
I recently talked to a woman with amazing emotional strength. I wish it was under better circumstances as she called after her husband had been crushed by a machine at work and has already been through a back fusion. Even worse is she just lost her parents.
We had a nice conversation and discussed a whole set of things. This type of consultation, when you are dealing with a lifelong, catastrophic injury is different than if a caller has something like carpal tunnel or even a torn rotator cuff. Those are serious injuries too, but ones that most workers recover from. When you are in need of a lumbar fusion within weeks of an accident or have something like a traumatic brain injury (TBI) it’s a different situation. You will have those injuries forever.
Because the conversations are different due to the life long nature of the injuries, you’d think we’d tell these callers to think long term. It’s actually the opposite. We usually advise people to think short term. Your life has just dramatically changed. In this case the caller has possible cauda equina on top of the spine injury. That is a nerve injury that can cause such serious problems as loss of bowel control, incontinence and potentially even paralysis. Worrying about life 20 years from now isn’t necessary or helpful.
Instead I encourage people to think about getting through the day, week and month and doing what they can to get the best outcome possible. That means focusing on your health which sounds like a generic statement, but it’s really important. In this case, the company was trying to make him treat with the company doctor only. That isn’t what Illinois workers comp law says and isn’t in his best interests. He needs (and got) a high level Chicago surgeon to take over his medical care.
So for now, the pain and problems are likely (and hopefully) as bad as they will ever be. It won’t be a straight line to healing. Some days will be worse than others. So focus on having as many good days in a week as you can. Focus on how you feel over a 30 day period. Focus on how you feel today. But worrying about the long term future isn’t helpful for most people.
This is true even if you have financial concerns. If you were injured on the job, you will get compensation. In the short term you will get weekly benefits. In the long term, with a major injury, you are likely going to get a six figure settlement or a continuation of weekly payments. It’s not a financial windfall, but you will have tax free money coming in.
The best thing you can is make sure that you are with a great doctor. That’s not someone your lawyer insists you see because it’s their buddy. It’s someone with a big track record of treating the type of injuries you have. Someone affiliated with a big hospital. In Chicago that usually means Northwestern, Rush, University of Chicago or Advocate. Downstate that often means Barnes in Saint Louis. In central Illinois that’s Springfield Memorial, Carle or OSF although sometimes getting your care in Chicago makes sense. Your attorney shouldn’t tell you who you have to see, but should offer an opinion if asked.
As the partner/parent/spouse/child of a worker with a major injury, the best thing you can do is help them sort out other details of their life so they can focus on their health. Be a positive support person. Do whatever you can to point out when things have improved slightly. Pick up whatever slack you can.
Legally, the concern with one of these cases when you file an Illinois workers’ compensation claim is that at some point a hack IME doctor is going to say you are fine or your problems aren’t from a work accident. That sounds insane to say, but it happens all of the time. So you need a lawyer who can show a track record of handling these bigger cases with success.
We have a state wide network of great Illinois work comp lawyers who have handled many of these cases and gotten some of the biggest and best results ever for injured workers. If you’d like a free, no commitment consult, please call us any time at 312-346-5578.