One reason people contact us is because we will provide a free, confidential case review, even if you have an attorney. We are experienced Illinois work comp lawyers and will give honest, blunt opinions about what you should do.
In talking to thousands of injured Illinois workers, I am shocked at how casually some lawyers will lie to their clients. Some are one offs and some seem to happen all of the time. Here are ten lies that we have heard that Illinois work comp lawyers told to their clients/callers:
- It will take two years or more before we can get your case before an Arbitrator. That is pure nonsense. If your benefits are wrongly denied, your attorney can file a 19(b) petition for immediate hearing that can be presented any month. While it is true that things need to be done before you can go to trial such as taking your doctor’s deposition, the only other major hurdle is the schedule of the Arbitrator. In the worst case scenario, your lawyer should be able to get an informal hearing (pre-trial) within 30 days to fight for your benefits. This is sadly the most common lie out there that lazy attorneys love.
- Your case is worth $X even though you just got hurt two days ago. There is one notorious Chicago work comp firm that will tell potential new clients that they can get them over $100,000 when the accident just happened. There is no honest way to know that. You can not assess what a case is worth until we have an idea what your recovery is going to be and what defenses the insurance company might have. They say this because it makes potential clients excited. Don’t fall for this BS. We will never tell you what you want to hear, but will always tell the truth. This same firm (and others who do this) over promise and under deliver. They then have to lie to cover the first lie to explain away why the great result did not happen.
- I’ve won 98% of my cases! There is no won/loss record when it comes to Illinois workers’ compensation claims unless your case goes to trial. Most cases settle. If your case is worth up to $50,000, but your attorney only gets you $30,000, is that a win? It is not to me, but they will call that a win. They will count a case where they settled for $1,000 a win too. That is not the same as your lawyer busting their butt to fight for you and getting your case settled for over $400,000. Talking about a won/loss record is phony marketing that does not reflect reality.
- These cases take years. This is different than the first lie. When you are done with your medical care and back to work, that is when you can begin to talk about a settlement. That does take some work. For some shocking reason, there are some attorneys who at this point will tell their clients that it will still be a couple of years until they can get paid. Again it comes down to laziness. I have seen countless cases where the defense attorney essentially begs the lawyer for the worker to settle since that lawyer is not doing their job.IT makes no sense as the attorney will only get paid once the case is over, but they still won’t order medical records and write a thorough settlement demand letter. By far the strangest lie around.
- I do not know any employment attorneys. When you hire an Illinois workers’ compensation attorney, you are hiring them for that case only. That said, you should feel as is you can approach them about things that come up in your life. If you can not, then you have hired the wrong lawyer. At times people are on work comp and get fired or retaliated against. That may require the services of a labor lawyer. Your work comp attorney does not have to handle that case, but should refer you to someone who can. These issues come up enough that if your attorney is really experienced, they should know multiple law firms who can help. If they tell you they do not know any then they are blowing you off or lying to you. We often take cases over in this situation. We would not do one without the other, but are happy to help when we can.
- You have a great case, I am just too busy to take it. For some reason, some attorneys in Illinois have convinced themselves that they could get sued if they tell a potential client that they do not have a case. I am not sure where that came from but it is ridiculous. So if you go to a work comp attorney and tell them you were hurt at work four years ago and never reported the accident or saw a doctor, they should simply tell you that under Illinois law they can not help you because you did not report the accident in time and waited too long to file. Instead they will say something like, “You probably have a great case, but we are just too busy to take in on right now. You should call someone else.” That does not help anyone. I have had workers call me and tell me that five different law firms told them this. I was the first/only to explain why they do not have a case. If this happens to you, call them back in a day and tell them your brother was rear-ended by a semi truck on the highway and is having back surgery. I guarantee they will not be “too busy” to help with that much more complicated case.
- You have to see this doctor. This is something scummy work comp lawyers do. They get client referrals from certain doctors and pay that back by making some clients get treatment with that doctor. It is gross and not in your best interests. You do not have to see any specific doctor and if your lawyer insists you do then it is a huge red flag. This would be a perfect time to get a new/better law firm.
- Workers comp is all I do. This applies to some downstate lawyers. I have seen attorneys in small towns tell injured workers that all they do is work comp. I usually get these calls from clients who are dissatisfied with the lack of fight by the attorney. When I don’t know a lawyer, the first thing I do is Google their firm. Usually I see that their website mentions a whole bunch of other practice areas aside from work comp. They might dabble in work injury cases, but don’t make it their sole focus. That does not give you the best chance of success. One attorney who told this lie appears to mostly write wills and handle bankruptcies. That is not the type of law firm you want in your corner.
- I am entitled to more than a 20% fee. Illinois law caps attorney fees in these cases at 20% of what is recovered. Usually this is only from a settlement. Even then, there is a limit to how much that 20 percent can be. There is a law that allows a lawyer to petition for more when they put in extraordinary effort on a case. I have seen some lawyers imply to their clients that they do not have a right to contest this. You do and you should.
- I am going to handle your case. If you call us, usually an attorney will answer the phone. The lawyers in our state wide network handle their own cases and they are all experienced. There are some firms who tell you a certain attorney is going to handle your case and that person is very experienced and sounds great. The problem is that they do not actually work that way. Instead you can never get them on the phone and all of your communication is with their secretary or paralegal. With other firms, they pull a bait and switch and let you talk to an attorney, but it is someone with less than two years of experience. They are essentially training on your case. Either way, this is bad. If you do not have access to a top lawyer when you need them, then you are not getting the best representation possible.
All of these lies do not pass the smell test. If you are experiencing something like this and want to discuss your case, give us a call any time at 312-346-5578. We help everywhere in Illinois.
