Knee injuries can be very painful and physically debilitating. A contact hit to the outside of the knee, like in a football hit, can cause an injury to both the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL). Or they can occur separately. Either way, the likely treatment and outcomes for each of … Continue Reading
Walking from one place to another during the work day doesn’t seem like a risky activity that would cause falls. But when you add other facts to the mix, such as how quickly you had to get where you’re going, and whether you were carrying work items at the time, your risk of falling can … Continue Reading
A worker was walking from her office to the bank to make a deposit for work. She turned to head up an inclined driveway, and tripped on a dip in the pavement and fell forward. She fractured both of her wrists while trying to break the fall. Clearly this walk was job-related: she made this … Continue Reading
Ordinarily if you’re injured on your way to or from work, you’re on your own time. Workers’ compensation benefits would not be able to compensate you. The rationale is that your employer doesn’t really have any interest in, or get any benefit from, where you live or how you get to work—as long as you … Continue Reading
Neck and back problems can be among the most debilitating types of injuries to suffer. One such injury is called Spinal Stenosis. This happens when the spaces between the spinal vertebrae narrow, and there is a compression of the nerves. Usually this is a condition affecting the elderly from natural degeneration. But others, including those … Continue Reading
Many back problems can be treated by rest and pain medications. For one rare but very serious back condition, emergency care is required and necessary in order to have a fighting chance at treating it. This condition, called Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES), is the result of a compression of the nerve roots below the spinal … Continue Reading
A painful foot condition called Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (TTS) can make it very difficult to continue your regular physical activity. TTS can affect your foot and ankle movement in much the same way as carpal tunnel syndrome can affect your wrist and hand. The tarsal tunnel is a narrow space on the inside of … Continue Reading
If you are injured driving to work, you generally would not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However if you travel as part of your job responsibilities, then an injury during that travel could be covered. Traveling employees can receive compensation for medical bills and costs, and lost wages for injuries that happen during activities … Continue Reading
They can often be lumped together as “tennis elbow,” but elbow injuries are not all the same, and they’re not all leisure-time traumas. They can happen at work, both from single traumatic events and from repeated stress. Being familiar with these types of injuries can help you better prepare to get them covered by workers’ … Continue Reading
I came across an article I previously wrote about carpal tunnel syndrome which I thought would be of value for my readers. If you have a job that involves regularly repeating the same physical movements with your hands or wrists, you may develop pain or discomfort or difficulty doing your job. You may have developed … Continue Reading
Sometimes insurance companies can send you for an Independent Medical Evaluation (IME), to get a medical opinion about the cause or extent of your injuries, or about the need for treatment. These physicians that they hire for the IME are usually honest, but they are hired by the insurance company and may not always be … Continue Reading
An injured worker contacted us after a trial in his case had gone bad. Now we can’t do anything for a worker once there case has been tried, but it’s a crazy story. After you give your testimony and all medical records are submitted, the Arbitrator asks for what are called proposed decisions which basically … Continue Reading
For the majority of workers’ compensation claims, there is no set settlement amount. This is why it’s so hard for attorneys to answer the question: “What is my case worth?” We get asked that all the time but there are simply too many factors. We’ll probably be able to give you a range, but it’s … Continue Reading
If you are on your way to or from work and you get hurt, you’re probably wondering whether it’s considered a work injury. The answer is that it depends. If you are driving or taking public transportation to or from work, you’re usually not covered (although there are exceptions). On the other hand, if you … Continue Reading
If you have a fairly serious injury, your employer’s insurance company may try to get involved with your medical treatment. They might try to talk to your doctor or your physical therapist. They might even try to come to your appointments. It sounds intrusive, and it is. The insurance companies are good at this. They … Continue Reading
Sometimes when you have a fall, it seems to come out of nowhere. But when you slip and fall at work, you want to be able to recover benefits from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation system. Your case will have a much better chance of succeeding if you have specifics about the circumstances surrounding your accident. If you have … Continue Reading
“Fun and games” with co-workers can benefit both employer and employee in many ways, but when an employee is injured during such a recreational activity, he or she is often not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Under Illinois law, injuries from accidents that occurred during voluntary recreational activity would generally be excluded from coverage. But there … Continue Reading
A recent Illinois workers’ compensation case brings to light an area of medical benefits that are often available, but lesser known. That is, where a medical condition needs to be treated but was not caused by the work accident, though it is necessary to correct in order to treat the injury that was caused by the … Continue Reading
But we are open today. And every day. And if we aren’t in, we have an answering service that pages us right away. So you can always call us at (312) 346-5578 if you want our help or just have questions or you can fill out our contact form at any time too. We are … Continue Reading
Recently we were called by a nice guy who had elbow surgery. He had been made a settlement offer that was fairly reasonable and was calling to verify that. Whenever I hear of someone getting a settlement offer on their own that seems fair, the pessimist in me wonders if there is more to the case … Continue Reading
A reader who was not happy with the settlement offers he was getting or how he was treated sent us the following: I was treated just awfully by my insurance company any employer during my injury. I went 5 months without a check for no reason. My attorney is telling me that my case is … Continue Reading
A reader asks: I am a store manager and it is in the worst part of town, it has been robbed before and they have had gang shoot outs where employees cars were shot. 12-24-10 i put the deposit bag in my right front pocket and walked 10 feet to my car. As soon as i … Continue Reading
Many jobs require employees to bend down and straighten up frequently in order to carry out work duties. While this may seem like an ordinary body movement that should not cause injury, we hear frequently from workers who are injured on the job from repetitive movements in the performance of their jobs, and want to … Continue Reading
Increasingly in our internet age more workers are working at home, either as their sole workplace or along with spending time in an office. How does this work environment impact their ability to be covered under Illinois workers’ compensation? As long as they are an employee and not an independent contractor, workers’ compensation benefits should still be … Continue Reading
