A reader asks:
My work comp benefits were just cut off. The insurance company says they have surveillance video of me playing football. It’s not true! Don’t they have to turn that over to us so we can see the video??
The answer is that they do not as there is no discovery in workers’ compensation cases. In plain English that means that you don’t have to share information with them (other than the names of your doctors) and they don’t have to share information with you. While it is customary to show the other attorney surveillance video if you are using it as justification for terminating benefits, it’s not mandatory.
There are some Arbitrators that want video information shared before trial so the workers’ lawyer will have time to prepare for a cross examination, but again, that is not the law. If we know who the surveillance company is, we can try to subpoena those records, but this isn’t usually possible because we almost never know unless we know that an insurance company or law firm uses the same surveillance company over and over.
In these situations we can get the information by simply going to trial. If there’s a reasonable basis for your benefits getting terminated (which means you were being dishonest) we’d lose. Otherwise we’ll win and will likely hammer the insurance company for penalties that punishes their unreasonable behavior.
The reader that contacted me was stressed because his lawyer wasn’t doing anything. His case, like most contested cases in Illinois work comp is actually simple. If you have an attorney that is willing to get a case ready for trial, your problems can be solved. If not, you will suffer even when you did nothing wrong or in this case when it’s a case of mistaken identity.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys who 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.