When you choose a doctor for a back surgery, you probably won’t pick one that also delivers babies and handles infectious disease cases. They might be a great doctor, but you really want a specialist who is dealing with back problems every day. It increases your chances of a good outcome.
The same is true when it comes to hiring a lawyer. Attorneys in Illinois aren’t allowed to call themselves specialists. So if you see someone saying they are an Illinois work comp specialist or expert, they are technically committing an ethical violation. We are allowed to say we focus on a certain area of law. Whatever you call it, you want an attorney who is experienced and spends their days handling work injury cases. If they are also doing divorces, DUI’s and real estate closings, they might be able to handle your case, but it doesn’t give you the best chance of success.
A Big Reason Why Focusing On Just One Practice Area Can Make Or Break Your Case
While I’m not writing anything earth shattering here, many injured Illinois workers do hire the wrong lawyer. Sometimes it’s a family friend. Sometimes it’s because they are closer to them. Sometimes it’s just random. While there are many obvious reasons why having a really experienced attorney in your corner can make a difference, there is one that isn’t so obvious.
Full disclosure, I thought of this when another attorney asked if anyone had a recent deposition of a certain IME doctor. Insurance companies use the same IME doctors on a lot of cases. Many of them are hired guns because they will usually say whatever the insurance company wants them to say. It’s very annoying, kind of like when a politician throws a fit if someone from the opposing party does something unethical, but gleefully and blatantly ignores when members of their own party does something similar or worse. With doctors or politicians, you just want them to be honest and consistent.
Back to the point. An experienced attorney will have taken the deposition of these hack IME doctors many times. It allows them to be more prepared for the deposition in your case. For example, I once took the deposition of a doctor who eventually lost his license for fraud. I had over 20 transcripts of prior depositions and IME reports and was able to point out how he was essentially writing and saying the same thing in every case. It was an attack on his credibility that ultimately played a big role in winning a heavily disputed case.
The bottom line is that someone who isn’t dealing with these reports on a regular basis isn’t best prepared to respond to them in a way that can ultimately be the difference between winning and losing a case. Work comp claims don’t typically have “Matlock” type gotcha moments, but bringing up how they’ve acted in other matters can chip away at the credibility of an IME doctor. And doing so and being prepared as an attorney can result in a client benefiting to the tune of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This isn’t something I would expect a person to think of, but in a way it’s similar to having a surgeon who is up to date on the most current techniques. If you have any questions or need help with a case, please contact us any time.
