IL Work Comp- Is A Hernia Injury Worth Nothing?

Insurance companies lie.

That’s not a shocking statement or a defamatory one. They aren’t looking out for you, they are looking out for themselves.  Is everything they say a lie? No. Are most things they say not true?  Usually not.  But they lie or don’t tell the whole truth all the time.

The latest whopper I heard was from an injured worker who has a work related hernia. He does a lot of lifting on the job and has for years. It’s usually four to six hours of lifting 20-200 pounds a day.  That type of worker would not surprisingly have a back injury or get a hernia.

That case should be straight forward, but in this case he was told by an insurance adjuster that Illinois law provides no compensation for work related hernias.

THAT IS A LIE!

These type of lies happen all of the time. Sometimes they are malicious, but I don’t think that’s what happened here. Quite often people don’t know the answer to something but still tell you information as if they are confident.  In this case, the adjuster is based out of state and handles work comp cases in multiple states. My best guess is that she covers one state where maybe you can’t get a settlement or medical care for a hernia (the laws are different in every state) and assumed it was the same way in Illinois.

The truth of course is that if you get a hernia at work in IL, you get all of your bills paid, all of your time off work compensated and a settlement when you are all better. The settlement depends on a lot of things, the three big ones being your wages, the medical care you had and the ultimate recovery that made.

Had this worker listened to the uninformed at best or lying at worst insurance adjuster he would have cost himself tens of thousands of dollars.

Almost no Illinois work injury is worth “nothing.”  At the very least if you get medical care, your bills should be paid. If it’s something more than a superficial injury, it has some settlement value. And if it’s a more serious injury like a hernia, one that impacts your ability to do your job and enjoy life, it can have significant settlement value.

Bottom line is that if you are ever told you aren’t allowed to do something by someone who has a competing interest with you (like your boss or the insurance company), don’t assume they are telling the truth or are correct. Call a lawyer who will give you the truth and won’t charge you to do it. We are happy to talk with you for free any time.