If your case is going to go to arbitration (that is how cases are decided), there are a lot of factors that are important to winning your case. Your honesty and credibility as a witness, a consistent story to your doctors, an actual on the job injury and statements of witnesses to name a few. But there is one factor that stands out above all others when the insurance company is saying that your injury is not work related.
That factor is that your treating doctor says your injuries are connected to an accident on the job or the repetitive nature of your job. If the insurance company has an IME doctor that says your injuries aren’t work related and you have nothing then you are likely out of luck no matter how great your other evidence is.
And it shouldn’t just be any old doctor, but the most relevant doctor to the type of injury you have. In other words, if you have a major back injury and your only statement that your injuries are work related come from your family practice doctor or a chiropractor and the insurance company has an opinion that is not in your favor from a credible orthopedic surgeon, you have almost no chance.
We know an outstanding Decatur workers’ compensation lawyer that does a great job of instructing his clients the right questions to ask a doctor about this issue. Many in Chicago, Rockford and elsewhere do this well too. The bottom line for you is that you want an honest answer from the doctor and that comes with giving a detailed description of what happened and making sure the doctor understands the law in Illinois.
We don’t expect our clients to take this job on themselves. But we do expect that when you see any doctor that you give an honest and consistent history of how you got hurt. If you fail to do this then you are potentially shooting yourself in the foot.
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.