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We get so many great questions from injured workers that turn into blog posts. Some questions I think people would be interested in, but there’s not much more to say than the answer. So a couple of times a year we compile those questions into one post. Here are some of the best ones we’ve received over the last few months.
If I fire my attorney, does the insurance company still get to keep their attorney?
Yes. What you do with your lawyer is your business and what they do is their business. If you go at it alone, the case will be you vs a likely well trained attorney and that would not be a good idea. But you can almost always get a new one if there isn’t a settlement offer yet.
Do I need a claim number to hire you?
No. Claim numbers are internal numbers the insurance company creates for their files. They have no legal relevance and don’t prevent us in any way from hitting the ground running.
I’m a teacher. I got hit in the face with a ball at recess, and my glasses broke. Who is responsible for paying them?
While the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act is great, this unfortunately isn’t a typical benefit although it’s arguable that it’s a medical injury and that the insurance company should pay for it. Basically if this case went forward it would be a negotiable issue, but for the most part this is not typically covered.
I want to know if I can reopen a case even if I got I settlement?
Unless there’s something very unusual about your settlement contract (and your lawyer should have told you if there was) then the answer is no, you can’t. Settlements are done to close out your case and prevent you coming back. Before you accept a settlement, your lawyer should make this fact clear to you.
That said, if you sustained a new work related injury to the same body part, you can potentially start a new case and we’d be happy to discuss that with you.
My IME is scheduled for seven in the morning. That’s too early for me. Do I have to go?
Generally speaking yes you do. If you skip an IME, they can legally terminate your benefits. The exception would be if there’s a medical reason that you can’t get there such as needing assistance or your doctor otherwise saying so. Even with this, if the IME is set for 7 or 8 a.m., we’d make a call to the insurance company to try and get it pushed back a couple of hours.
Can an employee of the state of Illinois who was injured during the scope of employment bring a claim at the Illinois Court of Claims?
Every other week or so we get a question with a lot of legal jargon in it. The Court of Claims is the system used for suing the state of Illinois. It doesn’t apply to work comp because work comp claims are not lawsuits. State of Illinois workers file their cases at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission just like anyone else.
If you have any Illinois work comp questions, please do not hesitate to reach out for a free consultation.
