We are Illinois work comp attorneys for injured workers.  Every few months we put together a list of questions we’ve received that aren’t worthy of a full blog post.  In a twist, I thought I’d give a list of some questions we get, some of them often, that we can’t/won’t answer.

I own a company and have a hurt employee. I think they are taking advantage of the system. What do I do?

No idea. We don’t get involved in that.  We are for injured workers only.

I’m not happy with the attorney the insurance company provided my company.  Can I get a new one?

Not something we ever deal with. We are for injured workers only.

What can my company do to legally pay workers as 1099’s so we don’t have to pay for work comp insurance?

That’s gross. Even if we weren’t for injured workers only, which we are, I wouldn’t help you be a tax cheat or screw over your employees.

My company needs to purchase workers comp insurance. Where do I go for that?

This one I know the answer to because I’ve purchased my own insurance, but that’s not what we do.  Call an insurance broker.

Can I fire a worker who got injured on the job?

We are for workers only and if you did that to one of our clients we’d refer them to a labor lawyer to sue you.

 

You get the gist of this. I’ll talk to anyone for free, but I have no interest in advising employers or insurance companies. I started off my legal career as an insurance defense lawyer because it’s great training and it was the job offer I got out of law school. I learned a lot that helps me better advise and advocate for injured workers.  That said, once I realized what the job was, I couldn’t wait to stop helping insurance companies. They aren’t all terrible, but many are and the job is to try and limit benefits that workers are entitled to.

My personality is much better suited toward helping the little guy and being an advocate for justice. I don’t represent people I think are gaming the system or anyone who lies about their injury. But the great majority of Illinois injured workers are honest and just want to get healthy and back to work.  That is who we fight for. Representing insurance companies honestly gave me the creeps. I certainly didn’t feel good about the job.

So anyone can call us for free to ask questions about Illinois work comp law. But if you aren’t the worker,  we are going to refuse to answer your questions.  Injured workers have it hard enough without their attorneys helping the other side.