One of the guiding principles of my law firm and this blog, as well as any call I have with an injured worker, is to remember that you can’t be expected to be knowledgeable about Illinois work injuries. For most people I talk to, they have very minimal, if any, experience with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
For some people, this lack of experience isn’t a big deal because they are smart enough to get an attorney in their corner who knows what they are doing. Others seek out information pro-actively. But some people make mistakes that doom their case.
This was the situation with a nice woman I talked to. She was looking for representation three years after a shoulder and neck injury happened. She said that she hasn’t worked since. When I asked her what medical care she’d had, she said she saw her primary doctor who prescribed her some opioids and ordered some physical therapy. She hasn’t had any treatment beyond drug renewal check-ins for two and half years.
I asked her why she never saw an orthopedic doctor or got additional therapy or medical care. She told me that she’d been waiting on her employer and insurance company to give her a doctor and that when they never did she assumed she wasn’t able to get one. That’s unfortunately very far from the truth.
Now we are three years later and there’s no logical way for us to argue that any pain she’s having is due to a work injury. That’s because there is a HUGE gap in her medical care.
In life, not just a work comp case, you have to be your biggest fan. You have to look out for you more than anyone else does. You definitely can’t wait for someone else to come and rescue you, especially if they have a competing interest like an insurance company or employer does.
It’s a very sad situation she’s gotten herself in to. Like anyone else that calls me, I don’t blame her for not knowing the law. But some part of you has to take responsibility for getting help or finding out answers. I hate going to the doctor and don’t even like talking to other attorneys when it’s not part of my job. But if you are injured, you are risking your health and life if you don’t get help.
Now she’s hoping to get social security, has been without pay for three years, is in terrible pain and may lose her house. If she had come to us within a month or even two after her accident, it’s likely none of those bad things would have happened. It’s a really sad and unfortunate situation.