I’ve literally talked to tens of thousands of people about their Illinois workers’ compensation claims over the last 27 years. I think I do a pretty good job of talking in plain English and helping people understand what is going well with their case and what isn’t.
I didn’t do a good job of getting through to a recent caller who had a somewhat unusual case. I was trying to explain the benefits of filing a claim and before I could get out what I wanted to say, he let me know that he already had a claim. What happened next was the Illinois work comp version of “Who’s on first?”
The “claim” he had was the claim number assigned by the insurance company for his employer. It’s an internal number they create to help them manage their case loads. It’s not an official filing and it’s not a number you can use to your benefit in any way. It also doesn’t mean that you have a case or that your benefits are approved.
What I was referring to was that he should officially file with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.We’d complete an application for adjustment of claim which would give him a case number and an assignment to an Arbitrator. That’s an important thing to do because if something goes wrong with the case (such as having benefits denied or delayed) we can file for a hearing before the Arbitrator to get the issue resolved.
Filing with the state and getting a claim number from them doesn’t mean you have a good case either. It just means you have the opportunity to get your day in court so to speak and gives you priority over cases that get officially filed after yours. Whether or not you will be successful is dependent on the unique facts of your case.
My caller was convinced that the insurance company wouldn’t give him a claim number if they weren’t accepting his case. Mind you he’s getting jerked around over his work restrictions and having trouble getting medical treatment approved as his injury is unique so the treatment he needs isn’t common.
If you read this blog and take anything away from it, let it be the knowledge that the insurance company is not your friend and they are not looking out for you or your health. They are a business and their goal is to limit how much money they spend on your case. Any impression they give you that they care about you or are on your side is a lie. They are not going to look out for you and it’s not their job to look out for you. There are some very kind insurance adjusters out there and some that come across as total assholes. They all have the same mandate. Their job is to keep the expenses on any given case low.
And given that this is their goal, you best believe that they will be trying to fight your case whether you realize it or not. So officially filing with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission is the best pro-active move you can make to protect yourself and your health.
