While I lean toward more “democratic” issues, I also agree with some “republican” positions. For the most part I don’t like any politicians and tend to ignore it. I’d rather focus on my family and my clients.
But I do pay attention and talk to workers’ compensation lawyers in other states because some times a worker has an option to file their case in Illinois or somewhere else. I always want to do what’s best for the client.
The other day I was talking to a lawyer friend in Oklahoma. He advised that their legislature has basically done whatever they could to screw over workers if they get hurt on the job. As part of that, a new law says that if you are hurt at work and return to your pre-injury job then you can’t get a settlement. So even if you have a lumbar fusion and can’t do most of the things you used to do in your personal life, if you can work then you receive no compensation.
This affects probably 90% of the cases out there. It also means that lawyers that used to handle these cases are now doing something else. So if your TTD check is late or your medical bills aren’t getting paid, good luck finding a lawyer to represent you.
Now that’s not a problem for somebody with an Illinois case, but it used to also not be a problem in Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky and a host of other places.
So while I don’t believe this will happen in Illinois, that doesn’t mean that people haven’t tried or wouldn’t like to do something like this. This would strip you of all of your rights and punish innocent people.
I’m kind of going off on a rant here because election season is far away and I don’t expect that my blog will influence people one way or the other. But if you have been hurt on the job I assume that your view of how the system works has been changed. Right now we have the most worker friendly system in the United States in my opinion.
And even though our system is great, there are tons of problems for workers. I hear at least twice a week from people who have been hurt on the job that can’t believe how an insurance company is screwing them over. Now imagine what would happen if all the laws were changed and your ability to bring a case.
There, I feel better. I’ll get off my rant and back to helping people find the right lawyer or answers for their case.
