The number one Illinois work comp question we get is some form of, “How much is my case worth?” Our goal, like yours, is to make sure that you get the biggest possible settlement.

Now nobody can honestly tell you what that amount is soon after you get hurt or even before we have an idea what your ultimate recovery is going to be. In other words, if you hurt your back today at work and are in terrible pain, any lawyer who tells you how much they can get you is lying.

We also encourage people to not worry about the settlement until it’s time and make sure that they focus on their health and making sure they aren’t being taken advantage of by the insurance company. For example, they might try to talk to your doctor to influence your medical care. That’s not allowed. They also might pay you less than they should for your time off of work. That of course shouldn’t happen either, but fortunately is fixable if we catch them.

Those are mistakes that some injured workers have happen to them during the case which would be prevented by having an attorney in their corner who knows what they are doing and is a fighter. But we’ve also seen a huge mistake when it comes to settlements and this one could cost you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

When you settle a workers’ compensation case in Illinois, you are supposed to, by law, take into consideration possible interests that Medicare might have. This applies to you even if you are not on Medicare as we all will be Medicare eligible some day. Essentially, if you are likely going to need future medical treatment due to your work related injury, the insurance company should fund an account that is separate from your settlement. This is called a Medicare Set Aside or MSA.

There’s a lot to it, but basically there are companies who will look at the care you’ve received and anticipate what you might need in the future. If you have a spinal fusion or total knee replacement, it’s really likely that there will need to be revisions to that in the future. Or you may not have had a surgery yet, but it’s clear that some day you will need one. A MSA figures out what that will cost. That money is supposed to go into an account. So if some day when you are older and need those procedures paid for, Medicare won’t do it until you can prove you took their interests into account and paid for treatment out of the MSA.

This is where the mistake comes in. There are actually two of them. First off, some people are settling work comp claims without a MSA. This exposes you to potential huge problems in the future. If you need a $50,000 surgery in ten years and didn’t do a MSA, if you ask Medicare to pay for it they will say no. Basically they’d make you pay $50,000 out of pocket before they pay for anything related to your injury. So in your rush to get a quick settlement now, you’ll massively screw up your life later.

The second part of the mistake that happens is when you don’t take control of the funds that are provided. The MSA is your money. It should go to you in an account that you control and manage. But some of these insurance companies try to make you believe that they should hold the funds and that you can access them when you medically need to. This is not how the law works.

The money should be in your bank account. It should be up to you to decide if you want to keep it separate for when you need it, invest it or have a huge party with the money and worry about the consequences later. While I don’t recommend the huge party, it’s an option. And if you have the money and you pass away, your family doesn’t have to give this money back. It’s your money!

One woman I talked to cost herself over $80,000 by not having a MSA done. It’s a huge, huge mistake.

If you would like to speak to an attorney for free, call us any time at 312-346-5578.