A caller to my office wanted to switch lawyers because her attorney yelled at her and called her dumb. That was in response to her asking about getting pain and suffering for her work related injury. She shattered her arm, had a very invasive surgery and has gone through a lot of pain for sure. … Continue Reading
How permanent restrictions affect the value of a workers compensation claim. Usually it makes the case worth more money, often much more, but there are some exceptions to that.… Continue Reading
Can Sedgwick or any other insurance company just close your workers compensation case? Typically no. Free case review with an attorney.… Continue Reading
One of the great things about Illinois workers’ compensation law is that when you sign up with an attorney, everyone has to use the same contract. It’s created and provided by the State of Illinois. It lays out the attorney fee (20%), that we get reimbursed for expenses, that a settlement can’t be made without … Continue Reading
If you read our blog, you know that we love to point out lawyer lies. I have a good one for you. A woman called me, wanting to know if she should settle her case. She was in a car accident as a passenger at work and sustained a big leg injury. All of her … Continue Reading
At some point, everyone wants to know what their case is worth. But if you are hurt on the job in Illinois you are going to hear terms like PPD or “percentage loss of use” and they can be really confusing. Hopefully we can clear that up a bit. Almost every Illinois work injury has … 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
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
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
Illinois workers’ compensation law typically provides three things in every case, payment of medical bills, payment of lost time from work (TTD benefits) and a settlement (PPD or permanent partial disability) when you are all better. Only the medical and TTD are mandatory by law unless the insurance company has a good reason to deny them. … Continue Reading
We are Chicago workers’ compensation attorneys who help with cases anywhere in Illinois. We’ll talk to you for free and in confidence. Call us at (312) 346-5578 or fill out our contact form. We of course blog every couple of days. Sometimes we get good questions that aren’t enough for a blog post, but I … Continue Reading
90%+ of Illinois work injury cases settle. Most happen because your lawyer and the insurance adjuster or defense attorney come to an agreement and you go along with it. Many other times though each side is willing to settle, but you and they can’t agree on what the case is worth. When that happens the … Continue Reading
If you are injured while working for the City of Chicago, your case will be handled a bit differently than those of almost every other employee in Illinois. First off, they contract with Mercy Works to see all of their injured workers. You still can and should see your own doctor, but at least initially … Continue Reading
You can get three things from any Illinois workers’ compensation case, but the insurance company only has to give you two of them. If you are hurt while performing your job duties, they have to pay for 100% of your medical care. No co-pays, no out of pocket expenses as long as the treatment is … Continue Reading
This post could also be titled: “How long does it take until I get paid after the case is settled?” A rather angry man called me and vented his frustration at his attorney. He had signed settlement contracts more than two months ago, but not only has he not been paid yet, his attorney recently … Continue Reading
I get the question, “How do I know what my case is worth?” from callers about once a week and it’s a fair and reasonable question. Some are injured Illinois workers who have a settlement offer, but don’t trust their lawyer and want to know if the settlement their attorney is recommending is a good … Continue Reading
Any case we decide to get involved in has some settlement value. We only get paid if we make a recovery for you (our fee is 20% of that recovery) so of course we take on cases that will have value at the end and fight our butts off for your until that point. Sometimes … Continue Reading
A nice woman contacted our office with an interesting situation that probably arises in one out of every 100 cases. She had injured her back, received months of medical treatment, went back to work and then injured her leg. The back feels great, but the leg injury is keeping her out of work. She had … Continue Reading
While the #1 goal for any injured worker should be to get healthy, we as lawyers want you to get everything that you are entitled to under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. All workers give up certain rights in exchange for the work comp system (the main one being that you can’t sue an employer … Continue Reading
One of the awful strategies by the people who wish to destroy the Illinois workers’ compensation system are from those who want your settlement to be tied to something called AMA ratings. Those are medical impairment ratings that have nothing to do with actual disability or how your injury will affect your body and ability … Continue Reading
One of the most common questions I get from callers/readers is “How can I make my case go faster?” I get that concern as most people I talk to want to get better, return to work, settle the case and move on with their life. I’m a lawyer and even I don’t want to spend … Continue Reading
A caller to my office wanted to switch lawyers because her attorney yelled at her and called her dumb. That was in response to her asking about getting pain and suffering for her work related injury. She shattered her arm, had a very invasive surgery and has gone through a lot of pain for sure. … Continue Reading
