Archives: Benefits
What is my Illinois workers compensation case worth? What should I get for my workmans comp claim. TTD payments Chicago, wage differential, permanent disability law Illinois.
To Win, You Have To Prove An Accident And Causation
I try not to write too overly lawyerly on here, but some things are legal issues that have no plain English explanation. So bear with me on this one. When you are hurt on the job in Illinois, you have to prove that your injury arose out of, and in the course of, your employment. … Continue Reading
Illinois Work Comp and Sham Jobs
Some of the ways insurance companies try to defraud you are in plain sight. They tell you your case is under investigation when it’s really not. They send a nurse to talk to your doctor when it’s against the law. These are things that shouldn’t happen under Illinois work comp law, but they do. Whatever … Continue Reading
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Settlement Contract
One of the unique things about being an Illinois workers’ compensation attorney is that most of the documents you have clients sign, you don’t create. By that, I mean every lawyer uses the same attorney representation agreement on every case. It’s a state provided form. By law, we have to use that agreement. This is … Continue Reading
Good News For First Responders In Illinois Who Get COVID-19
There hasn’t been a ton of good news lately, so we will take what we can get. Typically when you get injured or ill from your job, you have to prove that those problems are work related. The other day, Governor Pritzker changed that for certain essential workers. This is actually a very big deal. … Continue Reading
IL Workers Comp When You Are Furloughed
It’s always free to talk to us about your workers compensation questions. Call us at 312-346-5578 or fill out our contact form and we will call you. We work with lawyers all over Illinois so we can help you no matter where you are located. Furloughed is one of the new common words of 2020. … Continue Reading
Workers’ Compensation When Your Employer Goes Out Of Business
In the last two weeks I’ve said, “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” about 20 times. Unemployment filings in Illinois are unfortunately at record highs, and many companies are unofficially out of business. We’ve seen it the most with restaurants, but there are plenty of other businesses that have had to close their doors. … Continue Reading
If Your Lawyer Says They Can’t Do Anything, They May Be Lying
With the Coronavirus, most courts are closed. This includes, for the most part, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. By that I mean that regular status calls are not happening. Trials where an Arbitrator determines what a case is worth aren’t happening right now. Pre-trials aren’t happening either. I’ve heard from some readers that they need … Continue Reading
New Illinois Maximum Permanent Disability, PPD and TTD Rates For 2020
The #1 question we get is “What is my case worth?” A close second is probably people wanting to know if they are getting paid the right amount for TTD benefits which is compensation for your time off work when you are hurt on the job in Illinois. The answer to these questions depend on … Continue Reading
What Amount Is My Workers’ Compensation Case Worth?
We are Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers who give free advice on all work comp related questions. Fill out our contact form, call or start a chat to have a free consultation with an attorney. A very frustrated Illinois worker called my office recently. He had been injured on the job a couple of years ago, … Continue Reading
Work Conditioning And Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Would you try to run a marathon without training for it? You could I guess, but most people wouldn’t be successful and even if they somehow finished, they’d likely hurt themselves. A smart person would do a training program where they worked their way in to shape and prepared their body to handle the stress … Continue Reading
What Are My Rights If I Was Injured On The Job In Illinois?
One of the most common and broad questions we get is something like, “I was hurt at work, what are my rights?” The simple and generic answer is, you have a right to medical care and compensation for your time off work. That’s a pretty simple explanation. It answers the question, but not really. Take … Continue Reading
Illinois Workers Comp Attorney Fees Aren’t Always 20%
Under Illinois workers’ compensation law, lawyer fees are set by state law and through the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. In general, if you ask any lawyer what they charge, the answer will be 20%. A recent case of ours that is on the verge of being complete is going to settle for $300,000.00. If we … Continue Reading
Two Illinois Work Comp Lawyers Didn’t Do A Good Job It Appears
Every month or so I get the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Bulletin. This is a must have publication for any Illinois work comp attorney. It provides an update on the law as well as noteworthy cases decided at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. In one of the recent publications it highlighted two cases where injured … Continue Reading
Illinois Work Comp Insurance Companies Are Saving Money For Your Benefit
Here’s an unusual occurrence. Insurance companies that handle Illinois workers’ compensation claims are doing something that makes some cases worth more money. That’s right, they are putting more money in your pocket. In the last few years a trend has developed. Office space, especially in Chicago, is really expensive. Since most claims are handled electronically, … Continue Reading
Can Your Attorney Take 20% Of Your TTD Check?
We have a live chat feature on our site and a recent chatter stunned me. She was injured at work and her case was accepted. When she hired a lawyer she was receiving TTD benefits and those benefits never stopped. The lawyer took on the case and started taking 20% of the TTD checks. When … Continue Reading
When You Get A Settlement Offer, Don’t Do This
In every Illinois workers’ compensation case, when you are all better and back to work, you want a settlement. Getting an offer is exciting, but the lure of money in your pocket can often lead to mistakes. If you get a settlement offer, these are things you shouldn’t do in most cases. 1. Don’t say … Continue Reading
A Contender For The Biggest Lie Of 2019
I’ve written a lot about Illinois work comp lies. I haven’t done it in a while because I haven’t heard a new one. Most are the same ones over and over. Stuff like: lying what the case is worth; saying that these cases always take years; telling you that you will get nothing at trial. … Continue Reading
What To Know Before You Settle Your Work Comp Case In Illinois
This is the third in a three part series of advice for injured workers. The first post discussed what you need to know immediately after you are hurt on the job in Illinois. The second post offered a bunch of warnings and tips for how to handle the middle of a case. This last post … Continue Reading
Railroad Workers Hurt On The Job Are Covered Under Different Laws
Recently a train conductor was awarded $1.6 million for back and shoulder injuries after he hurt while on the way to work in a company van. He was a passenger in the vehicle which was struck by a car. While he did get the $100,000.00 insurance policy from the other driver, the $1.6 million was … Continue Reading
They Paid All My Bills And Then I Never Heard Anything
There are many things that are true across all Illinois workers’ compensation claims. The truest is probably that the insurance company will do whatever they can to limit the amount of money they pay on a case. Sometimes their strategy is just to deny a case for no reason and see how you respond. Other … Continue Reading
IL Work Comp – What Is A Back Injury Case Worth?
The number one question any Illinois workers’ compensation lawyer gets is, “What is my case worth?” Recently I had a caller who wanted to know what his back injury was worth. He had a lot of opinions on what it should be worth based on what a friend had gotten on a case a couple … Continue Reading
Hey Look, An Illinois Work Comp Attorney Does It Right
Not in every Illinois work comp case, but in many of them, insurance companies deny benefits for no reason or in really bad faith and it’s obvious. When that happens, your lawyer should file a petition for penalties and fees which can punish them for their bad behavior. For some reason, these petitions get filed … Continue Reading
Illinois Injured Worker Fails Drug Test, Wins The Case
I had an injured worker recently call me after he hurt his back at work. The issue was that he had smoked pot over the weekend before the accident and failed a drug test after the accident. The work comp insurance adjuster told him that he was ineligible for benefits because of the failed test … Continue Reading
