Don't let the insurance company tell you that you have no case.

A new client stepped down from a ladder and felt a pop in his knee.  He tore his meniscus and is scheduled for surgery.  He called just to make sure that the insurance adjuster who told him that his case was no compensable was telling the truth.

News flash.  The adjuster is not looking out for you.  Sometimes they are nice, sometimes mean, sometimes they ignore you, sometimes they act like a friend.  In every scenario they make money by saving their employer money.  They are trying to reduce the costs involved in your case.  They are not there to look out for you.

Having an attorney levels the playing field.  An insurance company isn't going to tell you that you have a case if they think you will believe that you don't.  For our new client there is crystal clear case law that shows he was at an increased risk to the general public when he got hurt.  In plain English that means his case is covered under Illinois work injury law and he wins.

We don't pick battles with insurance companies - we fight when we have to, but find that keeping things amicable helps our clients.  That said, we also don't listen to non-sense like them telling us what is going to happen if we go to court.  We know the law and if it's on the side of our clients we make sure that the law is enforced.

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.

Heart attacks on the job in Illinois

Proving that a heart attack is work related is one of the most challenging cases we can undertake as attorneys.  A case like that is the basis of how our office is set up in that who we recommend to handle your case depends on the type of injury that you sustain.

Like any other injury, we must prove that our client's heart attack was caused, aggravated or accelerated by their job activities.  We've seen cases where a heart attack occurred at home and the worker won and cases where the heart attack occurred at a desk and the worker lost.  Often these workers have significant aggravating factors like obesity, heart disease in the family history, smoking or old age.

What we do is make sure that your cardiologist has a clear understanding of your job duties are and how they contributed to your injury.  If you were working in extreme heat or cold, working unusually long hours, doing heavy lifting or inhaling fumes that is important for your doctor to know.  Knowing the process and properly communicating with your doctor is often the difference between winning and losing a case.

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.

Holiday party injuries are usually not covered. Unless . . .

Hopefully your company still has a holiday party.  Most of these events are volunteer occasions which means that there is no punishment if you don't attend, at least not one that is publicized.

If you are at the office party this year and slip on a wet floor twisting your knee or sustain any other injury it is only compensable under Illinois workers' compensation laws if it was mandatory that you be there.  Otherwise you have no case.

It's mandatory if there is some repercussion for not attending.  Plainly speaking that means if you are threatened with losing your job, forced to take a vacation day, not given a bonus because you didn't show up or clearly denied a promotion.  You have to have some sort of proof, not just a feeling that it's good office politics to attend.

Two things to think about:

1. If you were injured at an office party, but were there to entertain clients then you might be covered if you get hurt because that can be seen as an act of your job.

2. If you get hurt because of someones negligence you may have a personal injury lawsuit.  Usually you can't sue your employer for negligence, but this is one time when you might be able to.  And of course, if the restaurant where you got hurt caused your injury you could sue them too.

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.