no where with my employer and the insurance company. About 9 months after my injury the work comp insurance brought in a work comp nurse to follow my case. She began contacting me directly, attending doctor appts, scheduling dr. appts, recommending different treatment plans the my doctors, and when I'm at a doctors appt. with my surgeon the work comp nurse sits through the whole appt. Many of times I ask myself why I'm even there because it seems as though I'm the third party. The work comp nurse and doctor decide my fate and then tell me what is going to happen. I asked my lawyer about this and he says that the only thing I can do is ask my surgeon to speak with me privately before bringing in the work comp nurse but other than that there's nothing else to be done.
It's a real simple problem to solve. He simply needs to tell the nurse case manager that she can't talk to the doctors. Your lawyer is handling it completely wrong and if we had to guess, they probably don't primarily handle workers compensation in Illinois.