We offer to speak to anyone about their Illinois work comp case for free. When we do that we want to be able to answer your questions and fortunately, more often than not we are able to do just that. Sometimes though the honest answer is “depends” or “we don’t have enough information to answer.” That can be frustrating to hear, but we expect you to always be honest with us and we are always truthful with you.
This happens when people call and want to know their chances of winning their workers’ compensation case. The answer to that of course depends on the facts of your case. If you are on a ladder for your job and fall 20 feet off of it because someone bumps in to the ladder, I think your chances of proving you were hurt at work are close to 100%. But a case like that doesn’t go to trial because you fell off a ladder. It goes to trial because the insurance company is disputing at some point your need for medical care or says you can return to work or something else.
To tell you if you are going to win in that situation, it will come down to your credibility and that of your doctor and any doctor the insurance company has chosen for you. If you are treating with a chiropractor and he insurance company sent you to an orthopedic doctor for an exam, I’d not be confident in your chances of prevailing at trial. If you have a well regarded doctor in your corner and come off as honest when testifying, I’d think your chances are pretty good.
To make a real honest assessment of whether or not you are going to win your case, we often need to see your medical records. That gives us more information than we can get from you over the phone.
If you’ve only been injured recently and want to know if your case would qualify for Illinois work comp benefits, we can usually give you an opinion based on your description of what happened. Even then though, it may come down to hearing what your employer will say or getting a credible opinion from a doctor. For example, if you slipped on the stairs at work and fractured your ankle, we need some indication as to what you slipped on. If your employer is going to say you were goofing off when it happened, it’s ultimately going to come down to witness testimony. If you are alleging that your back is injured from lifting a lot at work, your chances of winning depend on your treating doctor supporting that opinion.
If you’ve worked a job for 25 years and have never claimed a work related injury, your chances might be better than someone who has filed ten times in four years.
I could go through 100 different scenarios, but the bottom line is that your chances of winning are unique to you and what your situation is. The good news is that if you want to get our opinion, for free, we’ll talk to you whenever you want. Call us, fill out our contact form or start a live chat. We cover all of Illinois and usually you’ll speak with a lawyer right away.
