A lot of people contact us after having communicated with other attorneys about their case. I can usually tell when the other lawyer only dabbles in Illinois workers’ compensation cases, because the longer the call last, the more that I hear that is wrong. Simply put, it is not unusual for inexperienced or bad Illinois workers’ compensation lawyers to give terrible advice.
This was the case with one recent caller and it was a two for one special of stupidity.
When the worker called, I looked up their name on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission website to see if a case had been filed and if so, what the lawyer had done. I do this because sometimes I see that the lawyer is doing everything correctly and other times I see that they have done nothing.
In this case, there was no case filed, but the caller said they had a lawyer. This is where dumb issue number one came up. The attorney told the client that he can continue to navigate his case with the adjuster and that they will step in when the case is ready to settle. Huh? That makes no sense. A lawyer should have a case on file so they can act if they need to and so the insurance company can be on notice that someone is looking out for your rights. It also allows you to focus on your health, not unpaid bills or late TTD checks.
That was a pretty insane thing to hear, but the next thing blew my mind.
This worker is an employee of a company that has continued to pay him while he is off of work. That is unusual, but ok. At the same time he has also received TTD payments from the insurance company. In other words, he’s getting paid double.
While that sounds awesome, it is against the law. Instead of the attorney telling the client that they need to sort it out, he told them to not tell anyone and just keep it. In other words, this lawyer told a client to commit insurance fraud!
That is the most baffling and stupidest thing I have ever heard a lawyer say to a client. They told them to commit a crime.
The proper way to handle this is to have the lawyer call on behalf of the client (anything you say can and will be used against you) and arrange for reimbursement to the employer or the insurance company. When you are upfront and honest and treat it as an error, you do not get in trouble. And if you do not have the money, it can likely come out of the settlement which would just be reduced (not the best way to handle it, but I have seen it happen when there is an overpay).
What you can’t do is know that you are committing fraud and just hope you get away with it. That is how people get arrested. And for this lawyer to act like it is not a big deal is just shocking.
These types of lawyers always say the easy thing instead of the hard or honest thing. They tell you early on you will definitely win or get a certain dollar amount even if they know that they are just making it up. They won’t discuss with you about not posting on social media. Often they send you to a doctor buddy instead of encouraging you to get the best medical care possible.
Lawyers like this are screaming red flags. I can not even imagine what terrible advice he has given other clients.
If you notice a lawyer saying things that sound too good to be true, I strongly recommend you use common sense and seek another opinion. These types might seem great up front, but in the end it is you that will suffer while they move on to the next case.
