A reader with a pretty big injury contacted us and asked:
Who decides the percentage of disability in Workman Comp cases?
That’s a great question! And the answer depends on a lot of things.
Ultimately if the case goes to trial/arbitration, the Arbitrator will decide what percentage of disability you have and what your case is worth.
This reader was asking for settlement purposes. That requires a similar analysis to what the Arbitrator would use.
We look at what is your injury, what medical care you had, what is your recovery (do you have restrictions, can you work the same job), how will this injury effect you in the future, your age, prior conditions, what defenses the insurance company might have and many more things.
In other words, every case is different. There are certainly similarities between a lot of cases, but if we are settling a lumbar fusion case where you have permanent restrictions, if they have surveillance on you ignoring your doctor’s restrictions, the case might settle for less than someone who has a cleaner case.
Or if you have a history of filing a lot of work comp cases, are a felon, have been caught lying, those possible defenses could reduce what you ultimately get because there’s a risk that if you go to trial you’d end up with nothing.
There is a book called the Q-Dex that we sometimes reference when a case is unique or we need guidance on what the case should be worth. That book lists prior cases that went to trial, what the facts were and what the result was. It’s not a perfect way to look at cases, but if you see an odd injury or want a second opinion it’s a great place to go.
Beyond that, it’s really experience as an Illinois work comp attorney that helps lawyers figure out what a case should be worth. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the case is obviously important, but so is knowing the tendencies of the Arbitrator assigned to your case. And there are other little tricks of the trade that can help make a case worth more money.
For example, knowing when an adjuster is desperate to resolve cases can be important. Often their bonuses are tied to how many cases they close. So as the year ends they often are looking to resolve cases and will give you the best offer they can give at that point. Often that means they will even overpay to resolve your case. Some insurance companies will have “settlement days” where they will meet with the attorneys for injured workers on almost every open case that could be settled. On both of these occasions your case might be worth more than it should be because they have a personal agenda that works in your favor.
I could honestly write 5,000 more words on this topic. Other issues like what a scar case is worth or how future medical care can greatly raise the value of a case are interesting topics too.
So the bottom line is that there is no one answer and it’s not something you can just figure out. If it’s a major injury the difference of having someone in your corner who knows what they are doing could add tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to your bottom line.
