Should You Ever Settle Before Surgery?

I got contacted by an Illinois woman who sounded like she had a great case, but it turns out she needed a Florida workers’ compensation attorney. She was living and working there when hurt and moved back home to Illinois since she can’t work.

But she brought up an interesting question. Basically she has a TFCC tear which is a very serious wrist injury. She needs a surgery. Apparently the work comp adjuster told her that they’d be willing to settle with her now. She has other health issues too and wanted to know if taking this offer is a good idea.

I couldn’t help since it was a Florida work comp case, but I can tell you what I would have told her if it was an Illinois case.

Should You Ever Settle A Workers’ Compensation Claim Before You Have Your Surgery?

I can’t think of any reason, other than having a terminal illness, where this would ever make sense. At practically all other times it is a terrible idea, especially when you have such a serious injury. There are a few reasons for that.

First off, if you settle it ends your right to benefits as related to this case. That means they won’t pay your medical bills. It also means they won’t have to pay you for your time off work (TTD benefits). With a surgery like this she will probably need two months to recover before she can get back to work.

Second, there is no guarantee the surgery will go well. You may face an extended period off work or need an additional surgery.

Third, you will still be able to get a settlement when you are all better. And if things don’t go well and you can’t return to your old job, settling now might cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bad outcomes dramatically affect the settlement value of a case.

The only person who wins if you settle before surgery is the insurance adjuster who will probably get a nice little bonus for saving the company some money. And I guess some work comp attorneys would be happy to get a quick fee without having to do much work.

Not only should she not settle now, but she should wait until her doctor discharges her from medical care AND she is back to work without problems for a bit. We see plenty of cases where a worker thinks they are fine only to return to the job that caused the problem and have the injury resurface.

I do get why having money in your pocket now could be enticing. But you really would be losing money if you settle before a surgery so I would recommend you do whatever you can to avoid that.