The most common question an Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer gets is, “What is my case worth?” The answer never depends on just what thing.
The biggest determining factor as to what your case is worth is your injury and the ultimate recovery that you make. So if any lawyer tells you at the get go that they know your case is worth a certain amount, they are not telling the truth. We know of one work comp lawyer in Chicago who likes to tell prospective clients that their case is worth at least $100,000. This is often a few days after the injury. Sure it “could” be worth that amount, but it might also be worth 10% of that. Nobody will know for sure until you’ve made a complete recovery.
Even after you’ve made a recovery, we need to know what job you are returning to and how much you are making now versus what you used to make. If there is a big difference, you could have a claim for what is called a wage differential. On the other hand if you make a full recovery, which hopefully is the case, your case will be worth less, but your life will be better.
There are still many other factors. The wage you were making when you got hurt is a huge issue. Someone who earns $1,000 a week and breaks there leg will get twice as much as someone who makes $500 a week and has the exact same injury.
Another factor as to what your case is worth is whether or not there is a good defense to your claim you got hurt at work. If the insurance company has a witness that you were playing softball the day after you say you hurt your knee on the job, the settlement value of the case is cut because if you go to trial and lose the case is worth $0. That’s “possible” in any case, but we only factor that in when there’s a good chance you could lose. Otherwise we want to get you full value. But if there is a chance you can lose and your case could be worth $50,000 if you win, an offer of $40,000 is something you’d have to really consider.
I have mentioned some of the major issues, but there are really so many more. Your age, your health (meaning are you sick with cancer or something like that), your need for future medical care, what your life expectancy is, how badly you need a settlement right now, what medical bills are unpaid, have you been paid for all of your time off of work, does the insurance company still represent the employer, are you hoping to return to your employer, etc. I could probably name 20 more things to consider.
A final big thought for me because every case is different is what are your life goals? I thought of this recently in a case where we were involved for guy that had multiple hernias. Normally that is not a big injury, but he unfortunately did not make a good recovery. I’d say that the case was probably worth around $150,000 on the low end and $225,000 on the high end. The case resolved for $180,000 and this was actually a great result for him. I say that because he and his wife had a life goal of moving to another state to be with their grandkids. We very likely could have gotten him the full value of his case if we went to trial and handled the appeal process. But that would have taken at least two years and that is two years of time grandkids that they wouldn’t have been able to get back. So normally where we’d recommend this offer be rejected, we wholeheartedly encourage it because it allows them to live the life they want to live.
So long story short, don’t believe anyone that tells you what your case is worth at the beginning of the case. And it’s alright to ask what your case is worth. At some point your attorney should be able to have a conversation with you that gives you a range of what they consider to be a good amount.
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.