How not to hire an Illinois work injury lawyer 101
We received a call from a nice guy with a fairly major injury that happened after a car accident on the job that was someone else's fault. He hired a workers' compensation attorney who told him that he could handle the whole case. Problem was that was a lie so that attorney recommended a "friend." The car accident lawyer said his fee would be 1/3, but then sent a contract that said 40%.
I pointed out to this caller that it should be a red flag that the first two interactions with his attorneys started with lies. "Yes, but I checked them out and they are members of the Illinois Bar Association so that impressed me." I let him know that the Illinois Bar Association is just a club and that while they surely have many fine attorneys that have joined, any Illinois attorney can join so that membership shouldn't add anything to the evaluation process.
I further pointed out that the workers' compensation insurance carrier will have a lien against the personal injury case for up to 75% of what they end up spending. Because he's paying two law firms instead of one, he's going to net less money in the end.
We usually recommend a work injury attorney that just handles job accidents. But when a personal injury case is part of the claim it can often serve you well to have a work comp lawyer that knows a thing or two about Illinois personal injury lawsuits or has a partner that handles those cases. It will save you money, allow you to have attorneys that are really working together and will prevent you from having to communicate the same thing twice.
No matter what the facts are, if you hire someone because they are a member of a club and they start off the relationship with lies, don't be surprised when down the road you don't feel that they are fighting for you or giving you the customer service that you deserve. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
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.
