Are You A Doctor Or Nurse With Cancer? You Might Have A Work Comp Case

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Do I Have a Case?

One thing I love about my job and really life in general is that you always learn something new.  Anyone who thinks that they know it all is not my type of person.

A few weeks back I learned something new while talking to a couple of doctors.  I love to do this because I can pick their brains on rare injuries that I see in my law practice.  I always learn something new from those conversations.

This time what I learned was surprising because it wasn’t about any clients of mine, but about the job risks of being a doctor.  One of the physicians is a cardiologist.  You’d think that is a pretty risk free job when it comes to injuries, right?  It turns out that there is a really high rate of cancer in his field.  Apparently he is exposed to radiation during approximately 40% of his day.  He told me that during most of the day he’s wearing some form of lead protection, but the risks are really high.

The other doctor I spoke with is a vascular surgeon and he said that the same risks are there in his area of practice.  He told me about a colleague of his who always worked in a way where the radiation exposure was on the left side of his body.  He ended up with three different cancers in three different places, all on the left side of the body.

Other than surprise because I never really considered this, the first thing that popped in to my head was that if you are a doctor, nurse or other medical professional who gets cancer, you may have an Illinois workers’ compensation case, assuming like my two friends that you are commonly exposed to radiation.

A case like this would be similar to any other repetitive trauma claim where we’d have to prove through testimony of a doctor (likely your oncologist) that the radiation exposure played a role in the problem developing. It’s not as simple as showing a back injury happened after years of heavy lifting, but a case like the doctor with three left sided cancers has enough circumstantial evidence to likely be a winner.

If you do have a case, like any other injured worker in Illinois you’d get all of your medical bills paid, your time off work paid and a settlement.

If you’d like to know if you may have a case we’d be happy to talk to you.  Call us for free at (312) 346-5578 or fill out the form to the right and we’ll call you.

Occupational Therapy And Illinois Workers Compensation

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Injuries

Sometimes the more important question a doctor should be asking is “What matters to you” opposed to “What is the matter with you”. That is where occupational therapy comes in to a comprehensive treatment plan after you have been injured on the job in Illinois.  While most doctors will focus on healing the injury itself, an occupational therapist will work on healing your skills to return you to the daily activities that matter most to you.

Occupational therapy is specifically designed to hone in on the skills you will need to achieve full success and independence in your daily activities. For instance, if a person was injured on the job, had surgery and then was cleared for “light duty” work, what exactly could they do? With occupational therapy the rehabilitation goes way beyond healing the surgical site and the underlying issue. It also would help with transitional work clearance and modified movements of the injured body part to make sure no further injury occurs. The therapy itself centers around allowing the patient to heal while gradually progressing with skill and strength until they are able to return to work with no restrictions. Light duty work in the meantime may include shorter hours or adjusted positions while working, that all depends on the injury.

In some instances, occupational therapy is labeled “Work Rehabilitation” the treatment could be anywhere from 3-5 days per week for 2-4 hour sessions at a time, depending on the needs of the client. Most workers compensation claims will allow for occupational therapy, as it is a science based therapy that has been tested as productive, time and time again. The sole purpose of occupational therapy is to allow the patient to return to his or her daily activities after an injury.  This includes being able to do your daily work tasks.  Instead of just being thrown back in to your job, the therapy helps you work your way back in to condition.  It’s not much different than a runner training for a marathon.  You can’t just run one on day one.  You get to where you want to be over time.

We don’t give medical advice, so if you think occupational therapy might be good for you, talk to your doctor about. If you have been injured on the job and want to ask us questions or get help with your case, contact us today. We will do whatever we can to make sure that your case is successful.

Beware The Quickie Settlement Offer

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

We are Chicago workers’ compensation lawyers who have a state wide network of tough, experienced lawyers who fight for their clients.  If you want our help please call us for a free consult at (312) 346-5578 or fill out the contact form to the right.

I like to spot trends in Illinois workers’ compensation law and I’ve definitely noticed one lately.  Insurance companies are calling up injured workers shortly after they get hurt and offering them money to settle quickly.  This is copied from Illinois car accident law.

So why would an insurance company do this and why should you not take the bait?

They do it because to them a closed file is a good file.  And if a case might cost them $10,000.00 overall, to resolve it quickly for $2,000.00 is a win.  Sometimes a case you think is going to cost you 10k ends up costing you 250k.  The back strain could turn in to a back surgery.  If they can get you to settle right away it’s a win for them.  They take advantage of people who don’t realize that their problem is more serious than it seems.

The problem of course is that they are offering you way less than what your case is worth and if you settle then there is nobody who will pay for your medical treatment.  Even if you have group insurance, if they realize that your physical problems are from a work injury, they won’t pay for that treatment.

So what ends up happening is you get a few bucks in your pocket, but suddenly can’t work and can’t get better.  If it sounds like they insurance company is being nasty and ruthless with no regard for your well being it’s because that’s exact what is happening.

All I can tell you is don’t do it.  An offer today is not likely to ever go away and in fact it’s just likely to increase.  And of course nothing is more important than your health so even thinking about settling before you are healthy and back to work without problems is a terrible idea.

To the insurance company this is all just business and the way they treat you or other injured workers is based on business strategy.  You have to look out for you.

“Your case is under review”

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

If you have questions or need help with a case, fill out our contact form to the right or call us at (312) 346-5578.  We help with workers’ compensation cases everywhere in Illinois.

Insurance companies make money by not paying out money.  Even when it’s painfully obvious that they are liable to do so.

Why do they do this?   Because if they can frustrate you by delaying payments, maybe you’ll go away.  That sounds ridiculous to even write, but it’s true.  If they can make three out of 10 people give up who otherwise would have had good claims, they save a ton of money.  If they can do that to 3,000 out of 10,000 you begin to realize how insurance companies make billions a year.

I thought of this recently when a really nice Chicago guy called me after herniating two discs in his back on the job.  He had no history of any back treatment.  He lifts boxes all day at work and was doing so without problems for more than half of his shift.  At one point he and a co-worker were lifting a heavy box together and the co-worker dropped it causing my caller to absorb all of the weight.  He immediately screamed after hearing a pop in his back.

All of this is caught on video and the post accident drug screen showed he was clean. In other words there is no possible defense to this case.  It’s the cleanest one I’ve seen in forever.

So what has the insurance company been saying to him for the last two months while he’s awaiting medical treatment????  “Your case is under review.”

That is insurance speak for “You don’t have a lawyer, so we’re going to see how we can jerk you around.”  It’s ruthless and cold, but the reality is this is how they operate.  The caller was able to get a MRI and some physical therapy, but treatment for epidural steroid injections, which would provide huge relief, have been denied so far while the case is “under review.”

This is just another term for “being investigated” or “we are waiting for more information” or any other lie.  It’s just a delay tactic with hopes that you’ll either treat yourself or go through your group insurance.

Don’t fall for these tricks.  The law in Illinois is that these “investigations” need to be resolved within two weeks.

We are happy to help if you just have questions or want to stop the nonsense.

Lawyer Fees And Medicare Set Aside

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

I just read about a case (not handled by us or anyone in our network) about a very greedy Illinois workers’ compensation attorney.

He had settled his client’s case, but petitioned the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission for more money after the settlement contracts were approved.  His client had received a Medicare Set Aside which is money funded by the insurance company for future medical care related to the work injury.  Basically, you have to consider what Medicare might have to pay some day and the insurance company pays that amount.

This money is not negotiated, but rather is done by authorized companies who review medical records and determine what care will be needed and what that will cost.  100% of that money is to go to the client.

This lawyer asked for some of that money after the case was closed. His request was denied for a few reasons.

  1. Lawyers can’t re-open cases to get more money. Clearly he’s looking out for himself, not the client.
  2. The Commission noted that he didn’t do anything extraordinary to warrant a fee higher than the 20% allowed by law.
  3. Most importantly, it’s against the law to take a fee on a Medicare Set Aside.

I’m going to say it again, your attorney has to get you a Medicare Set Aside if needed and can’t take a fee for doing it.

This is part of our jobs and part of the 20% we get for representing you.  We have to do it morally (because it’s in your best interests) and legally (if the Government thinks we didn’t consider their interests, they can go after us to pay the bills).

I’ll file this one under shocked, not shocked. We see this gross behavior all the time.  Quite honestly, this attorney should probably lose their license because they made an illegal payment request.

For your purposes, if you think there’s any chance you are going to need future medical care, before you settle the case, ask your attorney about a Medicare Set Aside.  And if they want more money for doing it, know that they can’t do that.

What You Should Get Paid When You Work Two Jobs

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Benefits

While unemployment is down, many people are working two jobs to make ends meet.  For most people that means one full time job and one part time job, but we do talk to many injured workers who actually work two full time jobs.

Whatever your situation is, there is one VERY important thing you must do if you work two jobs and you must do it before you are injured.

When you have an injury and two jobs, your average weekly wage can be based on both jobs.  This is important because it can greatly increase your benefits.  So if on job #1 you make $750 a week and on job #2 you make $250 a week, if you are hurt on job #2, your benefits could be based off of an average weekly wage of either $1,000 or $250.

The way we determine what wage you will use will be if your employer knew about the other job and was OK with it.  It sounds pretty simple and it is. If they gave you permission to work the other job or more accurately, if they didn’t object, then the wages for both jobs should be considered.

In a case like the one I described, that can result in a difference of weekly pay of around $500 a week and of course would be a much bigger settlement if both wages are included.

To notify your employer of both jobs, it’s best to do it in writing, but in the least it should be verbal and you should document when you told them, who you told and what you said.  The biggest defense we see in these cases isn’t that they didn’t give permission.  Rather the insurance company will say that the employer didn’t know about it.  If you can’t prove otherwise, you lose.

For most employers, the second jobs aren’t a big deal as long as they don’t interfere with the first.  It’s just important that you communicate with them at some point before you are hurt.

Bonus tip.  It’s common practice for insurance companies to say that the wages from your other job should not be included.  They risk almost nothing by saying that to you and it’s just done in hopes of discouraging you.  Don’t get discouraged.  Talk to someone who knows what they are doing and make an educated decision from there.

Questions? Concerns? Want to talk? Fill out our form to the right or call us at (312) 346-5578.  We help everywhere in Illinois.

Shady Lawyer Alert

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Do I Have a Case?

We are Illinois work injury lawyers who will talk to you for free at any time.  Fill out the form to the right or call us at (312) 346-5578. Our blog discusses real life scenarios with the hopes of helping injured workers.

This one is a doozy.

There is a law that says if you are hurt in Illinois, hired in Illinois or primarily work out of Illinois, you can bring your case here.  That’s a good thing for you if we can because Illinois has in my opinion the best benefits in the country for injured workers although our current Governor is putting them at risk.

You need one of those three things. So if you were hired in Illinois, but transferred with your company to another state, you can bring your case here.  If you mainly work out of IL, but were hurt elsewhere, you can bring your case here.

When a potential client comes to us, it’s our job to tell them if we can help or not.  A work comp attorney in Chicago viewed their primary job as to try and make money and ended up hurting their client.

Long story short is the injured worker is a truck driver out of another state, but lives here.  That is their only contact with Illinois.  They got hurt in another Georgia and were hired in Georgia.  That is where their home terminal is.

There is no way to bring this case in to Illinois, but this crummy lawyer tried to do so.  The result was the client had his back surgery delayed by over six months when a lawyer in Georgia could have solved the problem right away.  According to the caller, it wasn’t until the insurance company said that they’d approve the surgery if the fraudulent Illinois case was dropped that things turned around.

We operate with one major rule.  We are honest.  To a fault.  Some people don’t like it.  But honesty is the best policy.

If this other attorney operated the same way, the client would have had his surgery a long time ago and might be healed and back to work by now.  Instead this lawyer was hoping to make a buck with a Hail Mary and ended up hurting the client.

I would never discourage anyone from bringing a case in Illinois if they can.  But I would also never tell you to pursue a case when you don’t have one.  It’s not in my best interests.  It’s not in your best interests and it’s bad for the system as a whole.

Bottom line for you is if you don’t think you meet one of the three conditions described above, ask your lawyer how you’ll win your case in Illinois.  If they can’t answer then either they don’t know what they are doing or there is no case at all.

Intersection Syndrome & Illinois Work Comp

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Injuries

Overuse and injury may cause some major issues with your body when you have a physical job or one that is repetitive in nature. One of those injuries could be intersection syndrome.

This syndrome is typically diagnosed due to overuse or physical activities that require large amounts of forearm use. Some common physical actions that can cause the syndrome include raking and shoveling.  The symptoms include pain and swelling in the forearm on the side closest to your thumb. The pain may radiate from your forearm to your wrist. The pain is caused where two muscles cross above your wrist and connect to your thumb. The overworking of these muscles and stress on the tendons can cause your forearm to pop or squeak as well.

Any of these symptoms should be addressed immediately with a doctor, and a workers compensation case should be filed to make sure those medical bills are taken care of.  Doctors will be able to diagnose the syndrome typically with just a physical examination and no other tests needed.  That said, it is occasionally misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel or Dequervain’s Tenosynovitis.

Recovery can be time consuming though. The most common form of treatment is to stop the activity completely and allow the muscles time to heal. If that is not possible, taping of the arm may help to mobilize the muscles. If the symptoms persist, your doctor may recommend a cortisone shot to help with the inflammation and pain, and in extreme situations, surgery may even be required to remove some of the tissues to release the pressure.

Anytime you are injured because of a repetitive motion at your job, your medical care of that injury will be covered by workers compensation. It’s important to have an attorney in your corner who understands this unique injury and how it can impact you not just in the short term, but in the long term.  You can bet that if you are diagnosed with intersection syndrome that the insurance company will try to look in to all of your off work activities and see if they can blame it on that.

We are an Illinois wide network of workers’ compensation attorneys. If you’d like a free consultation to discuss your case, call us at (312) 346-5578 or fill out our contact form at the right of the page.  We are tough, experienced, honest and fight for the people we represent.

The IME Is In Your Favor And Your Surgery Still Isn’t Approved

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Do I Have a Case?

In every case, the insurance company has the right to send you to an independent medical exam (IME).  This is an exam by a doctor of their choosing who often is not so “independent” and can mess up or at least delay your case.  If your doctor says you need a surgery and the IME doc says you don’t then you’ll have a battle on your hands.

In some cases, the IME doctor is honest and finds in your favor.  In others it’s so obvious that you need a surgery or were hurt at work that not even the worst hired gun can find against you.

When this happens it should be pretty straight forward that the surgery should be approved.  That’s just common sense, right?  Your doctor says you need it, their doctor agrees.  There’s nothing to fight about.

One caller to my office had this exact situation happen to him and then the insurance company refused to approve the surgery.  Instead they told him that they were having a “peer review” of the doctors. This is called a Utilization Review or UR.  In a nutshell, they send your records to a doctor, often retired or out of state, to look at your medical records and make recommendations.

Does that sound like a joke? It often essentially is one, but is a strategy being used more and more because it’s cheap and it meets their end goal of saving money by denying cases.

All that said, in a situation like this, I can’t imagine if the worker had a lawyer who knew what they were doing that the surgery would get delayed.  Even with the UR it’s unreasonable to delay the surgery because the insurance company is doing something called “doctor shopping.” In plain English that means you are stuck with the bad opinions of any doctor you choose and you can’t keep looking for a new opinion until you get one you like.

This applies to both insurance companies and injured workers.  The difference is that when they act this unreasonably we can file a motion with an Arbitrator to not only get the surgery approved, but to have them pay you penalties for their bad behavior.  I can’t imagine any insurance company trying to delay any further once the motion is filed.

The terrible part in all of this of course is that the injured worker has to suffer more and risks their long term health by delaying the surgery.  Fortunately this behavior is so out there that we can usually get them to roll over right away.

Can I Fire My Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney?

By Mike Helfand on Posted in Tips if Injured

Short answer, yes.

Long answer, I’ve heard some shenanigans about a couple different Chicago workers’ compensation law firms who get fired all the time because they don’t call clients back and don’t fight for them.

Apparently some firms are adding a clause in to their clients that says if the client fires them they have to pay the attorney the full 20% fee.

This is illegal!!!

When you fire an attorney and hire a new one, the total lawyer fees under Illinois law can not exceed 20% of what is recovered.  If the old lawyer thinks they are entitled to part of that 20%, they can try and work something out with the new lawyer or petition the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and an Arbitrator will decide who gets what.

Key points. 1. Your bottom line is not affected. 2. Any attempt to say you’ll owe the lawyer additional money is a lie and really scummy.

Whether you should switch attorneys or not is a different story and depends on how bad their service is, how old the case is and whether or not there have been any settlement offers or not.

If you want to talk about any of this, call the number at the top of the page or fill out our contact form and we’ll call you.

But don’t be scared in to just dealing with the bad representation.

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