I hear all sorts of doozies from people with bad lawyers, but this recent call made me think it was April Fool’s Day in June or something.
A woman called me who had fallen down the stairs. She was treating with her doctor and everything was working as normal like a good work comp case should. She then got sent to an IME who said she was fine and didn’t need any more treatment. Her doctor wanted her in physical therapy.
She called her lawyer and asked if she could still see the doctor and this Chicago work comp attorney apparently said, “No, don’t do that. It will just make the case take longer.”
I’ll talk to anyone about their case and usually when they tell me something dumb their attorney said it’s more that the lawyer is a bad communicator or a liar. Often I can explain away what the attorney is really trying to do. Sometimes that means helping the client realize the lawyer really is fighting for them. Other times it means helping them figure out that they need to cut bait and get new representation.
This one appears to be the attorney just being honest that he doesn’t want to work I guess, but it really makes no sense. Fighting for clients who can’t get the medical treatment that they need is the most common thing we have to do in this job! I can’t imagine saying what he said to her.
No great words of wisdom in this post. Just a dropped jaw at what a jerk some people can be.
