Workers Compensation Lawyer in Chicago, Illinois Work Injury Attorney

"When is the right time to hire an Illinois workers' compensation lawyer?"  We got this very good question from a recent caller who was in a car accident about one year ago on the job.

The answer is the right time depends on the facts of your case, but since you pay the same amount for a lawyer no matter when you hire them, there is no reason to do it later rather than sooner.

In this case, the client was hit by a police car and also may have a case against that driver.  The time limits to sue a Government employee are usually one year and some times even six months.  This caller got to us just in time. 

His case is not contested right now, but it would have been helpful if we could have interviewed any witnesses when the accident happened.  We also could have provided help with getting his initial bills paid as that was trouble for him.

The biggest reason to hire an attorney right away is to have your case formally on file with the State. That prevents the insurance company from arguing that you didn't notify anyone in time about your injury and also gets your case assigned to an Arbitrator.  That means that if your benefits are improperly terminated or denied, you will be able to get a hearing much quicker because you will already be assigned to a Judge, your attorney will be (should be) prepared with all of the relevant information about your claim and it allows your lawyer to schedule depositions in a faster fashion.

Often hiring a lawyer is really just like a security blanket at first in case something goes wrong.

As a FYI, a lot of people that call us are worried about their jobs.  Not to say that someone hasn't ever been fired for having a work injury in Illinois, but if they are going to fire you, we think the chances are less if you are in fact represented.  Also please know that we almost never deal directly with the employer, but rather deal with the insurance company as we don't want to make waves that could hurt your career.

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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In general, if you are driving your car to work to start your day or home after a long days work, injuries that you sustain in a car accident are not covered under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act.  There are, however, a few exceptions.

1. If you are a "traveling employee" and driving to or from a client site, injuries from a car accident would likely be covered because you are benefiting the employer.  An exception would be if you "deviated from your normal route."  e.g. If you were driving to a client meeting, but stopped at the mall to go shopping.  An injury there would not likely be covered.

2. If you are carrying materials for your employer.  In a recent case, a construction worker loaded materials in his truck at the end of the day to bring back the next day.  Because this activity benefited the employer he was able to win benefits when he was in an accident.

3. We have seen cases where employees drive around company cars that essentially serve as an advertisement for the company.  You've surely seen cars with websites and phone numbers all over them.  When this happens and you are in an accident while driving, a strong argument can be made that promoting the company was part of your job.

The general theory around all of these cases is that the employer "expands the range of employment" by having transportation be used for the benefit of the company.  If you think that is what happened to you let us know and we will tell you if we think that you have 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.

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A recent case decided at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission shows once again that you never should let your employer or their insurance company tell you that you don't have a case because you are an independent contractor.

According to the case, a trucker who was issued a 1099 form and labeled an independent contractor, was really an employee who was entitled to benefits for his work injury.  He had a long, continuous relationship with the defendant, he worked full time and exclusively for the defendant and the defendant provided him with the equipment to complete his job.  They also had the right to terminate him.

Under Illinois law, this trucker was found to be an employee because the employer had control over him.  He had signed a form that said he was an independent contractor, but under Illinois law you can not sign away your rights to workers' compensation.

In other words, if it looks like a duck, talks like a duck and acts like a duck, it's a duck.  If you look like an employee, talk like an employee and act like an employee, you are probably an employee.  Don't let them tell you that you are not.

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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Illinois has a lot of strong laws on behalf of injured workers.  One of the strongest has to do with the amount you will be paid if you are permanently totally disabled (or killed) due to a job accident.

Depending on the date of your accident, there is a minimum amount that you have to be paid if you are permanently disabled.  For example, for accidents between January 15, 2008 and June 30, 2008, the minimum weekly payment is $441.93. 

In other words, let's say that you took a job 10 hours a week making $10.00 an hour.  Your weekly wage would e $100.00.  Let's also assume that one day on the job you are lifting a box, herniate a disc in your back and after medical treatment your doctor determines that there is no work in the world that you can reasonably do (or through vocational rehabilitation, an expert feels the same way).  At that point you are permanently disabled.

Before a Judge finds that you are permanently disabled, you would receive a weekly benefit of $100.00 which is the minimum TTD rate for when you got hurt.  This would continue indefinitely and the insurance company would likely be in no hurry to agree that you are unable to ever work again.

On the flip side, you would have a big motivation to get before an Arbitrator because the moment you do, the weekly benefits you are receiving would dramatically increase.  And unless your case is settled or your physical situation changes you can expect that you'd receive these benefits for the rest of your life.

Many attorneys tell their clients that if they are receiving benefits that there is no need to get in to court and sometimes that is true.  But if your weekly pay rate is low and it can be increased, your lawyer should do whatever they can to get you before a Judge.  If this is your situation, don't delay.  It literally can cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you sit back and do nothing.

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 are injured on the job, you are not filing a lawsuit, you are making a claim for benefits.  Here are the benefits you can get starting with the three most common:

Medical- No co-pays, no out of pocket expenses, no deductible for any reasonable and related medical care for your work injury.  You choose your own doctor and the insurance company or employer has no right to talk directly to your doctor's office other than to ask for copies of records or bills.

Temporary total disability (TTD)- This is 2/3 of your average weekly wage, tax free, for the time that you are authorized off work for a work injury or have restrictions that your employer can't accommodate.  There is no limit to the amount of time you can receive TTD.

Permanent partial disability (PPD)- When you are all better or as good as you can get, you are entitled to pursue a settlement or go to a trial to get a PPD award from an Arbitrator. The amount you are entitled to depends on the extent of your injury as well as your earnings before you were hurt.

Temporary partial disability (TPD)- Similar to TTD, but this is for people who can return to work, but only on a part-time basis.  You get TPD benefits to make up the difference.

Section 19(h) rights- By going to trial, if you win you will be able to receive medical treatment that relates to the work injury for the rest of your life.  This as referred to as Section 19(h) rights.

Travel expenses- While you typically don't get paid for having to go to your doctor, you should be compensated for the mileage between your house and any doctor that the insurance company chooses to send you to.

Vocational rehabilitation- If your employer can not accommodate permanent restrictions that you have, you are entitled, at their expense, for a job counselor to help you search for new work within your restrictions.  In fact, once you are off work for 120 days the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act requires your employer to begin to develop a plan to return you to work.  This plan almost never happens and is probably the most overlooked law on the work comp books.

Maintenance- This is similar to TTD benefits.  You get this when you are undergoing vocational rehabilitation.  As long as you are cooperating with vocational rehabilitation then maintenance benefits should continue.  There is no time limit for how long you can receive these benefits.

Death benefits- If an injured worker dies from a work related accident and leaves either a spouse or a dependent then those survivors are eligible for death benefits which can be as high as the TTD rate.  The benefits can continue for up to 20 years and there is a minimum of $500,000.00 that should be paid.  In addition there is an $8,000.00 benefit for burial expenses.

Advances- If you are ready for trial and the insurance company isn't, you do not have to suffer.  If they are not paying you for your time off work your attorney can ask for a PPD advance.  This often happens in cases where everyone agrees that money will be owed at the end of the case, but there is a dispute as to whether the worker should be authorized off work or not.  It's not uncommon for the insurance company to "advance" a few thousand dollars up front and then when the case is resolved take a credit for that.  In other words if they advance $3,000 now, if a year from now the case settles for $20,000.00 you will only get $17,000.00 in new money.  The advance is always tax free and there is no interest applied to that so essentially the injured worker gets more money in the end.

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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Sometimes a good deed does not get punished.

In a recent case (not handled by our office), a worker at the now closed Circuit City was walking by a vending machine and noticed that his co-worker was frustrated because she couldn't get the Fritos she had paid for from the vending machine.  Apparently management was on notice that the machine would malfunction.  The worker, being a good guy, tried to dislodge the dangling Fritos and hit his shoulder into the machine.  As you can probably guess, a shoulder injury was the result.

The employer's insurance company denied benefits stating that this injury had nothing to do with the job.  After years of court rulings, the Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that even though the worker's job didn't involve slamming his shoulder in to a vending machine, because he was a "Good Samaritan" he should receive benefits.  In a nutshell, the Judges said that it was predictable that someone could get hurt while trying to help a co-worker.  Even though he wasn't rescuing someone in the traditional Good Samaritan sense, he wasn't goofing off.  As a result he won.

The Court also said that because the vending machine was provided for the comfort of the employees, that had the injured worker been trying to help himself he likely would have won his case too.

Every case is different so we don't suggest that you ram your arm into a vending machine if a candy is stuck.  But the reality is that if you try to shake the machine, give it a hit with your hand and then butt it with your shoulder, if you get hurt you will likely win benefits.

Finally, we can imagine if this were to happen that an employer or their insurance company would tell the worker that they are not eligible for Illinois workers' compensation benefits because the injury wasn't a part of their job duties.  It's just another lesson that you shouldn't take the word of someone who tells you that you have no case, especially if they might have a financial motivation to tell you that.

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 lot of readers ask how long they have to bring a case.  Some have only been hurt a few days ago, some are going on a few years.

The statute of limitations to bring an Illinois workers' compensation claim is the longer of three years from the accident date or two years from the last payment of compensation. 

Three years from the accident date is usually straight forward unless you have a repetitive trauma injury like a back problem from a lot of lifting over time.

Two years from the last payment of compensation includes not only workers' compensation benefits like TTD or payment of medical benefits, but also payments for medical bills related to the injury through group insurance (if obtained from your employer) or disability policy benefits (again it must be through your employer).  We have seen cases where a statute of limitation had passed, but because an insurance company paid a bill all of the sudden the case was alive again.  This is very rare and as far as we know, workers comp is the only area of Illinois law where you can miss the time limits for filing a case and then possibly get it back.

There is also a law that says you must give your employer notice of an injury within 45 days of when you knew or reasonably should have known that it might be related to a work accident.   Failure to do so can cause your case to be dismissed. 

The reality is that if you are hurt on the job you don't want to lose your right to benefits over a technicality.  By hiring an attorney this should never happen.

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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Reason #4,826 to not go at it alone.

My surgeon canceled my laminectomy and said that he talked to the nurse case manager for the insurance company who convinced him to do three more months of physical therapy.  I've already have three months of PT, two epidural injections and NO RELIEF.  Why does she get to do that?  Also, is she allowed to schedule my appointments and attend?

This from a struggling injured worker in downstate Illinois that contacted us.  There is a law in Illinois that in plain English says that your employer or the insurance company are not allowed to talk to your doctor without your permission.  Of course they don't tell you that.  Quite often when you first get hurt the insurance company will act as nice as can be because they want to take advantage of you this way.  Why do they do it?  As shown above, in some cases they can get doctors who are push-overs to change their medical opinion.  They hope to frustrate you and save money.

Not only are they not supposed to talk to your doctors (other than to ask for copies of medical records and bills) they aren't allowed to schedule your appointments or attend any of your exams.  We can't guarantee any of our clients a result, but we do guarantee that if we are representing you that this non-sense will end.  We gladly communicate with the insurance adjusters, but we make sure that medical decisions are actually made by your doctor.

There is even a case that created a rule called the Petrillo Doctrine.  In plain English that means that if the insurance company or one of their representatives talks to your physician without permission, anything that doctor says is not admissible as evidence.  In other words, if your doctor says that your injury is work related, but then the nurse manager talks to him and gets him to change his opinion, that change of opinion will get tossed out of court.  This law was created to protect innocent workers.

It's an un-even playing field when you aren't represented.  If you are going to choose to go at it alone you are playing with fire.

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 get tons of calls from truck drivers.  Some were injured in Illinois, but otherwise have never been to Illinois.  Others have their terminal out of Illinois in places like Decatur, Chicago and Rockford, but work out of state.  Still others came to Illinois for their pre-employment physical and training, but haven't been here since.

If hurt on the job, all of those people would be eligible to pursue an Illinois workers' compensation claim.  They potentially would also have the ability to file a case in other states depending on where they were hurt, where their terminal is located and the laws of each state.

We are only Illinois attorneys so we can't give you advice about other states.  That said, we know many work injury attorneys throughout the country and everyone we've talked to has made it clear to us that the best benefits for injured workers are in Illinois.

Sometimes the insurance company will tell you that they are processing the benefits through one state.  They don't get to make that decision, you do.  Sometimes they do it because they don't know any better.  Often insurance companies do it because they know the case is worth less money in a state like Indiana, Tennessee or Texas than it would be in Illinois.  Many states have smaller limits as to what you can recover (we are told that the maximum for a Kansas case is $125,000.00) and they also sometimes give the insurance company control over your medical care.

Remember that if you want to bring your case in Illinois, as long as you were hurt here, hired here or have your employment principally based out of here you can bring an Illinois workers compensation claim.  Even if you settled your case through another state you may still be able to file your case in Illinois, even if your settlement agreement in the other state says that you can't bring any other cases.  Only the Illinois Workers'  Compensation Commission can close out your 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.

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We get calls all the time from bartenders, waiters, skycaps and others that work jobs where they make a lot of money off of tips.   None of them report everything they are making to the Government for taxes.  Because of the amount of money that skycaps make, we can't even get our clients to tell us how much they are truly getting in tips.  It's like a secret code that they don't want to let out.

We could care less about IRS issues.  Our concern is representing our clients in work injuries.  Generally speaking, the more money that you earn the more that your injury is worth.  Someone who has a torn meniscus from an Illinois job accident who makes $1,000 a week will get a much larger settlement than someone with the exact same injury who makes $400 a week.

When determining how much someone makes we calculate what is called the average weekly wage.  This looks at the last 52 weeks worked for your employer (or in some cases more than one employer) and we determine your average weekly pre-tax earnings.  This is easy when someone is salaried, not always easy if you are an hourly worker that gets overtime, someone who gets commissions or a person whose hours change every week.

In determining what someones average wage is, we look at reported earnings.  Tips that don't get reported aren't included.  Now some insurance companies will take our word for it when we tell them what you really earned, but some just go off what the employer says.  This is not a good issue to litigate because you might be forced to testify under oath that you have cheated on your taxes.

For injured workers who have been paid cash "under the table" the same problem exists, although many Arbitrators like to punish employers that do this rather than punish the injured worker.

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 have mentioned a few times in this blog about 19(b) petition's for immediate hearing, but haven't clearly stated what it is.  Simply put, a 19(b) petition is the way that you can get immediately in to court if you are owed benefits that are wrongly denied.

Usually your case appears for status before an Arbitrator every 60 days or so.  So if your case is on the July status call, the next time you can ask the Arbitrator for a trial date is September.  By filing a 19(b) motion, we can get your case on to the next hearing date which in this example would be August.

A normal trial motion has the Judge decide every issue in your case, including what it is worth.  A 19(b) decides just some of the issues such as whether or not you are owed TTD benefits, whether or not the insurance company has to pay for your surgery or if your case is in fact work related at all. 

Many work injury lawyers in Illinois file 19(b) petitions, but few actually go to trial on them.  This is usually because they haven't prepared their case.  For example, to go to trial your lawyer needs to secure all of your medical records and possibly take a deposition of your doctor or the company IME doctor.  This takes organization and preparation and is the number one reason why you should file a case formally before a problem occurs.  Otherwise your attorney is scrambling and it can take months to get your case ready for trial.

If your benefits are being denied unfairly, you should insist that your lawyer get the case ready for trial and file a 19(b) petition.  It should almost never take more than 30-60 days for that to happen.  We've had calls from people whose benefits haven't been paid for more than a year and they've never been to court.  That's just lazy lawyering, plain and simple.

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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Overheard a petitioner's lawyer at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission trying to settle a case and as part of his pitch he said, "Oh and by the way, she's got one of those b.s. RSD problems too."

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is often disputed because many of the symptoms are subjective beyond a cold and purplish skin surface.  It's also a somewhat newer diagnosis and is often fought by insurance companies.

We have seen numerous clients suffer with this injury and know how legitimate of a problem that it is.  That reality was driven home by a friend of the firm that doesn't have a case.  We had carpal tunnel surgery that went bad and went on to cause severe CRPS in his hands, arms and neck.  This guy was one of the most active, athletic, outgoing people we know.  He now must takes scores of pills a day and if he wants to look to his left, he has to turn his whole body.  He missed years off of work and was a guy who was truly a workaholic.

Good news is that today he is back to working 70 hours a week like he loves to do.  Most of our clients eventually make a recovery too, although they are usually not the same person.  No matter what happens, we believe our clients and would never sell them out when trying to resolve their cases.  The attorney who said it was trying to be funny (as if that was funny), but let's be honest; he did nothing but hurt his client.

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 were contacted by a laborer that blew out his back on the job and can no longer perform his usual line of work.  He was a 1099 employee who was told that his case wasn't covered because he was an independent contractor.

Under Illinois workers' compensation law, just because you get a 1099 doesn't mean that you are an independent contractor.  Rather we look to see what right of control does your employer have over you.  If they tell you where to go, what to do, when to be there, prevent you from working elsewhere, etc., then you are an employee.

The person that contacted us hired an attorney who rightfully filed the case with the Illinois workers' compensation commission.  But for some strange reason he failed to notify the insurance company of the employer that a case was filed and since the company didn't do that either this person never got paid.

The good news is that he got a judgment for around one million dollars.  The bad news is that he now has to try and collect that from the employer who if they file bankruptcy can make that judgment go away. Had the insurance company been notified, not only would they have to pay everything, this nice man would have likely been paid a long time ago.  It's great that he has a judgment, but will he ever collect?  If not it was a million dollar mistake.

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 recent caller wanted to know what his case was worth because his doctor had given him a 5-10% impairment rating concerning his shoulder injury.  In many states doctors rate the case and that is how you know what it is worth.

Illinois specifically does NOT recognize doctor ratings to determine the value of an injury.  We determine permanent partial disability based on a review of the medical records, the status of your job and comparing all of that to past cases decided at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.

In the case of the caller, he had a rotator cuff repair with permanent restrictions and a likely 2nd surgery.  It's too soon to say what the case is worth, but we can tell you that it's going to be worth way more than 5-10% loss of the arm no matter what the doctor says in his impairment rating.  Literally an impairment rating by a doctor has no impact on the case and it's not supposed to be admitted as evidence.

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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One of the most common allergies is a reaction to latex products, most often latex gloves.  Some people develop such a severe allergy that just being around latex causes them to break-out, have trouble breathing and in the worst case scenario can cause a death.

If you work for an employer and then develop a latex injury, it is a covered workers' compensation claim in Illinois.  Your employer has a duty to take the latex exposure away from you and if they don't, they will have to pay you for your time off of work.  Either way they will have to pay for all of your medical bills related to this problem.

If you are having a latex exposure problem we strongly encourage you to get prompt medical attention, explain to your doctor (preferably an allergist) what is happening and follow their recommendations.

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 are happy to answer any questions that people have about Illinois injury cases.  Three questions we get asked a lot are what are the abbreviations FCE, IME and MMI?

FCE- Stands for functional capacity evaluation.  Basically it's a test that has you perform a series of activities throughout the day to determine if you need any physical restrictions before returning to your job or what capacity you can work in.  It's an objective test that measures not just ability, but also effort.  If you are found to have used a bad effort it can hurt your case.

IME- Stands for independent medical examination.  This is the insurance company's right to send you to a doctor of their choosing to see if you are really hurt, what your diagnosis is, whether or not your problem is work related, what treatment is needed or anything else that they want to ask.  It's usually a one time visit.  Many of these doctors are hired guns or almost always favor the employer.  Some are truly independent.

MMI- This means maximum medical improvement or as good as you are going to get medically speaking.  We don't consider settling a case until a client is at MMI because once you settle you can not get any more medical treatment at your employer's expense.  Sometimes you are at MMI, but still need ongoing physical therapy or a yearly exam.  Your doctor determines when MMI has taken place.

If you have questions about any of these terms just let us know.

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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When you lift a box on the job and feel a pain in your back, it's clear that the work activity contributed somehow to your injury.  When you lift boxes day after day and one day wake up with pain in your back shooting down your leg, it's not as clear cut that your job activities contributed to your injury.

The good news is that if your doctor will state that your job duties have played a role in your injury, you should get Illinois workers' compensation benefits.  Recently the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ruled that a production worker who had to turn his body left and right several times a day proved that his herniated disc in his back was work related.

If you suspect a repetitive trauma injury we suggest three things:

1. Give your doctor a very detailed description of your job duties.

2. Make sure that you ask the doctor if your job played any role (e.g. aggravated or accelerated) in your injury.

3. Advise your employer of your problem, in writing, as soon as you suspect that your job played a role in your problem.

None of this guarantees a result, but with a good medical opinion and a legitimate injury from repetitive activity you can usually prove your 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.

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This question was just raised to us by the co-worker of a young man (22) that died in a job related accident.  This unfortunate young man was not married and had no kids.  He also did not have anyone that was financially dependent upon him.  He is survived by two parents and a sibling.

In this case, because no third party was responsible for the death, the only benefits that are available are payments of his medical bills and payment for his funeral (up to $8,000).  Under Illinois workers' compensation law, when there is a wrongful death on the job, you can't sue your employer for negligence.  If there are dependents or a spouse they will receive death benefits that pay a minimum of $500,000.00.  If no spouse or dependents then there is nothing that we can do for the family.

When we get these calls we look at every possible angle to see if someone can be held responsible so please don't read this post (or any other on the site) and draw a firm conclusion about your 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.

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The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled in favor of a Circuit City employee who hurt his shoulder in an incident with a vending machine.  The worker in this case was helping a co-worker who put money in the machine and had a bag of chips stuck in the machine.  To help the co-worker out he jarred the machine injuring his shoulder.

Now nothing about his job had to do with jarring the vending machine that was made available to both employees and the public.  But the court held that it is reasonably foreseeable that a worker would help a co-worker in this type of situation.  As a result Circuit City is on the hook for all of his lost time, medical bills and the permanent nature of his disability.  If he isn't released to full duty work, the insurance company with have to offer vocational rehabilitation because as you likely know, Circuit City is out of business.

Our take is that the Courts in Illinois aren't going to punish workers that get hurt while trying to help out.  In fact the Appellate Court even cited the Good Samaritan Law as why this worker should get benefits.

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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Many people that call us are not aware of their rights when it comes to being hurt on the job.   There is nothing more important than your health and in some cases the actions of an employer can jeopardize your health.

Specifically, if your employer tells you that you can only treat with the company doctor, they are risking your health.  Many of these groups are really places that have you see a physician's assistant or don't really examine you.  If you have compartment syndrome in your leg or a herniated disc in your back or neck, failure to get appropriate and timely treatment could make a fixable situation a life altering problem.

Remember, you have a right to choose your doctor for any reasonable care that is related to your Illinois work accident.  If you have a serious injury you should get with an orthopedic doctor or neurologist as soon as possible.   These physicians are best for serious injuries and give you the best chance of a good result in the long run.

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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Lately we've seen a lot of cases where people looking for an Illinois work comp lawyer are being told that even though their doctor recommends physical therapy or surgery, it's not going to be approved.  I spent 30 minutes with a physical therapist this morning whose clients are continually being denied treatment by medical management companies.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission rules are clear. If the treatment is reasonable and related then it should be covered.  Treatment should not be denied unless the insurance company has a medical opinion from a doctor that says the treatment is not necessary or not related to a work injury.

The good news is that when this non-sense happens we can file what is called a Section 19b petition for immediate hearing.  We can also file a petition for penalties and fees that works kind of like punitive damages.

When you are dealing with nonsense you can either roll over and take it or send a message that it's not acceptable.

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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Under Illinois workers' compensation laws, if you fall on stairs or on the floor, it's not automatically a compensable case.  You have to prove why you slipped.

For example, if you are walking down the stairs at work and simply miss a step and fall, resulting in a broken arm, you would likely lose your case.  You have to prove that something about your employment caused your injury.  For example, the following scenarios would likely make your case a winner:  You were running to a meeting, you slipped on a wet stair, there was some other defect in the stairs, you were carrying a box for work, etc.

Similarly, if you fall on the floor, you can't just say "I don't know why I fell" and expect to win the case.  You must show that something about your job contributed to your accident.

Always tell the truth in these situations.  Do not give the insurance adjuster a recorded statement about what happened as they may try to manipulate the situation and make it appear as if your job had nothing to do with the injury.

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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You are a Federal employee.  Those work injuries fall under a whole different set of laws.  In fact, we don't know of any attorney in Chicago that handles federal workers' compensation cases.  We are aware of one attorney in Florida that handles these cases throughout the country.

As we understand it, the government has more or less screwed employees and attorneys in these matters.  Apparently attorneys have to hope that their clients will write a check after they collect.

Hopefully some day the powerful unions that most Federal workers are in will act up to protect their workers.  Until then, if you are a post office worker, FBI agent or other US government employee we can't help.

Now if you work for the state of Illinois on the other hand you get the benefit of our great laws and we'd love to help you.

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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Every now and then we get phone calls from people who have taken a leave of absence because of stress, depression or some other psychological injury.  Unfortunately we usually can't help these people.

Under Illinois law, unless there is something physical that led to the mental injury, it's almost impossible to win a work injury case.  In other words, if your boss pushes you (which is a physical act) and that leads to a mental breakdown then you could have a case.  But if your boss is just a jerk and screams at you all of the time and that leads to a mental breakdown then it's probably not a case.  Might sound odd, but that's the law.

Typically the only time a mental stressor that leads to a mental breakdown can be covered under IL work comp laws is if the mental stressor is shocking and well beyond what is normal.  The classic example is a factory worker who saw a co-workers hand get ripped off by a machine that they both worked on.  This led to severe nightmares and panic attacks.  That case was compensable.

Of course, no matter what happened to you, we will always talk for free and give our honest advice.  Call any time, 312-346-5578.

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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Don't take our word for it.  The Illinois Appellate Court just ruled that an electrician whose work duties varied - compared with someone who does a single task every day on a repetitive basis - could still bring a case for repetitive trauma.

In this case the electrician alleged that he got carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel and pronator syndromes due to his repetitive and hand intensive work.  The defense said that benefits should be denied because the work was varied.  The Court disagreed and said that even though it wasn't the same task over and over, it was repetitive enough.

Based on the Court's findings, the injured worker received approval for six needed surgeries, all of which will be paid for by the insurance company.

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 have a big philosophy on how we treat our clients.  You can sum it up that we do what we think gives them the best chance of success and that we treat them like we would a family member or friend.

Case in point is a recent client.   We are helping them with their work injury, but it happened in a car accident that was someone else's fault, so we connected them with a good personal injury attorney for that.  They were off work for a long time so they needed a referral to a social security lawyer.  Again, we didn't try to handle that in-house, we sent that to someone we think is an expert.

From there regrettably their doctor messed up their surgery so we recommended an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer.  And finally, their ex-wife is making a claim against their benefits so we referred this client to a family law attorney.

It's not the desired path for a case, but it's not uncommon either. 

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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Insurance companies typically make money because most people are too nice or too scared to find out their rights.

Take Jim (name changed of course) who called us today looking to find out if we could help a two year old medical bill get paid.  It turns out that on April 28, 2006 Jim blew out his knee at work and had ACL surgery.  The insurance company paid him for his time off work and paid for all of his bills except this one that had gone to collection.  When Jim called to ask them to pay the bill no one returned his call.

Jim was just going to pay the bill (almost $1,000) out of his own pocket, but as you know, times are tough.  Fortunately he called us and even more fortunate is the fact that he didn't wait much longer because come April 29th his case would have been barred forever.  Now not only will the bill get paid, but Jim is looking at around $35,000.00 for his injury.

Now I can't say for sure, but a pretty educated guess is that the insurance company new that if they could just delay Jim for a few weeks that they would be off the hook and Jim would be screwed.

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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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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When someone sustains a permanent scar from a job accident it can possibly entitle you to compensation for what is called disfigurement.  There are a few things to think about in these cases:

1. You can't settle a scar case until your scar is at least six months old.

2. Scars that occur above your knees or below the breast line do not qualify for compensation (although you might be able to get compensation for permanent partial disability if there is some other problem to that part of the body).  Please note that scars on your arms in between these two points can get compensation.

3. A scar on your face is worth more money that any other part of your body.

4. A scar that is raised or keyloid has more settlement value.

5. You can't get permanent partial disability (ppd) and dis-figuration money for the same body part.  e.g. if you are cut by a saw at work and sever a tendon, you will get ppd, but won't get disfigurement.

This is one area of workers' compensation where your medical records don't help a Judge decide what your case is worth.  If we can't settle a scar case we usually just take our client in front of the Judge and let him/her offer their opinion.  The case typically settles after that.

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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As Illinois workers' compensation attorneys, we know a lot about medicine as we deal with it every day.  That said, we don't give medical advice and while we might suggest a doctor for a client if asked, we never will steer a client to a certain doctor.  It's not ethical and it can come back to burn you.

We get called all of the time from doctors and chiropractors who "want to send their clients to us."  What they really want is for us to send our clients to them.  We've never taken anyone up on this "offer" and while we might have lost some business as a result, again it's not really the right way to do our job.

If your doctor says that he met an attorney and was impressed on what that lawyer did for his client then by all means check it out.  But if your doctor seems intent on steering you to a lawyer you'd be wise to ask what's in it for the doctor and what their relationship is.  Many of these doctors seem to get in bed with attorneys who don't solely focus on work injuries.

And just as we wouldn't give you medical advice, if your doc tries to tell you what the law is we suggest that you take it with a grain of salt.

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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My first trial many years ago I represented a woman who did semi-repetitive work on the job and per her doctor had carpal tunnel.  I was fresh out of law school and my boss at the time asked me to go to trial to get the experience.

My opponent was kind of an older attorney and didn't seem very organized.  We talked before the case went to trial and he was encouraging me to settle.  Young and confident with marching orders from my boss I told my client to decline the settlement offer.

I thought the trial went well as my nervous client testified well.  However, it was clear from the get-go that my opponent and the Arbitrator had a great relationship.  I was addressed as "counselor", my opponent was called by his first name.  During a break the two of them yucked it up.  Six weeks later I got the result and the case was denied.  To this date it's the only time I've represented an injured worker and lost a trial with no compensation (as discussed in this blog, that is no great deal as our firm only takes on legitimate injuries).

The lesson from all of this is that while the facts are important, the ultimate income often depends on things you can't control.  Because of this experience I launched www.findgreatlawyers.com to point people in the right direction for their case.  We have a state wide network of attorneys that helps people find the right lawyer for their case.  If you have a Lake County workers' compensation case, we will connect you with a lawyer that not only focuses their practice on job injuries, but has a great relationship with the Arbitrators up there.  Same for any other county.  This gives you the best chance of success.

Had my boss done the same thing in 1997 our client likely would have won her 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.

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Our law firm is unique in that we are a network of attorneys throughout Illinois that solely help injured workers.  What we do is listen to your situation and recommend the attorney within our network that best fits your needs.  There are about 20 firms that we work with.  The goal is always to have the right lawyer work on the case.  Whatever is best for the client is how we guide our decisions.

This was well demonstrated in a call the other day.   A stuntman injured his shoulder severely while working on a movie in Chicago.  The movie was about football and he was injured making a tackle.  Within our network is an attorney who is also a college football referee.  He has more than 25 years representing injured workers and refereeing football games.  Not only does he understand work injuries, he understands football injuries.

Not that other lawyers in our network or other firms couldn't get a good result for this client, but clearly this is the best attorney for this guy.  At the least we believe that he gives him the best chance for success.

If you contact us we'll tell you who is the right lawyer for your unique situation.

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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The Occupational Disease Act is for the most part the same thing as the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act except that it deals with injuries that are a result of exposure to chemicals or other occupational hazards.  It's not like lifting a box where something happens and you know you are injured.  Rather it's an exposure that over time causes a problem.

We are investigating the case of a firefighter who has developed leukemia.  Some studies show that firefighters are at risk for leukemia to do exposure to toxic chemicals when responding to a fire call.   On top of that, there is exposure to benzene and other chemicals when driving their trucks.

Much like a typical repetitive trauma case, if your doctor says that your job contributed to your disease, you are eligible for benefits even if your job is not the primary cause.  100% of your medical bills should be paid, you'd get 2/3 of your wage tax free for your time off work and you'd be entitled to compensation for the permanent nature of your injury.

Because these problems don't show up right away, many clients are under the gun time wise to get a case filed.  If you think you are injured from an exposure to chemicals at work do not delay seeking a lawyer.

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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Generally speaking, if you are hurt due to the negligence of your employer or co-worker, you can't sue for negligence.   That's one of the trade-offs of Illinois work comp law and in most cases it's well worth it because Illinois offers great work injury benefits to employees.

That said, it's shocking to us how few attorneys do a real analysis as to what other cases might exist.  So many take the approach that they only represent you for the work injury.  That may be true (and that's all we do), but as an attorney you should still do your best to offer a full analysis of what rights your clients may have.

Perhaps you were illegally fired.  Maybe you are owed overtime benefits.  Possibly someone who is not part of your company was negligent and can be sued for the extent of your injury.

One of my favorite clients is a nice young man from Indiana that we represented for free because he became paralyzed after a fall from a scaffold.  He worked for an Illinois company, but got hurt in Wisconsin so he at first contacted an attorney there.  That lawyer got him workers' compensation benefits in Wisconsin, but failed to investigate whether or not he could have gotten more in Illinois and shockingly never did an investigation as to whether or not the scaffold company could have been sued.

By the time he got to us it was too late to sue the scaffold company and all we could do was increase his benefits based on Illinois law.  Fortunately he had a legal malpractice lawsuit against his first lawyer, but really it should never have come to that.

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's probably also a big mess.  We decided long ago not to get involved in uninsured cases because regrettably we found that you usually can't collect in these cases.  In other words, we might win your case, but it's doubtful we'll see any money for you or us and if we do it's usually nowhere near what the case is worth.

If your employer says they don't have work comp insurance or you know that they don't you should report them to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Department of Insurance.  If they do their job they will investigate your employer and hopefully help you.

The most recent tragic example we saw of this was from a caller who has been a mover for 23 years and blew out his knee.  His employer shockingly doesn't have insurance and now this guy is faced with a career change.  We can only hope that the employer goes to jail.

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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The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission just released the following statement:

In plain English, permanent partial disability is what you get for the permanent nature of your injury once you are all better.  The amount you get paid is based on the date you were hurt, the extent of your injury and the amount you were earning when you got hurt.  The PPD rate is 60% of your wage and is subject to a maximum amount.  Click here for the rate chart.  The Commission had incorrectly stated that the maximum rate was $643.82.  If you are a high wage earner your case is probably worth more money now.

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.

Due to a clerical error, the maximum PPD rate for 7/1/08 - 6/30/09 that was posted in January 2009 was wrong. Please note the correct rate is $664.72. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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Temporary total disability benefits (TTD) is compensation you receive for the time you are unable to work do to a work injury.  In Illinois that figure is 2/3 of your average weekly wage, tax free.

TTD is supposed to start once you miss four days of work.  You don't get paid for the first three days off unless you are off for two weeks.  In that case you are to be paid retroactively.

The trick is that days off count.  In other words, if you work Monday to Friday and are off work Thursday, Friday and Monday, you have really been off work for five days not three.  Make sure you get paid for this and no matter what they tell you, you don't have to use vacation days.  If you do we should be able to get that reinstated for you.

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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There is a Federal Law that protects the interests of Medicare.   Basically if you have an injury now and some day need treatment for it and go to Medicare to ask them to pay for it, they are going to ask how you originally hurt yourself.  If they discover that it was from a workers' compensation claim they can deny payment if you failed to protect their interests.

Before we settle any case where it is anticipated that our clients will need future medical care we do what is called a Medicare Set Aside.  Basically an independent company comes in and states what the present cash value is of the future medical needs.  It is up to the insurance company to fund an account to pay for this treatment.  If you can prove to Medicare that you considered their interests you should have no worries.

If the insurance company won't provide this or if it's needed, we take our cases to trial.  If you win a work comp trial you keep your medical rights for life as it relates to that injury.

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 type all day and get carpal tunnel syndrome it wouldn't surprise anyone that your injury was in part caused be your job activities.  Prove that and you win your case even if you have underlying risk factors.

We've stood before many an Arbitrator and had injured clients demonstrate how they used their hands when typing and the pain they noticed.  Unfortunately you can't easily demonstrate how you use your heart when working.

The fact of the matter is that if your job plays a role in having a heart attack you should have an Illinois workers' compensation case.  I'm not talking about normal stress, but rather the actual job duties.  In other words, if you are lifting heavy material all day it's going to make your heart work harder.  If after a day of heavy lifting you have a heart attack we think it should be a work comp case.  Or if over time you do a ton of lifting, work in extreme heat or cold or do anything else that is a risk we'd likely pursue your case.  To win we simply need to talk to your cardiologist, explain the law and ask if your job played any role in your heart attack.

We do the exact same thing on all of our other cases.  Just because you can't see how the job caused your injury doesn't mean it didn't happen.

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 got a call from someone in the suburbs who got hurt in Palatine, hates coming to the City and wants to file her case at the Rolling Meadows courthouse.  We explained that you can't file a workers' compensation claim at that location because all Cook County workers' compensation claims are filed at the Thompson Center in Chicago.  This isn't a choice by our office, it's Illinois law.

This is also why you don't find many lawyers in the suburbs who do nothing other than represent injured workers.  If your office is in Schaumburg it doesn't make sense to have a practice that requires you to be in the City every day. 

So if you are hurt in Cook County your case is in Chicago.  If you are hurt in DuPage County  while working then your case is in Wheaton.  If you are hurt on the job in Lake County your case is in Waukegan.

The good news is that our firm has a network of attorneys throughout Illinois and in almost every situation we can handle your case without you having to travel.

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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Illinois is what we call a worker friendly workers' compensation state.   One of the odd rules that we have is called "contract for hire."

In plain English, this means that if the last act needed to make you an employee took place in Illinois, then any work injury claim you have for that company can be filed in Illinois.

For example, let's say you are a trucker that lives in Florida and are sent to Chicago for a physical before you get hired.  If you pass the physical and accept the job while in Chicago then for the rest of your employment you can file an Illinois workers' compensation claim.

This would be true even if the only time you ever were in Illinois was when you got hired; no matter when the injury took place.

So if you are a trucker, flight attendant or anyone else that might benefit from this rule, pass it on to your co-workers.

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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There is an Illinois workers' compensation attorney that we don't like.  The reason that we don't like him is because about once a week we get a call from someone he is representing.  It's always a different person calling, but the conversation usually stems from the fact that they don't get returned phone calls from that office or that attorney isn't fighting for them.  Quite often we investigate this and find that this lawyer is flat out lying about the case or telling the client to take much less money than could be obtained with a little hard work.

This same lawyer has said that he has won compensation on 98% of his cases.  That sounds impressive unless you know anything about Illinois work injury law.  The reality is that in pretty much any case you could settle for some sort of compensation from an insurance company.  Most insurance companies will pay you $1,000 just to go away.  The reality is that most good attorneys only take on serious injury cases and while we may not win every issue for our clients, just about every client we have represented has come away with a significant result.

The reason this is true is that we don't take minor cases.  It's just as much work to get a great result for someone with a broken finger as it is to do the same for someone with a broken arm.  The broken arm case is worth more money so we focus on helping people with serious injuries only.

So beware attorneys that promote something that sounds too good to be true.  Before hiring an attorney find out how they will communicate with you and if they have clients that will recommend them.

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 get hurt when working and are an independent contractor then you are responsible for paying for your own workers' compensation insurance.  If you don't have it then you are out of luck.

We've seen more and more lately that people who are classified as independent contractors by their employer really are workers.  They might call you an independent contractor, they might not take taxes out of your check, but in reality you are still an employee.

There are a few factors that come into play, but the number one test is whether or not they have control over you.  In other words, are you free to do what you want at the pace you want when you want or do you have to do what they say.

One guy that called us was threatened that if he didn't transport an unsafe truck that he would be fired and not receive any pay for the work he had done.  He continued driving the truck and it rolled over shattering his leg.  He hired us to file a workers' compensation claim and because the trucking company set his schedule and barred him from driving for anyone else we are confident that we will win the case for him.

Remember, just because you are called an independent contractor does not mean that is how the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission will see it.  Describe your situation to us and we will give you an honest, un-biased opinion at no cost.

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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With the terrible economic times and numerous stories of job losses, it's not surprising that many injured workers don't have a job to go back to.  If you are injured on the job and have any restrictions, if your employer can't find a job for you, they owe you temporary total disability benefits.  This is true even if your restrictions are permanent.

All that said, one law, that most attorneys don't enforce, requires an employer to come up with a vocational rehabilitation plan if you have been off of work for more than 120 days.  In these hard times it makes sense to be pro-active in finding a way to get you back to work.

By filing a motion with the Arbitrator to make this plan happen, you can motivate your employer to locate a job that works for you or if no job is ever going to be available, find out what other careers you can do.  This law is especially important for workers who have had back surgery and no longer can do heavy lifting.

Does this sound confusing?  If it does just call us at (312) 346-5578 and we'll explain.

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 get e-mails and calls all the time from people wanting to know "What is my case worth?"  Today was from a guy who just broke his leg and had surgery less than a month ago.  Needless to say it's too soon to tell him what it is worth.

That said, there are often times when the answer to what a case is worth is, "there is no amount that makes sense for you."  That doesn't mean you are going to become a millionaire; rather it means that we think  you would be best served by keeping your medical rights open as relates to your injury for the rest of your life.

To achieve this, all we have to do is take your case to arbitration and win.  Assuming your injury is work related, this will happen.  The negative is that you don't get a lump sum settlement.  The positive is that you still get paid what your case is worth (it just gets spread out in weekly payments over a year or so depending on how seriously you were hurt) and your medical rights as relate to this injury stay open forever.

In other words, if you have a back fusion and may need surgery in the future, this is a way to have peace of mind that any future medical care will be paid for.

We always tell our clients to think long-term and suggest that you take that approach 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.

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Seven+ years ago football player Korey Stringer died from heat related problems while practicing with the Minnesota Vikings.  ESPN just reported that the case against the NFL was settled.

While his widow likely received a workers' compensation death benefit, like many of the cases that we deal with, there were also "third party" lawsuits that were filed.  That means that the widow sued alleging negligence against someone other than the employer for causing the death.  We do this all of the time, usually when a client of ours is hurt in a car accident or construction injury that was someone elses fault.  You can't sue your employer for negligence, but the rest of the world is fair game.

What is telling about the Stringer case is that when it was first filed her attorneys asked for $100 million.  Now no one is saying what the case settled for, but it's clear that it wasn't anywhere near that figure.  Mrs. Stringer herself even admitted in the article that the huge demand was to get the attention of the responsible parties and make changes into how they deal with practicing in the heat.

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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While at court the other day, one of our attorneys overheard another Illinois workers' compensation lawyer (not part of our office) say something shocking.  The lawyer told his client that it would be illegal to apply for social security benefits while getting workers' compensation.

It is true that a client who is getting both social security benefits and work injury benefits causes more for work for us as lawyers, it is certainly NOT illegal to get both at the same time and it puts more money in the hands of our clients. 

Now we don't know if the lawyer we overheard was lazy, mis-informed or just a liar, but it was pretty shocking as none of his possible excuses would be justifiable in our mind.  This is the danger of hiring an attorney who doesn't solely handle work injury cases and isn't an advocate for their clients.

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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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.

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When you have an injury that is covered under Illinois Workers' Compensation Law, your employer must pay for all medical treatment that is reasonable and related to your medical condition.  Well, what does that mean?

Reasonable:  This means that it is prescribed by a doctor and is medically accepted by most doctors to be a treatment that makes sense.  In other words, if you hurt your neck and buy yourself a pillow because it helps you sleep at night, we likely can't get the insurance company to pay for it.  On the other hand, if your doctor says that you need that pillow and writes a prescription for it then we can get you reimbursed.  We have secured gym memberships for our clients as well when their doctors felt working out would promote a recovery. 

Related: It has to be related to your work injury.  You may hurt your back at work and herniate a disc.  The doctor you see for that injury may also be giving you medical treatment for a knee injury from playing basketball or some other reason.  Some of these doctors carelessly bundle their bills and don't distinguish what is related to the work injury and what isn't.  We can only get bills that are part of the reasonable work injury treatment paid.

When your medical treatment is reasonable and related to your injury we usually get 100% of the bills paid with no co-pays or out of pocket expenses for our client.

If you have paid for anything out of pocket make sure to keep receipts.  We will do whatever we can to get you reimbursed ASAP.

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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