The New Year brings resolutions to do things better. In the past month I’ve been called by two different Illinois injured workers whose attorneys told them the same thing. It’s something I’ve never heard before.
In both cases the attorney, one in Chicago and one in southern Illinois told the clients that, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
In one case it involved a back surgery that wasn’t being approved and in the other it involved how to avoid going to a 2nd IME when the first one found in your favor.
It’s shockingly refreshing to see an attorney admit they don’t know how to handle the case, but it’s also awful. They should have told the client that they weren’t the best choice for them in the first place. It’s not easy to turn down business, but if you run your law firm in a manner where you put your interests ahead of your clients it’s a bad decision for everyone.
For example, if you called me and said a loved one was killed in an airplane crash, that could be a potentially lucrative case for me. That said, I’ve never sued an airline before so if you asked me to handle the case, the right thing to do would be to refer you to one of the three law firms I know that has great experience in handling those cases.
On the flip side, these attorneys should have never taken on these work comp cases. The good news is that their clients can easily fire them and get better representation at no additional cost. The bad news is that their medical care is getting delayed by a greedy, yet somehow honest, attorney.
Lawyers in Illinois aren’t allowed by law to call themselves specialists. So while I can’t tell you to look for a “specialist” I can highly recommend that whether you hire us or some other firm, you get an attorney in your corner whose practice is at least 80% workers comp and in most cases 100%. You don’t want something to come up that they do not know how to handle even if it would be basic for me or many other lawyers. They should not get their practice on how to handle a work injury case by working with you. You are not a guinea pig.
I hope this makes sense. If you have any questions or concerns, you can call me any time at (312) 346-5578. We have a state wide network that handles cases throughout Illinois.
