When you come to us after you've lost the trial it's too late

We had a really nice conversation with a very pleasant woman this morning.  She described how she got work at her job in Chicago.  She described her medical treatment and recovery.  She seemed like an ideal client with a decent case.  When we started to take the discussion further into representation she then admitted that she had actually already hired an attorney.  That lawyer went to trial and lost.  He filed an appeal and lost that too.  Now she was looking for someone for the next appeal level.

We aren't sure what the first lawyer did wrong, but the only appeals that we do are on our cases.  In fact, I doubt that there is an attorney in Illinois that would take over a case where the trial was lost.  We only get paid if we win the case and no matter how good the case might have been, once you've been to trial we can't undo any errors by your first lawyer or present any new evidence.  It's not that it's impossible to win an appeal, it's just very un-likely.

So if you are going to trial on your Illinois work injury, you better have great faith in the person representing you.  It's likely your only shot.

 

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.

 

All that and a bag of chips

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.