Employers in Illinois are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have one or more employees. It’s a felony not to do so. The only exception to this is if you work for yourself or are the owner of a company. In those cases you can opt out and don’t have to cover yourself. … Continue Reading
One of the great things about Illinois workers’ compensation law is that it’s a no fault law. That means you don’t need to prove that your employer was negligent to win your case. So if your back went out on you because you used bad form when lifting or if you new the floor was … Continue Reading
Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, the insurance company for your employer has to pay for all “reasonable and related” medical care as a result of your injury. So if you lift a box at work and feel a pop in your back, it’s reasonable for you to go to the doctor, get physical therapy, … Continue Reading
I pride myself in being an attorney who is direct, honest and speaks in plain English. If someone asks me a question and I know the answer, I don’t tiptoe around it if it’s something they don’t want to hear. I’m also willing to tell you that your lawyer sucks if they suck, and of … Continue Reading
I love questions from anyone. I do believe there are no dumb questions, and when you ask me something I think should be obvious, that just tells me we need to do a better job of explaining things. A really good question I got recently was from someone who wanted to know what the odds … Continue Reading
An injured worker in Chicago called me with a very generic question. She asked what laws do I need to know. I told her it was too vague because what I’d recommend for her would be based on her case facts. She doesn’t need to worry about TTD benefits for example if she’s not missing … Continue Reading
A caller to my office told me that he was hurt at work and receiving benefits for a knee injury. His doctor wants to do surgery, but before the insurance company would approve it, they want him to see an IME (independent medical examination) doctor. He’s heard stories about how many of these physicians are … Continue Reading
Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s unethical (and gross) for an attorney to be in a romantic relationship with a client. But that doesn’t mean your lawyer shouldn’t give you love. By “give you love” I mean your attorney should care about you. How can they do that? Do they return your phone calls? Are they talking … Continue Reading
Another snowy and wet winter in Chicago. That means a lot of slip and falls. In general the law in Illinois has been that if you are working and on your employer’s premises when you fall, you have a case. On the other hand, if you are in a place where you work, but it’s … Continue Reading
A reader of my blog got in touch and asked a really good question: “My case isn’t going very well. What should I do?” Now as you can imagine, we had a longer conversation because I needed to know specifics, but the fact that this worker even asked at all is a good sign. Too … Continue Reading
To be permanently and totally disabled under Illinois law means that there is essentially no job you can do because your injuries and physical restrictions due to the injury are so severe that they prevent you from being able to work. The standard to show that under Illinois work comp law is different than showing … Continue Reading
We are Chicago based workers compensation attorneys who through our State wide network handle cases throughout Illinois. We have over 20 years experience and will fight for you. Fill out our contact form, click on the chat button or call us at 312-346-5578 to talk or free with a lawyer. We have been involved in … Continue Reading
A reader of my blog asked the following: My husband was hurt at work in Chicago and missed four months with a knee injury. He’s been back at work for six months. Three months ago the adjuster said she was going to make a settlement offer, but she never did and she hasn’t returned our … Continue Reading
It’s official: The most common cause of workplace injury is working too hard. Okay, perhaps that is an extreme way to put it, but records continuously show through the years that the most common cause of workplace injury is overexertion. Overexertion includes tasks involving repetitive motion, which in turn, can temporarily, or even permanently, injure … Continue Reading
Someone who recently clicked on my chat button (which I assume you’ve seen already) and asked a really good question. She wanted to know how long it would take to get her IME report. An IME report is an “independent medical exam” finding. Basically, the insurance company gets to pick a doctor to examine you … Continue Reading
While I generally think that people are good, when money is involved it makes some people do bad things. When it comes to Illinois work comp cases this usually means lying. The latest whopper I heard involved a flight attendant who works for a major airline and is based out of Chicago. She had an … Continue Reading
I recently had a chat with a nice woman who had gone through three leg surgeries after badly tearing her ACL on the job. That’s a lot of leg surgeries. She had no guidance when she got hurt and had never even heard of workers’ compensation. So after she got hurt when she got a … Continue Reading
Last month, a truck driver was awarded $21,600,000.00 in a lawsuit that stemmed from him falling off his truck, hitting his head and getting a traumatic brain injury (TBI). How is this possible? This case happened because it wasn’t just a workers’ compensation case and his lawyers did a great job of identifying that not … Continue Reading
Per the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, you have the right to two medical opinions when it comes to your care. As long as the medical care is “reasonable” the insurance company has to pay for it. This comes up a lot from clients/callers who want to know how to get a second opinion and more … Continue Reading
After Thanksgiving last year we had a crazy snow storm and got 13 inches of snow in one day or as those of us who have lived most of our lives in Chicago call it, a Tuesday. It was a mess for sure, but nothing you haven’t seen before. It was later that week when … Continue Reading
I don’t want to say that the people who run insurance companies are cartoon villains, but sometimes their minions sure act like there is a crazy evil hand controlling all of their moves. At the start of the case you are likely to get a request for medical record authorization form. It’s usually a broad … Continue Reading
I’ve written before about the Illinois work comp law principle that says the insurance company can’t make you have surgery if you don’t want to. Having something like a spine surgery is a big decision and it’s your decision. If not having the surgery leaves you with permanent restrictions and costs the insurance company more … Continue Reading
If you are reading this, there’s probably been some sort of pop up box that invites you to chat with me. When I’m in the office, you get to chat with a real live lawyer. When I’m out, we have an answering service that will immediately send your questions to me, and we call back … Continue Reading
I’m an attorney and the times I’ve had to hire an attorney and pay them up front I haven’t been happy about it. Their service was great, but just like anyone else, if I don’t have to spend money for an attorney I don’t want to. Once every other week or so, someone calls me … Continue Reading
Employers in Illinois are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have one or more employees. It’s a felony not to do so. The only exception to this is if you work for yourself or are the owner of a company. In those cases you can opt out and don’t have to cover yourself. … Continue Reading
