We had a recently injured worker contact us and she was very stressed. She had hurt her back on the job and had shooting pain down her legs which is a classic sign of a herniated disc which can be a big problem. She was told by her boss that she had to see the company doctor and she did so. That hired gun took x-rays which were normal (they almost always are on back injuries), gave her some pills and said she was fine.
She was put in touch with the insurance company and they told her that under the new Illinois workers’ compensation laws, the insurance company could now pick her doctor and they certainly employed she did not have a choice of her own. That is 100% false, but this woman went along with it for 6 weeks to the severe detriment of her back.
This type of thing happens all the time. The biggest mistake you can make in your work injury case is to take legal advice from your employer or the insurance company. They have a direct competing interest against you and it’s an unethical conflict of interest for them to tell you what to do and what your rights are under the law.
Insurance adjusters aren’t bad people, but their job and their company depends on limiting the amount that is paid out on any given claim. As a result they have an incentive to look out for themselves, not for you.
If they are telling you what the law is, they might be telling the truth, but you are really foolish if you take everything they say as gospel. It’s not usually as extreme as the blatant lie my caller was told. But other times they’ll tell you that the nurse case manager they assigned to the case gets to talk to your doctor (false), come to your appointments (also false) or that they closed your file (if you’ve waited to long that can happen, but if not it can be easily get re-opened).
Sometimes looking out for yourself means getting a lawyer, other times it just means doing research or making a consultation phone call. But if things don’t seem right or you feel bullied, don’t just trust the decision makers. Not helping you is the un-written part of their job description.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys who 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.
