Workers Compensation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Work Injury Attorney

We've blogged on it before, but I'd like to offer a different spin.  The number 1 question we get is "What's my case worth?"  You can search our site to see the other posts, but I've left something important out.  Three things actually:

1. What an Illinois workers' compensation claim is worth can depend on the Arbitrator that the claim is assigned to.  Some Arbitrators are very worker friendly and others seem to favor the employers.  So in some similar cases we can get more money for a client than the case might be worth in front of another Arbitrator.  Outside of Chicago, we know who the Arbitrator will be before we file the case so that does help in predicting the result once we have seen the medical records.

2. When a case is settled, it's not typically settled for what it would go for if you won at trial.  Settling is a compromise.   Sometimes you actually get more than you could get at trial because you are closing out your medical rights if you settle.  Other times you get less.  This needs to be considered when making settlement demands because . . .

3. The range of what a case is worth can be all over the board.  If you break your finger the range isn't huge if you have a good recovery, but on major injuries or when you might need more medical treatment, the range can be huge.  For example, we recently were involved in a case that settled for $220,000.00.  We obtained this settlement because we proved that if we went to trial our client would likely get wage differential.  That said, there was a chance we could have lost.  We determined that the range of a settlement was between $75,000 and $230,000.  We didn't get every last penny, but boy did we come close.  Had that client not had an attorney they certainly would have been at the low end of the range.  Most cases are like that and you can bet your bottom that the insurance company is always targeting the low end of the range.  Remember, they make money by saving money.  Period.

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 reader asks:

I've recently had a shoulder surgery and am taking prescriptions
(hydrocodone and Valium) for the pain. My employer has been able to find
light work for me, but has restricted me from driving company vehicles,
which I understand completely.

My problem is the insurance company wants me to drive my personal vehicle
to work while under the influence of these prescriptions!  I have about a
25 minute drive to work, which is in a rural area and not served by public
transportation.  I do not have a reasonable way to get work except to walk
(shuffle and stumble) 12 miles.

My physician (which requires about 30 days to get an appoint with him)
isn't willing to take me back off work, and the workman's comp
representative doesn't care how I get to work, as long as I get there. For
what its worth my physical therapist is completely outraged, but I don't
want to drag her into it and chance getting her into any trouble with the
Physician's group.

There is nothing about this issue that sounds reasonable or intelligent to
me.  I sure don't want to get into an accident on the way to work because
there isn't anyway I would be able to pass a blood test.

This is something we see a lot.  If this was our client we'd tell them a few things:

1. Let's go to the doctor and see if he will sign off on our client driving after taking the drugs the doctor  has prescribed.  Most doctors want to cover their own ass.

2. Let's see if we can get the company to provide transportation as long as he is on this medication.  It's probably safer and easier for them too.

3. This is where getting a lawyer who focuses on Illinois workers' comp and knows the adjusters and defense attorneys can help you.  Having the right attorney can truly make the difference.

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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Here are five questions from clients of late where the answer was always no.

1. If my company goes out of business, do I lose my work comp benefits?

2. Is it true that if I was at fault for my accident I can't bring a claim?

3. My boss wants me to say I hurt myself at home and says he will pay me out of his pocket.  Is doing that a good idea?

4. The insurance adjuster denied my case because she said that when I blew out my knee while running to make a meeting my injury wasn't covered under Illinois workers' compensation laws.  Is she right?

5. The insurance company sends a nurse to all of my appointments and she talks to my doctors about my care.  She even tries to schedule my appointments around her schedule.  Do I have to allow her to attend my appointments?

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 have received a lot of questions lately about Illinois temporary total disability benefits.  Here are three where we felt the answers will help everyone.

I haven't been paid TTD benefits for three months, but I never hired a lawyer.  Is it too late to get an attorney to go after what I'm owed?

No.  As long as it's not too late to file the case itself, an attorney can go back and get any benefits that are available for you.

I work a part time job (ten hours a week) along with my full time job.  Just broke my leg and can't do either job.  Do I get paid for the lost part time hours along with my pay from the injury for the full time job?

Yes, if your employer for the job on which you got hurt knew about the part time job.

Do I have to pay a lawyer 20% of my TTD benefits if I hire them?

No law firm that we would recommend for a case would take a penny of your TTD benefits unless we had to do substantial work to secure them like go to trial.  In 99% of cases we don't take anything for TTD.  Some firms don't follow the same rules so watch out for them.

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 reader asks:

My husband had to get a pre-employment physical before he was offered a job.  During the physical he tripped on a weight that was on the floor.  He broke his wrist in the fall and the company didn't make the job offer.  Can he bring a workers' compensation claim?

The question is was he or wasn't he an employee at the time of the accident.  I asked an employment law attorney I know his thoughts.  Here is what he said:

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, an Employer may require an applicant to submit to a physical examination only after that Employer has extended to the applicant a conditional offer of employment [that is, an offer that is conditional on the applicant passing the physical].

So, the EEOC Guidelines contemplate this issue where any offer of employment is made conditional on the outcome of the physical. As a labor and employment lawyer with no WC expertise, I'd say that unless and until such an applicant/conditional offeree does successfully complete the physical, he or she is not yet an "employee" under contract law or other employment laws.

If by "physical testing" the original questioner meant a physical fitness test or physical agility test rather than a medical exam, the EEOC Guidelines state that fitness or agility tests are not "medical exams" [so long as they don't also include a physical exam]. [If you have the applicant show that he or she can climb a ladder or carry boxes, that's a fitness or agility test. But if you also take their blood pressure after that physical exertion, you've transformed the fitness and agility test into a physical exam, which the ADA says you cannot give to applicants before you have conditionally offered to hire them.]

Since the ADA's ban on pre-offer physical exams does not apply to mere fitness or agility demonstrations, an Employer can require all applicants (that is, applicants who have not yet been given a conditional job offer) to demonstrate agility or physical fitness for any job that requires agility or physical fitness.

He's not the best in plain English talk, but he does know what he is talking about.   So unfortunately for this reader, there does not appear to be a work comp claim although they may have a negligence lawsuit.

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 recently received a phone call from a nice guy who has a fairly reputable attorney that appears to have gone off the deep end.  His case was settled in December and he still hasn't been paid.

There is not set rule for how long an insurance company has to pay a settlement or Arbitrator's award, but generally speaking, once 30 days have passed it becomes an issue.  Usually at 60 days if you haven't been paid then you can probably get penalties and fees against the insurance company which means that you would likely receive 50% more for your case.

For some reason, our caller's attorney told him that it could be up to six months before the check is received.  Huh?  If I didn't know the attorney who was helping him I would have been worried that his money was stolen, but it's still bizarre.  To make matters worse, the lawyer apparently isn't returning his calls.  That is certainly a sign of a problem.

Don't be afraid to ask your lawyer about these issues before you sign settlement contracts.  And if you are having trouble getting your check, hold their feet to the fire.

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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Hot off the presses.  Scroll down because it's great to hear that an employer that broke the law by not carrying workers' compensation insurance has been shut down.  It's a felony and needs to be enforced more!

________________________________________________________________________________

**Judicial Training September 16-17, 2010; No hearings will be held**

All arbitrators and commissioners will be in a judicial training program on September 16-17, 2010.

There will be no hearings or approval of settlement contracts.  Please do not bring petitioners to the Commission.

**Commission Issues Work Stop Order to El Taconazo; 3 Locations Shut Down**

On Friday, September 10, 2010, investigators from the Insurance Compliance Division of the Illinois Workers¹ Compensation Commission shut down  three ³El Taconazo Restaurants² located at 2350 West Cermak Avenue, 5847 South Kedzie  Avenue and 4124 West North Avenue in Chicago. Commission investigators served work stop orders closing the restaurants at the start of a busy weekend.  The owners of the restaurant had received a number of notices of non-compliance for failing to have insurance as far back as November, 2007. The restaurants got insurance several times but allowed the insurance to lapse each time for non-payment of premium.

While shutting down a business is a harsh step to take, this employer was provided with every opportunity to come into compliance with the law. The owners¹ failure to have insurance first came to light when an employee was injured on the job and the owners failed to provide the necessary care for his injuries. In addition to shut down orders, the owners face fines up to $500.00 for each day they failed to have insurance, with a minimum fine of $10,000.00. In some cases, uninsured employers can face criminal charges in addition to stiff civil penalties.


Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission
100 W. Randolph St. #8-200
Chicago, IL  60601
ph. 312/814-6560
 

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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When I started my statewide network of Illinois workers' compensation lawyers, one of the motivations for that was that I've seen too many attorneys who take cases that they shouldn't handle.  Sometimes it happens with lawyers that don't usually handle work injuries.  Other times it happens with work comp attorneys who end up taking a case that is in an area of the state they don't usually cover or involves an injury they know nothing about.

The other day I was called by a man who got a disease called rhabdomyolysis.  I've been doing this for a long time, but I've never seen this.  Basically it's an injury to muscle tissue that leads to a breakdown causing the damaged tissue to go in to the blood stream.  In this case, the caller hurt his arm and the damaged tissue put him in the hospital for four days.

Now I could have taken the case, but I've never dealt with that injury before.  While I know how to handle a case, I don't know about that injury and would have learned as I went.   I could probably do a good job, but this guy was much better off with me referring him to an attorney that I know has handled a similar case.  I asked around my network, found someone and sent him on his way.  He will achieve success and while it might not have been in my best interest to do that, it's certainly in the client's best interest.  And that is what helping a client should be all about.

Before you hire an attorney, especially if you have a unique injury, make sure your lawyer has done a similar case before.

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 isn't a new phenomenon, but we've seen a bunch of injured workers of late who have been discouraged by their bosses after they have been injured on the job.  Generally they are told something like, "Tell the hospital you got hurt at home and I'll pay your co-pay and for your time off work."

Some workers listen to this terrible advice.  Some are worried about losing a job, some are just scared in general.  Anyone who does this though is likely screwing themselves.

If you tell the hospital you got hurt at work when it happened at work, you are lying.  If your boss goes back on his word (and trust us, they always do) then you will likely have lost your ability to win a workers' compensation case and in the least will have made it really hard on yourself.  You'll have to go before a Judge and convince then under oath that when you were lying before you didn't mean it. That's not an impossible situation, but it's very difficult.

Even if your boss does help with the initial bills, what happens when you need to be off of work for an extended period of time?  Do they have money to cover that?  Can they pay for a settlement?  If they could then they wouldn't be worried about their workers' compensation rates going up a tad from an injury.

Be smart and be honest from the beginning.  It's the best thing for your long term health and safety.

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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Today is nine years since the tragic events of 9-11.  Many workers risked their lives that day.  Some that survived are battling terrible illnesses from all of the toxins they were exposed to.

Recently a proposal in Congress would have guaranteed medical coverage for those first responders to honor their bravery and take care of them.   To pay for it, it was proposed that we close a tax loophole that allows foreign countries to avoid payroll taxes on business earned in the U.S.   Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/05/stewart-on-killing-of-911_n_671519.html for why it failed and make sure to watch the great clip from the Daily Show.

It's simply pathetic that Republicans and Democrats are both playing politics with something so serious and so worthy.  I encourage you to call your Congressman and push for this worthy bill to be passed.

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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The #1 question we get is "What is my case worth?"  That depends on a lot of things, mostly your health.  But a major factor in to what a case is worth is also your average weekly wage.  If one worker makes $300 a week and has a torn rotator cuff and another worker makes $500 a week with the same injury, the 2nd worker will have a case that is worth more money.

Which brings us to a subject called concurrent employment.  In general, if you work more than one job and the employer of the job that leads to your work injury knows about the other job, both positions are factored in to your average weekly wage analysis.

So if you work one job making $800 a week and another making $200 a week, if you get hurt and were honest about your other job, your average weekly wage would be $1,000.00 a week.

We have a client right now with a major back injury.  His additional wages were $120 a week.  That leads to an extra $80 in TTD benefits every pay period.  That may not sound like a lot, but it makes a huge difference for him.

Like anything else, be honest and upfront and things will work out the way that they should.

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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Maybe it was the last part of summer, but it seems that we have seen a lot of lazy lawyering of late.  In these tough economic times, an attorney should be thrilled to have you as a client, especially if you have a good case.

That said, we've seen three instances in the last week where attorneys failed their clients just because they wouldn't go to bat for them.  They were strikingly similar in that the clients had previous injuries (two had back problems, one had a knee injury) and although they had been healthy for over a year, the problem was occurring again with increased work.

It's not a slam dunk to make a claim that repetitive activities on the job caused your problem or made it worse, but those cases are winnable every day of the week.

The way they are won is by an Illinois workmans comp law firm actually doing their job.  You need a good opinion from a doctor and with that you should win.

Too many lawyers want the case that requires no work and causes the lawyer to add no value.  Those cases are few and far between and even then a good attorney will get more money for their client.  We think it's just pathetic when attorneys have other interests that stop them from giving their all for their clients.

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 caller asked our help after blowing out his knee when he was using a treadmill on company property at lunch in the employee workout facility.  He wanted to know if he had a valid Illinois workers' compensation claim. 

We try to speak in plain English, but don't always succeed.  Below is a memo on recreational type injuries that another lawyer we know wrote a year ago.  It explains everything.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Generally, injuries sustained during voluntary recreational activities are not compensable.  Potential liability still exists however per the personal comfort doctrine.  Accidents occurring on break can still be deemed as in the course of employment pursuant to the personal comfort doctrine.  However, we also note that the acts encompassed by this doctrine (eating, drinking, smoking, bathroom activity or seeking relief from harsh temperatures) do not typically involve employee exercise.   

If the company (management) knows or acquiesces to the practice of lunchtime exercise, then a claimant may overcome the burden of proving the "in the course of" prong of the accident analysis.  He would further be able to argue that the exercise conveyed a benefit to the employer (bettering the health of employees and arguably increasing their productivity and decreasing their absenteeism). Yet, the claimant would still need to prove the second prong, "arising out of".  The injured worker would need to show that his employment somehow increased his risk of injury beyond that of the general public. The cause of the injury has to be related to the employment environment and not a hazard to which claimant would have been equally exposed apart from his employment. 

If the petitioner used no equipment of the employer in the exercising, then he would have a more difficult time proving the "arising out of" aspect of his case.  

The bottom line is that an employer is typically not responsible for injuries sustained by employees during off-the-clock activity that can be characterized as voluntary recreation.  However, the personal comfort doctrine may allow an employee to bring within the scope of employment an activity not intrinsic to the job.  In the Eagle Discount case the employee injured himself while playing Frisbee in the company parking lot.   By allowing or acquiescing to lunchtime exercise by its employees, it is fair to say that the employer is opening itself up to that potential.  Prohibition of exercise at work is a management option.

_____________________________________________________________________________

And, the Illinois Supreme Court has added:

"[I]f the employee voluntarily and in an unexpected manner exposes himself to a risk outside any reasonable exercise of his duties, the resultant injury will not be deemed to have occurred within the course of the employment. [Citation.] The employer may, nevertheless, still be held liable for injuries resulting from an unreasonable and unnecessary risk if the employer has knowledge of or has acquiesced in the practice or custom." Eagle Discount Supermarket, 82 Ill.2d at 340, 45 Ill.Dec. 141, 412 N.E.2d 492.

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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To quote the late, great John Belushi, nothing is over until we say it is. 

A reader asks: Had a disc fusion on c5-6 on July 1, 09. I was off for 5 months. The insurance company sent me to a I.M.E. He asked me to described my job duties to him, which was to lead a crew for a natural gas co. He said I was at " Maximum Medical Improvement" And released me with "no restrictions". My phyzatrist told me to try it out and see. I have been having problems with my neck the whole time I've been back. In May I re-aggravated my neck(at work) , and placed back on restrictions. Got hurt again in July. This time I'm off for 3 weeks.The insurance co said that this is a new injury. And that the original claim was closed when I returned to work with no restrictions.

Even if there wasn't a new injury, unless you wait too long to formally file a claim (and this person didn't), the insurance company can't tell you that your case is closed.  Only by settling your case should your case be formally closed.

This worker has a great case and deserves their case to be open.   The good news is that it will take all of five minutes to make that happen.

Moral of the story is that you don't let the insurance company dictate what is going to happen with your life.

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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Some lawyers aren't very good at what they do and often it's because they are just lazy.  But a recent e-mailer takes the cake for having the worst lawyer we have seen in some time.

He had a lumbar fusion which is as serious as it gets in work comp.  A settlement offer was made to resolve the case for minimal money which didn't address the huge unpaid medical bill nor did it come close to compensating this worker for what he could even minimally expect.

When he asked his supposed Naperville workers compensation lawyer why he was recommending to settle the case for the offered amount even though he had these bills and a fusion, the lawyer said, "Wow, I didn't realize your injury was that bad and that you'd had surgery."

I can't imagine telling a client to settle a case without knowing their actual injury is.  It's so unfathomable that I'm just at a loss for words.

The silver lining is that the worker had the sense to seek other opinions first.

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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