I got a very long e-mail from a reader recently that gave great details about her injury. It was crystal clear that she was hurt while working and that her very credible doctor thinks she needs physical therapy after a MRI showed bulging discs in here back.
For some reason the physical therapy treatment hasn’t been approved and while the MRI did happen, it took almost six weeks for it to get approved.
Beyond that, TTD benefit checks are often late and they don’t include wages from a second job that she can’t work. They also don’t reflect her consistent overtime pay which she’s now missing out on.
She’ll e-mail the adjuster, call and leave voicemails and get no response.
So her e-mail can be summed up as: I have a good case, but the adjuster is ignoring me. What should I do?
While the answer is going to sound like a lawyer trying to get work, it’s the honest answer. She needs to hire an attorney and have them formally file a claim. Only then can trial motions ,and petions for penalties for unreasonable delays, get heard in court. And what will really happen with a lawyer is that the adjuster will know that they can’t play around anymore. At least if she hires a good one.
Insurance adjusters make money by not paying you. They are hoping if they ignore you or short you on your check, you’ll either go away or return to work sooner than you should. It doesn’t always work, but it’s a hail mary attempt on their part.
My advice to just hire a good law firm probably seems to simple, but the truth is that Illinois workers’ compensation is simple, especially when the facts are on your side. You simply need someone in your corner who knows what they are doing and is willing to do the work. In almost every case that leads to success.
