Workers Compensation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Work Injury Attorney

There's an old saying that if it looks like a duck and talks like a duck then it's probably a duck.  That's a good thing to think about when hiring a Chicago workers' compensation lawyer.

A caller with a major injury came to us for advice on his injury.  He had found his lawyer through his doctor (side note, there are a lot doctors and lawyers that make their living by referring clients back and forth to each other regardless of what is best for the client.  We don't do this as we feel it's sketchy, but we get approached about this all the time).  The lawyer has an office in the northwest side of the City.  We had never heard of him so we looked him up.  His website said he handles workers' compensation, personal injury, real estate, bankruptcy and criminal cases.

Now we aren't saying that a lawyer in that location with multiple practice areas couldn't do a good job for you.  But it certainly doesn't paint a picture of someone who would.  First off, all Cook County work injuries are sent to Arbitrators at the Thompson Center which is downtown.  To have an office on the northwest side of town where it's 45 minutes or more by el to get to court and back would be very disruptive to a law practice, especially if you have to go back and forth to hearings a couple of times a day and do it every day.

Second, if you are in that location and don't regularly appear at the Thompson Center then you won't know the Arbitrators.  If you don't know them and the defense attorney does then you are fighting with one hand tied behind your back.

Finally, when someone is also a real estate attorney, bankruptcy attorney, criminal attorney, etc., it tends to lead to that lawyer not being up to date on the law.  In the case of our recent caller, he was being hounded by a collection agency over an unpaid bill that was part of the work comp case.  His lawyer didn't know that the law changed in 2006 making it illegal for a collection agency to try and collect when a case is active.  The client dealt with at least ten phone calls and had this put on his credit report.  If his attorney knew the law that could have been stopped easily.

So if it doesn't look like a duck (e.g. the lawyer does lots of areas of law, isn't located near a hearing location, etc.) then you better keep looking.

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.

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A sad reality is that many of our clients at some point need to hire an Illinois labor and employment law attorney.  We don't handle those cases, but we do.  You are probably saying to yourself, "Huh????"

We believe that if we are representing a client that we have a responsibility (within reason) to help our clients out in anything that stems from their case.  In other words, if you are owed overtime payments, we should refer you to someone.  If you are fired because you got hurt on the job, we should refer you to a lawyer that can help you.  If you are getting a divorce, well that likely has nothing to do with your case; but we'll still try to help you find the right attorney.

So many attorneys seem to take the easy excuse of saying something like, "We don't specialize in that."  If your work injury attorney hasn't made any relationships with employment law attorneys then all we can say is that is a real bad sign.

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.

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We represent a lot of people that have repetitive trauma injuries like carpal tunnel, De Quervain's tenosynovitis and herniated discs in your back or neck.  Unlike a specific accident such as slipping on a wet floor or lifting a box and feeling a pop in your back, repetitive trauma injuries don't always have a specific date that you can point to as when your problem started.  Most people notice some pain and try to work there way through it or assume it will go away.

Illinois workers' compensation law states that the accident date for repetitive trauma injuries is the date you knew or reasonably should have known that you had the injury and it was related to your job duties.  Reasonable minds can disagree on that and many injured workers in Illinois have lost their case over that issue.

If you suspect that your job may have played a role in contributing to your injury it is important that you are 100% honest with your doctor about what your job duties involve.  Doctors are there to treat the injury.  Many won't make a comment about whether or not the injury is work related unless you ask.  When you do ask be very descriptive about what your duties involve.  In other words make clear how many hours a day you type, how often you are lifting heavy objects and what they way, how many parts you move an hour on an assembly line, etc.  The more descriptive that you are the better the chance that your doctor will understand the true role your work activities played in your injury occurring.

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