The credibility of everyone associated with your case matters
Recently there was a Chicago Tribune article about a doctor that was allegedly doing some illegal things. We don't know what the truth is, but we do know that doctor has treated many injured workers in Illinois.
It's possible that every patient of that doctor was really hurt and that all of his treatment of them was honest. But if push comes to shove, the credibility of that doctor is important. Any defense lawyer I know would rightfully raise a big red flag if they saw that he was treating patients on a case. That doesn't mean he has done anything wrong, it just means the accusations against him are going to likely taint him and create suspicions.
It's not just the credibility of doctors that matter. If the only witness to your injury has been convicted of a felony, especially a crime of dishonesty, it hurts you. If you have three brothers that work at the same factory as you and all three are off work with suspicious injuries, it will affect your case.
Of course no credibility is more important than your own. If you give inconsistent statements to your doctors you have trouble. If they do surveillance on you and catch you playing basketball when you are off work with a knee injury, you look bad even if you were just testing the knee because it felt good that day. And if you just don't testify well or exaggerate it's going to cause problems.
Credibility matters, especially when you have injuries that are harder to prove like RSD or fibromyalgia or when there is a dispute of the condition of your injury. And beyond that, honesty matters and usually results in the right thing happening on a claim.
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.
