Here’s one that’s nuts.
A reader of our blog tells us the following. He was working in Chicago and was painting a floor when he twisted his knee. This happened because a co-worker had removed grates that covered the floor, so he fell in to a hole. The end result was that he tore his ACL. Prior to this time he had never received medical care for a knee injury and was working full duty with no problems walking. In fact he was a weekend warrior who was really active with running and softball.
So of course his case was denied by the insurance company. Say what???
They said that the MRI on his knee showed tears on the inside and outside of his leg which to them were somehow the signs of pre-existing arthritis. So even though he was feeling fine until he fell in to a hole, while working, they are taking the approach that his leg was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
That argument has worked for insurance companies in some cases, but those have always been times when there was a history of a ton of medical treatment. This guy was a little older, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s never gone to a doctor for knee problems.
So it’s another ridiculous denial which will ultimately be overturned either by a lawyer getting involved and reading them the riot act or an Arbitrator if the case goes to trial.
But it really is ridiculous. And when you hear calls for workers’ compensation law changes in Illinois, remember that this is the type of stuff that happens all of the time and we’ve got a relatively good system in place for injured workers. Imagine if the laws were really stacked against you.
The important thing to do is not freak out if something like this happens to you. This is why lawyers exist for these cases and we created our state wide network to address these problems everywhere. If you want our help, call us at (312) 346-5578 or fill out the contact form to the right and we’ll get in touch with you ASAP. It’s always free and confidential and we help everywhere in Illinois.
