Workers Compensation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Work Injury Attorney

A caller recently injured his back on the job.  Similar to most clients he's a nice guy, hard worker and had never had a work injury before.  As a result he was really taken aback when the insurance adjuster called him and instead of asking how he was feeling focused on things that to his mind had nothing to do with his case.  For example: "Do you have facial hair?  Any distinguishing moles?  How about tattoos?  Long hair or short hair?  Are you overweight?"

The reason for these questions are because the not so subtle insurance adjuster is going to order surveillance on this guy to see if he's faking it or to see that even if he's hurt if they can catch him doing something that a person with a back injury shouldn't do like mow the lawn or rake leaves.  But of course those things do need to happen so unless your doctor has told you that you can't do that or those activities cause you more pain, you have to live your life.

As stated many times over in this blog, just be honest and things will work out.  But this is a good example of how these cases really work.  The worker is focused on their health and getting better.  The insurance company wants to see if they can get a "gotcha" moment and save themselves some money.

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 tell anyone that contacts us that nothing is more important than your health and we truly believe that.  We'd rather have a client that makes a good recovery than a client with a long term injury that is worth more money to us.  We take no pride in handing over a check to a client that will be in life long pain.

We don't offer much medical advice because we are not doctors.  One piece of advice we will give is that you should hire a doctor that gives you the best chance of a good outcome.  And yes, we mean hire a doctor.  They should work for you.

We feel that you get the best chance of success by getting a doctor that is narrowly focused in their practice.  In other words, lots of orthopedic doctors operate on multiple body parts, but if you are having back surgery, we suggest that you get a surgeon that primarily operates on the spine.  It's not that a doctor who operates on the back, legs, arms, etc. can't do a good job; rather we think a real specialist gives you the best opportunity.

Don't hesitate to look around for the right doctor just like you would/should for an attorney.

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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If you follow this blog you know that we preach honesty.  We were called by a woman today that hurt her back on the job and has a herniated disc.  Since the company is struggling she agreed to lie to her doctor about how she got hurt.  She did this thinking she was being a good employee.

As you can probably guess, she now needs back surgery, just got laid off and of course they are disputing that she got hurt on the job.  Unless a miracle occurs, this woman has lost all of the rights of the Illinois workers' compensation system.

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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It is not unusual for someone to have a bad back, sore arm, stiff knee, etc.  Especially as you get older the acts of daily living can wear your body down.  Many people also have problems due to past injuries.  We have represented a lot of clients who in the past have had non-work related back surgery, rotator cuff surgery, carpal tunnel and knee injuries.  These clients came to us when something about their job caused these pre-existing problems to flare up.

Under Illinois workers' compensation law, a pre-existing condition does not bar you from receiving benefits.  If your job aggravates or accelerates a pre-existing condition you should receive Illinois work injury benefits. 

In other words, your employer takes you as they find you.  If you had back surgery last year from a fall at home and then start a new job where you do some lifting and re-injure your back, the pre-existing condition should not reduce any rights that you have under the law.

Similarly, if you tore your ACL years ago and then twist the same knee when you slip on the floor at work, that is  a new case.

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