Do Not Let The Work Comp Insurance Do This

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

We notice trends in Illinois workers’ compensation claims. By that I mean we will hear the same sort of thing from injured workers in bunches. Usually it is in response to an insurance company strategy. They will often try the same thing over and over as long as it is effective. An example would be an insurance company not paying benefits without any reason or lying about which doctor you can see.

Lately we have seen a different type of pattern. It is no secret that the world is more expensive than ever and the US economy is not great unless you are ultra wealthy. While Illinois workers’ compensation claims are worth more than ever, if your case gets denied and you do not have pay coming in, it also puts more pressure on you than injured workers before you have faced.

The new insurance company strategy, which you can not let them do can be summed up in one word.

Frustration.

I hear from more injured workers who have been dealing with workers’ compensation on a long term basis. I am talking about injured workers with big injuries who have had a case for a year or more. Many of these people have had claims for five or more years.

These are often people who will never get back to their old job and have had multiple surgeries and may need more. What will happen is the insurance company will get a hired gun IME or conduct surveillance that gets taken out of context and cut off all benefits. So now the worker is in pain and looking at six months or more until money starts coming in again.

A lot of these workers have also hired terrible Illinois work comp law firms. By that I mean that the attorney does not communicate well and does not fight for them. That makes it worse because the insurance company is frustrating you and so is your lawyer.

The goal of the insurance company is to make you give up. They will want you to settle your case. They do this for a few reasons:

  1. It ends your right to medical care at their expense.
  2. It allows them to get away with no longer paying you weekly TTD checks.
  3. Any settlement you get will be MUCH less than what your case could be worth.

In other words, if the maximum value of your work comp claim one day would be $350,000, they might offer you 100k right now. If you are frustrated, you just might take that. It would be a huge mistake.

In other cases, we have seen injured workers call their lawyer and say, “I just want this to be over with.” Unless you have a terminal illness, that is also a huge mistake.

It is the job of your lawyer to fight for you and not take the easy buck. Any attorney who encourages you to settle while you are still off work per your doctor or still getting medical care for your injury, is not fighting for you.

The insurance company benefits if you settle. The lawyer does too because they get paid. You on the other hand, even if money comes in, get screwed. Because once that settlement money is gone, that is it.

Most Illinois work comp cases run smoothly, but not all. The insurance company is always looking for a way to minimize what a claim costs them. You have to think long term, not short term. That can be hard, but it is really in your best interests.

My litmus test for people is, if we settle today, will it cause you problems five years from now? Will you be happy then? If the answer is no, then do not settle.

Illinois Employer Tries To Gaslight Injured Worker

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Do I Have a Case?

One thing that surprises and occasionally frustrates me as an Illinois workers’ compensation attorney is when injured workers are blindly loyal to employers who treat them like absolute garbage. I get that people need to keep their jobs or don’t want to “make waves” or whatever. But I am not talking about that.

What I am talking about is employers who do things that are clearly in their interest and not the workers. Such as:

  • Trying to get you to work “just a little” off the clock instead of paying you for all actual hours worked.
  • Telling injured workers to lie to the doctor and say they were not hurt at work.
  • Promising to pay out of their own pocket for bills and lying about that.
  • Pressuring an injured worker to ignore doctor’s restrictions after an injury.

Companies like this do not care about you. They certainly are not worried that if they torpedo your work comp claim that it can have lasting damage are your physical and financial health.

The most recent gross employer behavior I saw was a Chicago area company that had a worker who hurt his back on the job while moving some heavy materials. He reported the injury, saw an orthopedic doctor and has a recommendation for surgery. He is in tremendous pain and has shooting pains going down his leg. It is hard for him to stand.

When he let his boss know what his doctor said, the boss accused him of “being in cahoots” with the doctor. He essentially implied that this worker was running a scam. Mind you that this worker has been there for almost a decade and has never filed a work comp claim in the past despite multiple injuries.

The boss sent him to a doctor friend who stated that no surgery was needed and he is fine. That doctor is not an orthopedic one and is apparently a close friend of the boss. That doctor’s opinion is in no way credible. Yet the boss is trying to gaslight his worker into thinking that the back specialist is making things up or the two of them are running a scam. In fact it is the opposite.

Despite all of this, the injured worker was hesitant to go forward. He is worried about hurting the company and making his boss mad.

As best I could, I explained how he could become permanently disabled from ever working again if he does not get the care that he needs and that hiring a work comp attorney is the only way to make that happen. I have seen workers end up crippled and homeless because they were “not the suing type” or let their boss pressure them into not pursuing a claim.

This happens at huge fortune 500 companies, small companies and everything in between. No matter where you work, you have to look out for you. A lawyer’s job is to protect you and advocate for you, but they can not care about what happens to you more than you do. There will always be another client. Another case. But you have one life and one body. And it is up to you to worry about that more than anyone.

Illinois Work Comp When You Own The Company

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Do I Have a Case?

An injured worker with a big back injury came to me for advice recently. He got hurt on the job and needs surgery. The catch is that he owns the company and didn’t know if he could do anything about it because in his mind, he would be suing himself.

First point is that an Illinois workers’ compensation claim is not a lawsuit, but instead a claim for benefits. That is an important difference. If you are driving your own car and crash, you can not sue yourself for negligence. But if it is a job injury, since it is not a lawsuit, you do not have to prove negligence. You are claiming benefits just like if you pursued treatment under the company health insurance policy.

Now that that is out of the way, there is one key question any time an owner of a company is hurt on the job in Illinois. And that question is, do you carry work comp insurance on yourself?

Every employee in Illinois is covered by work comp, with one big exception. An owner (meaning someone who owns at least 5% of a company) can exclude themselves from work comp claims. That often happens because an owner is likely to be a higher wage earner. So excluding themselves lowers their insurance premiums and since they are the owner they can likely pay themselves for any time off work unless them being out of work kills the company.

So if you are an owner and get hurt on the job AND have not excluded yourself from work comp coverage, you are supposed to be treated like any other employee. That said, these cases are not always straight forward. That is because:

  1. Typically an insurance company is dealing with claims about employees, not the owner.
  2. As a result, investigating a case is harder because there is often nobody independent to talk to about what happened when you got hurt.
  3. So at times the insurance companies will take longer than they should to approve and process a claim. Basically they will often assume you are lying even without any evidence that shows that.

The reality is that Illinois law does not allow an insurance company to delay paying lost time benefits or approving medical bills just because they are “investigating.” They have to have a reasonable excuse for any delays. Being suspicious just because it is the owner who made the claim is not reasonable.

So often an injured owner has to act faster and more aggressively or they risk getting screwed over. That means hiring an attorney to immediately file the case and file the right trial motions to put pressure on the insurance company.

The key point is that you have the same rights and benefits as any other injured worker. They can not deny or delay just because it is your company.

Bottom line is that if you own the company and work a heavy duty job or if you getting hurt and being unable to work would cause you big financial harm, you should not exclude yourself from insurance.

And if you have any questions or want a free case review, please call us any time at 312-346-5578.

Work Comp When You Do Not Want Surgery Now, But Might Later

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Benefits

Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, if you refuse reasonable medical treatment, that could result in your case being denied or ended. In other words, if you hurt your back on the job and your doctor suggests physical therapy, if you refuse to participate, it could end your case.

There is a BIG exception to this rule.

You Can Not Be Forced To Have Surgery If Hurt At Work In Illinois

One thing an insurance company (or anyone else) can not make you do is have surgery. This is true even if it is a relatively quick and likely successful surgery like for carpal tunnel. It is also true if having surgery could get you back to work full duty and not having the surgery will leave you with permanent restrictions.

The reason for this is because surgery is invasive and even the safest surgeries have risks. It is your choice as to what to do or not do with your body. This is all pretty sensible.

Reasons Why People Refuse To Have Surgery

Some people refuse surgery because they are scared or had a bad experience previously. One former client refused to do anything with anesthesia because they are convinced that is why their father developed Alzheimer’s.

And a recent caller to my office did not want the surgery because he had a lot of family events coming up. One child was getting married, another was going to graduate college and he and his wife had a big safari anniversary trip planned. He had a torn rotator cuff and while he could do regular day to day activities, he can no longer work his heavy duty labor job. That is because without surgery his restrictions are no lifting overhead more than ten pounds. A ton of his work is overhead lifting.

A rotator cuff repair takes about 45 minutes, but will require six months of recovery. It is absolutely his right to turn down the surgery even if the reasons are so he will be able to enjoy some fun outside of work. I would not want to be in an arm sling for wedding photos either.

When You Do Not Want Surgery Now, But Might Later

Because he does not want the surgery, his doctor has declared him to be at maximum medical improvement (MMI) and has discharged him from his care with permanent restrictions. Because he has a job within his restrictions that pays the same as he used to make (he got very lucky), the case is ready to be settled.

His question to me was about having surgery at a later date. He doesn’t love his new job and is worried about limited arm mobility as he gets older. He wanted to know if he could settle, but get them to pay for the surgery at a later date.

While everything is negotiable, most Illinois workers’ compensation settlements close out your medical rights. Insurance companies want certainty. But he has two options to get what he wants:

  1. He can take his case to arbitration. When you win an arbitration (and this case is not disputed, so he would win), you still get the equivalent of a settlement, but you keep your medical rights open as relates to that injury. So if in two, five, 10 years or whenever he wants to have rotator cuff surgery, the insurance company would have to pay for all of it as long as he can prove the need for surgery is related to the work accident.
  2. He can settle and request a Medicare Set Aside. Any time you settle an Illinois work comp case, you are supposed to take into consideration the rights of Medicare. Basically that means that if it is anticipated that you might need future medical care, you and the insurance company can not make Medicare pay for it. So what happens is that the insurance company has to fund a surgery now and give that money to you. This is separate from the settlement dollars.

The great part of this is you can put that surgery money in your pocket and control it. If you ever do have the surgery, if you want to use Medicare, you will have to contribute these dollars first. Otherwise if they catch that it should have been part of work comp, you’d have to pay them back. And if you never have the surgery, the money is just yours.

The Bottom Line

The TL/DR version of this post is that you can not be forced to have surgery if hurt on the job. And if you might want surgery down the road, there are options for you even if you settle your case.

And if you have any questions or want a free case review, please call us any time at 312-346-5578.

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law — Plain-English Overview

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

We are experienced Illinois workers compensation lawyers. One thing that sets us apart is we talk like normal human beings. Another is that we want people to be educated about the Illinois work comp system. With that in mind, here is an overview of some things we think every injured worker should know. If you would like to discuss a case for free, please call us any time at 312-346-5578.

What Is Workers’ Compensation?

Illinois workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance system that provides benefits to employees who are injured or become ill because of their job. “No-fault” means you can receive benefits even if the accident was partly your mistake.

In exchange for these guaranteed benefits, employees generally cannot sue their employer for negligence related to the injury. Recovery is limited to the benefits provided under the statute. In other words, you aren’t suing so there is no pain and suffering or punitive damages. You do get all of your medical bills paid, all of your time off paid and eventually a settlement or award at Arbitration.

Who Runs the Workers’ Compensation System?

The system is administered by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, which:

• Oversees claims and disputes
• Conducts hearings through arbitrators
• Reviews appeals
• Approves settlements

Most formal disputes are decided first by an arbitrator, with further review available through commission panels and the state court system. That said, most cases settle.

Who Is Covered Under Illinois Work Comp Law?

Employees working in Illinois are covered from their first day on the job. Coverage generally includes:

• Full-time and part-time employees
• Workers injured while performing job duties in Illinois, even if based out of state
• Employees whose work is based in Illinois
• Many workers who travel or perform duties across state lines

What Types of Injuries and Conditions Are Covered?

Workers’ compensation applies when a job causes or contributes to:

• Sudden accidental injuries
• Repetitive stress injuries
• Occupational diseases
• PTSD or other mental injuries from one time, sudden and shocking events
• Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
• Back, neck, joint, and nerve conditions made worse by work duties

The key issue is whether the employment was at least a contributing cause of the injury.

What Should You Do After a Work Injury?

Report the Injury

You must report your injury to your employer within 45 days. Report it as soon as possible and keep a record of when and how you gave notice. Failure to give timely notice can result in denial of benefits.

Get Medical Care

Seek appropriate medical treatment promptly and follow your provider’s recommendations. Gaps in treatment or failure to follow medical advice can hurt your claim.

Beware the Insurance Company

Insurance representatives may ask for:

• Recorded statements
• Broad medical authorizations

You are not required to give a recorded statement, and medical releases should be reviewed carefully before signing and limited to the body part injured.

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?

In most cases, you must file an application for adjustment of claim within:

• Three years from the date of injury, or
• Two years from the last payment of compensation

The sooner the better. It’s for your protection and it is free to file. It also gives your case priority when it comes to getting an arbitration hearing if you ever need one.

Attorney Fees In Illinois Workers’ Compensation Claims

By law, attorney fees can not exceed 20%. That is true even if you switch lawyers. The total attorney fee can not go over that amount. If you switch, the new lawyer and old lawyer will have to figure out how to divide the 20 percent, but you will not get less.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us any time.

When Your Lawyer Loves Your Union, But Not You

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

Illinois workers’ compensation attorneys love union members. There are a few reasons for that. They include:

  1. Their wages are usually high which makes the case worth more money.
  2. Often their injuries are significant, which makes the case worth more money.
  3. They have a lot of injuries due to the dangerous nature of the job. That means more business and more money for the attorney.
  4. If you do a good job for them, they will tell their friends at work which means more cases and more money.

If you can not tell, union members are often desirable clients to have and attorneys love cases that they can make money off of. That is just honest talk.

As a result of this, there are a lot of firms that target unions with their marketing efforts. That is not something I have ever really done beyond writing blog posts. Some of these marketing efforts include:

  • Fancy dinners
  • Tickets to sporting events
  • Golf outings
  • Vacations
  • Raffles where every wins and the prizes are things like big screen TV’s.
  • Strip club outings
  • Cash

In other words, for some law firms, it is not as much marketing as it is bribery. They take out the union heads and magically those people are telling their members that they need to hire that law firm if they ever get hurt on the job.

Some of these unions are more forceful than others. There are plenty who will only allow access to members through newsletters or letting a lawyer show up at a meeting. But some slimy ones will really pressure workers and I have heard of cases of a union leader bringing an attorney to a hospital and telling the worker they should sign with them. To me it is pretty gross behavior.

The reality is that these marketing efforts work. And some of the law firms who get the cases do great work. But there are also others who do not look at the injured worker as the client, but instead only worry about the relationship with the union leaders.

In one case that contacted us, heavy labor union member (purposely not saying what type of work) badly hurt his leg and shoulder and had multiple surgeries. For a couple of years his TTD benefits went unpaid even though his medical bills were covered. He begged the lawyer to go to trial and they did nothing. The worker complained to the union head and when the lawyer heard about it, they screamed at their client and kind of threatened them.

Eventually a settlement offer was made and the lawyer told the worker to take it and that if he went to trial he could get nothing. We looked at the case and it was clearly a lie that he could get nothing at trial. The offer was over $200,000 and there were no defenses to the accident being work related. In fact, we believe the case is likely worth over double what was offered.

This is somewhat of an extreme example, but more common than you think. This attorney cares about keeping the union business, but not about making the union members happy. It should not be that way.

If this happens to you, the only thing you can do is remember that you are the one who chooses your lawyer and you can choose to get a new one if you started with a bad one. It costs nothing to switch firms and while we always encourage people to work things out if they can, when you have terrible customer service situations like this, switching is usually the best option.

If you would like a free, confidential case review, call us any time at 312-346-5578. We have a state wide network that covers all of Illinois and we will do whatever we can for you.

When Light Duty Work Is Causing You Pain

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

We are experienced Illinois work injury attorneys who will talk to you for free and in confidence about your case. Call us any time at 888-706-1766 to speak with a lawyer.

Almost every injured worker I have ever met just wants to get healthy and back to work. For many people that happens within days or weeks of getting hurt. When injuries are more serious, that can take months or even years.

The longer an injury and work comp case drag out, the more likely it is that your doctor will consider ways to get you back to work. That typically involves releasing you to return to work, but with restrictions. Examples include:

  • No lifting over a certain amount of weight.
  • Taking 15 minute rest breaks every two hours.
  • No overhead work.
  • Limits on how much you can pull, push.
  • No bending, squatting or climbing.

When the restrictions are heavy, it usually means you are only going to be able to do light duty or sedentary work. That may mean that you will sit at a desk all day and stuff envelopes or act as a greeter at the door or something like that. Other times an employer can work with you and your restrictions in a more meaningful way.

But What Happens When You Work With Restrictions And It Causes Pain?

If your doctor says that you can return to work with restrictions, you generally have to try or you risk losing your benefits.Usually it goes well, but sometimes it goes sideways. That is for two reasons:

  1. Your employer pressures you to do work beyond your restrictions.
  2. You give it your best shot, but are having extreme pain.

If your employer is pressuring you, our best advice is do not go along with that if you can help it and call your attorney. It is your lawyer’s job to protect you in those situations. I know that refusing to help someone lift is easier said than done at some places, but it is truly best for your health.

For the second example, if you truly give it your best effort and are hurting, ask yourself if you are sore or if it feels like the underlying injury is getting worse or is similar to when you first hurt it. If it is getting worse or the pain is similar to when you first hurt yourself, stop working.

After that, let your supervisor know what is happening. Maybe they have even lighter duty work for you. Maybe not. Either way, let your attorney know and call your doctor for an appointment ASAP.

What Happens After You See Your Doctor Again?

This is one of many reasons not to treat with the company doctor. Hopefully you have a good doctor in your corner who is looking out for you and your health. Make clear to them that you really tried to work and explain what pain symptoms you had. They may tell you to take some time off and try again. They might order additional physical or occupational therapy. They might order a functional capacity exam or FCE to determine objectively what restrictions you need.

Whatever happens, you do not want to set your recovery back significantly by over exerting yourself and ending up needing a surgery or something else.

Listen to your body and then listen to your doctor. That is the best thing you can do for yourself.

And if things are not going well or you just have questions, please contact us any time. We will do whatever we can to help you.

When To Make An Illinois Workers’ Compensation Settlement Demand

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Benefits

Possibly a result of the bad economy in the US right now, possibly it is just random, but over the last few months I have had multiple people reach out to me and ask when is the best time to make a settlement demand for their Illinois worker’ compensation case.

Some of these people were really hurting for money. A couple of them had terrible attorneys and just wanted out because they were so frustrated.

For almost everyone, the answer is the same. And it starts with three letters that are short for a phrase most people have not heard before.

The Most Important Factor In Deciding To Settle An Illinois Workers’ Compensation Case

The three letters are MMI which stands for maximum medical improvement. This is a medical term that in plain English means that you have recovered as well as you can for your injury. For most people that means they are just about as good as new. For others it means that they are not back to their pre-injury condition, but have plateaued and will have permanent restrictions.

Why Is MMI So Important?

If you think about settling before MMI, you are taking a huge risk and likely making a big mistake. That is because once you settle, the insurance company will no longer be responsible for your medical bills. I have seen dozens of cases over the year where someone settled too soon and now needs a surgery. There is nothing we can do for people in that situation.

The other factor that will cost you is that if your condition gets worse or your restrictions become permanent, it will make your case worth more money. In one call to my office, a worker who settled with a different law firm for around $35,000 wanted to re-open their case because they ended needing a back surgery and can not work any more. We could not do that because almost every settlement of an Illinois work comp case ends things for good. I estimate that this person cost themselves at least $400,000.00.

So Should I Try To Settle When I Reach MMI?

You do not want to settle right when you reach MMI, but that is when you can start to think about it. For most people it makes sense to fully return to work for a couple of months and know that you are truly better from the injury and treatment that you had. This is especially important for bigger injuries like those that require surgery to the back, shoulder, neck elbow or leg.

You know your body better than anyone. If you are in fact able to work without problems for a couple of months, then making a settlement demand begins to make sense.

That said, when you reach MMI, your attorney should start gathering all of your medical records and discussing a game plan that makes sense for you as well as give you a range as to what your case is worth.

Are There Any Exceptions?

The biggest exception to all of this is when you have restrictions that can not be accommodated. At that point you need to either look for a job within your restrictions or ask for help with vocational rehabilitation. This process involves you choosing a vocational rehab counselor – it definitely should be coordinated by your lawyer – to assist you in preparing a resume and looking for work.

If you settle without a job, especially if you were a high wage earner or can never work again, you will literally cost yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more.

The other exception is when it is anticipated that you might need future medical care. That could be for something like removing hardware that was put in your body from a surgery or pain management therapy. Or it could be that it is anticipated that your body will break down eventually from the injury. When that happens, negotiating for this care is part of the settlement process and usually involves a Medicare Set Aside. You can discuss settlement still, but should not submit settlement documents until this issue has been sorted out.

Attorney fees in Illinois work comp cases are 20% of what is recovered (up to a certain point and then there is a cap). Getting the right attorney more than pays for itself and puts the most money in your pocket at the end of the day. If you would like to discuss a case, please contact us any time for a FREE case review.

Ask A Chicago Workers Compensation Lawyer Questions For Free

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

A lot of the great questions we get from readers turn in to full blog posts. Others we collect and a couple of times a year we will put them together into one post. If you would like to ask a Chicago work comp lawyer questions for free, contact us any time. We cover all of Illinois via our state wide network.

Why am I called a petitioner, not a plaintiff?

That’s a great question. When we file your case with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, your name is listed as petitioner. That is because we are petitioning for benefits on your behalf. You are not a plaintiff because filing a case is not a lawsuit. In other words, you are NOT suing your employer. At the end of the day, the two words are essentially the same.

Am I required to go to the IME if I am already back to work?

Yes. An IME can address a lot of issues including what medical care you need or if your injuries are related to your job. While those exams are often a joke, you must go and if you do not your benefits could get denied and in the worst case scenario, you could lose the case.

Do all employers have the same workers comp insurance company?

No. There are literally hundreds out there, although we generally see the same ones over and over. The big ones are Travelers, The Hartford, Sedgwick, Gallagher Bassett, Zurich, Chubb, CMI, Broadspire and Liberty Mutual. But a lot of these insure or work with companies in similar industries so it is not unusual for an injured worker to see the same one if they get hurt at different jobs. Ultimately do not worry who the insurance company is, but rather focus on having an attorney who has handled many cases against them and can predict their behavior.

If I want to have my attorney make a settlement demand, do I have to do that verbally or in writing?

This is not how it should work. Hopefully you have a good enough relationship with your attorney that you can call them whenever you need to discuss something big with your case. And the settlement stage is something big. If you do not feel that they are approachable or they have terrible customer service, you should switch firms before a settlement offer comes in.

Can I file for worker’s compensation if I wasn’t injured at work?

Typically no, unless you can show that your body broke down due to work activities and the problem did not show up until you were home. In other words, if you do heavy lifting on the job and have done that for years, if you come home after a long day of work and your back goes out when you are carrying in your groceries, an argument can be made that it is a work related injury. This is where an experienced attorney and good doctor comes into play.

I got hurt in December and quit my job thereafter. My boss said he would take care of the bills from injury. Three months later I got a big bill in the mail and contacted my boss. He says because I no longer work there he does not have to cover. Is that true?

No, that is not true. But there is a good lesson here. Do not ever trust that your boss will pay the bills. Find out who their insurance company is for work comp and report it to them ASAP. That said, you do not have to still be working at a job to get work comp benefits for an injury while employed there.

If you have any questions that you would like to ask for FREE, please reach out to us any time.

Your Work Comp Lawyer Should Tell You No

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

There are few personality traits I find less appealing than that of a “yes man.” You know the people who always agree with you or someone else. You see it a lot with certain politicians where people around them are afraid to speak honestly and just agree with everything and kiss ass. They do this even when they privately feel differently.

Some Illinois work comp attorneys can be yes men or yes women. These are the types of lawyers who will tell you what you want to hear because they do not want to have “hard” conversations or do not know how to give advice. Sometimes they are afraid of losing a client. Other times they do not know what they are doing or do not care.

This issue came up recently when I received a call from a guy who had questions about attorney fees and Illinois work comp settlements. We discussed the facts and I learned that there was not even a settlement offer, yet, but his attorney was pursuing one.

As we discussed it further, this worker has a15 pound lifting restriction that his employer can not accommodate and he has been receiving weekly checks for two years until recently. He also has not finished with his medical care and it is anticipated that he will have to treat for at least six months more.

He has stopped receiving checks because he missed an IME appointment. That was two months ago and he only missed because he was in the hospital with another issue. He had let his lawyer know this and the lawyer “forgot” to call the insurance company. They used this as a basis to cut off his benefits until he attends a re-scheduled IME which is supposed to be soon.

Because he has been without pay, he asked his attorney to settle the case and the lawyer said he would try to do that.

Red Flags All Over This Case

There are so many red flags from this lawyer. The IME mistake is one as is the fact that he could not or did not get the issue corrected after. You can not blow off an IME, but being in the hospital is a valid excuse for missing it and the benefits should not have been cut off.

The biggest red flag is this lawyer saying that he would try to settle the case. That is a classic “yes man” move. The reality is that it would be a terrible idea to settle now. If the client settled, they would likely cost themselves tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The attorney had a duty to have the “hard” conversation of explaining why settling now would be a bad idea. They should make clear that they can not prove the maximum worth of the case at this time and that the client would miss out on the insurance company paying for the next six months of medical care. The client might not want to hear it, but the lawyer should have made clear that settling was not in their best interests.

I had never heard of this lawyer so I looked them up. Their website talked about work comp, but also bankruptcy, criminal defense, real estate and other areas of law. In other words, they are not focused on work injury cases. They are a general practice law firm.

Just like you would not want a doctor for a serious injury who does not specialize in the care you need, if you have a major work injury, you need an attorney who is handling Illinois work comp cases all day every day.

That is not to say that there are not bad attorneys who do just work comp. There clearly are. But they are more likely to give you a better chance of winning and not being afraid to tell you the truth. And we can certainly make sure you end up with one who will care about you and the results of your case.

If you would like a free case review, please call us any time at 312-346-5578. We cover all of Illinois.

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