The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has updated the minimum and maximum benefits rates. The Commission provides these updates twice a year. These benefits rates are the upper and lower limits on the amount a person can receive on a weekly basis if he/she is not able to earn their regular wages because of a work … Continue Reading
Shady employers cheat the Government and employees by calling their workers independent contractors when they really aren’t. It happens to no profession more than truck drivers. There was a recent court case decided in favor of a truck driver who was told he wasn’t an employee and did a great job of showing why he … Continue Reading
It takes a lot to become an orthopedic doctor. Because those jobs tend to pay so well, many of the best and brightest medical students take those jobs. Most doctors in that practice make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year if not millions. Essentially once you get in to that area of practice you’ll … Continue Reading
A caller to our office suffered a really serious shoulder injury that was going to keep her out of work for three months or more following a surgery. She was in physical therapy and making great progress, but got very upset and nervous after receiving a call from an insurance adjuster telling her that she … Continue Reading
When someone is so severely injured that they can’t work again or can’t return to their old job, it’s usually from a back or neck injury. In some occasions it can be other body parts though. These permanent disability or wage differential cases are the most valuable under Illinois workers’ compensation law and bring the … Continue Reading
Normally when an Illinois work comp attorney does something terrible, it makes me frustrated and I write a blog post as a therapeutic way to vent about while hopefully helping readers learn more about Illinois workers compensation law and how things really work. I had a unique experience recently when a very dumb Chicago workers’ … Continue Reading
A reader asks: I hurt my back at work nearly three years ago and had surgery. It was a long process to get better, but I was finally discharged by my surgeon about six months ago. I’ve been back at work and feel great. Do you know when the insurance company will make me a … Continue Reading
The most massive Illinois work injury cases are worth a few hundred thousand dollars. I’m talking about cases where someone is permanently disabled from working or has a large wage differential from what they used to earn compared to what they can now earn due to permanent restrictions. In death cases, the minimum payout over … Continue Reading
I was sent an e-mail written by a lawyer at what I think is the worst Chicago workers’ compensation law firm. They lose clients all of the time and this was another unsatisfied customer due to their lies and terrible customer service. In the e-mail that was sent after the client told the attorney they … Continue Reading
Every few weeks there is a publication of recent cases that went to trial at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. A recent one about a Chicago nurse shows that details are important in winning, but so is credibility. She won and then she lost. In this case, the nurse was walking near the operating room … Continue Reading
A City of Chicago worker called me after suspecting his lawyer was telling him a lie. Every year hundreds of City workers become permanently disabled from working through job injuries. City of Chicago workers do some of the toughest, most dangerous work around. Under a weird rule of City of Chicago politics, you can’t settle … Continue Reading
In 99% of cases you’ll get more money for settling your case with a lawyer than without. Sadly I learned about the 1% recently where you won’t. A caller to my office was upset because his Chicago workers’ compensation attorney did a settlement without talking to him first. He mailed the client contracts, but sent … Continue Reading
At some point, everyone who is hurt at work will be thinking about settling their Illinois workers’ compensation case. A recent call showed some pretty bad lawyering and a warning sign of the one thing you must know when settling your case. A woman had been hurt more than three years ago and was upset … Continue Reading
Since I will talk to anyone for free, I get a lot of calls and I hear a lot of stories about bad lawyers doing dumb, rude, shady and usually just lazy things. There isn’t much I haven’t heard in 20 years of doing this because most of the complaints we hear about are from … Continue Reading
One of the best things about Illinois workers’ compensation law is that you don’t lose your case just because you have a pre-existing condition. This is especially true when you’ve been without medical care from some time. So if you hurt your back six years ago and haven’t seen a back doctor for five years, … Continue Reading
A wage differential is a substitute for the traditional settlement that happens in most Illinois workers’ compensation cases. If you end up with permanent medical restrictions that your employer can’t accommodate, you then need to look for a job within your restrictions. If you can only find a job that causes you a significant wage … Continue Reading
This post has a lot to with injured workers at really big companies. I’m talking places like United Airlines, Yellow Freight, The City of Chicago, ComEd, etc. But it offers great strategy for those at smaller companies too. Big companies are often self insured. That means they don’t pay insurance premiums for workers’ compensation in … Continue Reading
I publish something like this post every year at this time, but do it because it’s so important. If you want to settle your Illinois workers’ compensation claim and your case should be settled (meaning you aren’t receiving treatment any more and are either back to work or have done a long time job search) … Continue Reading
Everyone wants to settle their Illinois workers’ compensation case if they can. It’s how you get paid, it’s how we get paid and it brings closure. Of course, you don’t want to settle your case too soon. If you do you won’t have anyone to pay your medical bills and you almost certainly would be … Continue Reading
I had a recent talk with an injured worker who had a very serious neck injury and has been off of work for two years. His medical bills have all been paid and the case has been accepted. He had one neck surgery that did not solve his problem so now his treating doctor and … Continue Reading
A guy called me about his work related injury. I’m not sure he told me everything because he said he was hurt six months ago and his case has been declined even though it sounded like he had a very straight forward, good claim. He told me that he wasn’t worried that the claim was … Continue Reading
A recent caller to my office wanted to know how long he had to file his case. He had heard it was two years from the accident date (FYI it’s a minimum of three years) and that time was fast approaching. All of his medical bills had been paid as had his time off work. … Continue Reading
Here’s a pretty common Illinois workers’ compensation scenario. You’ve never had a back problem or if you did, it was no big deal. One day you are lifting something at work and feel a pain in your back. You finish your shift, take some Advil that night, but the next day you wake up and … Continue Reading
I got a call from a guy who had a question about his Illinois workers’ compensation case settlement. His boss told him that if he settled the case he’d allow him back to first shift when the contract was done. The case settled and he’s been stuck on third shift which accommodated his work restrictions. … Continue Reading
