Unusual Illinois work injuries- Leave no stone un-turned
Recently we were called by a nice guy who had elbow surgery. He had been made a settlement offer that was fairly reasonable and was calling to verify that.
Whenever I hear of someone getting a settlement offer on their own that seems fair, the pessimist in me wonders if there is more to the case than meets the eye. Sure enough, this worker who was otherwise healthy before the accident, now has diabetes.
So what? Well I'll tell you what.
First off, surgery can create a stress response that causes changes in insulin and can lead to diabetes. So can inactivity and this surgery had our caller laid up for seven months. But most importantly, he had a pre-surgery blood sugar level of 102 and within six months of the surgery it was in the mid 300's. He had this testing the previous three years too and the results then were all normal. Now he is a full fledged diabetic.
Anything that stems from a work injury should be covered under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. For example, if you have knee surgery and are then on crutches, if you develop an arm problem from the crutches that should be part of your case.
So too should diabetes if we can prove that you wouldn't have had it (or at least not so quickly) except for the work injury.
Our caller ultimately didn't pursue anything further and in my opinion left a ton of money on the table as well as the security of knowing that his future medical needs would be taken care of. The moral of the story is that if you have anything go wrong you should look in to it. And a good attorney leaves no stone un-turned when it comes to examining a client's case and what it is worth.
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.
