Workers Compensation

Work injuries are some of the cases in need of the most immediate attention. Financial planners will tell us all until they are blue in the face that we are all supposed to have savings of 1 or 6 months of our monthly expenses in case we have a family or medical emergency. But for most people, that is just not easy to do.

When someone is hurt on the job, their company may, or may not, pay TTD or Temporary Total Disability. This is being paid for your time lost from work while you are injured so that you can continue to pay your rent or mortgage and other expenses while you recover from your work injury. Increasingly, I have seen more and more injured workers come to me with an injury case, and they are telling me that their companies are NOT paying TTD. That can put you in a real bind–because now, you are injured and worried about your future, and you ALSO have no money coming in while you heal from your injuries.

In my opinion, too many lawyers do nothing when their client tells them they have no money coming in. Most people do not know this, but the Workers’ Compensation Act in Illinois is a law that covers all work injuries in Illinois.

Rule 19 of the Workers Compensation Act allows for an expedited hearing, even if it is shortly after the accident, to get in front of the Arbitrator assigned to the work injury case, to let the arbitrator know the facts, and to let him or her know that you are not getting paid.

Sure, there are requirements before going before the Arbitrator–you have to have the medical in the file and be ready to try the 19(b) or 19(b(1) Petition if the company refuses to be reasonable. And sometimes, it can take several weeks to get in front of an Arbitrator for scheduling reasons. But a knowledgeable and aggressive Workers’ Compensation lawyer in Chicago or Illinois knows how to do all of this, and DOES IT WHENEVER HE NEEDS TO FOR HIS CLIENTS.

Another common issue I see in Illinois Work Injury and Chicago Workers Compensation cases is companies or claims companies hiring Nurse Case Managers. These Nurse Case Managers are being paid by the company to–do what, help you? Wrong. They will TELL you that they are trying to help you. But the company hired the nurse case manager to try to influence your doctor against you, to take down notes of any damaging thing you might say, and to push you to return to work, even if you might not be ready to go.

Nurse Case Managers are being paid by companies in Chicago Work injury cases to LIMIT the recovery and save the company money. No other reason. Some of them are very nice and personable–or appear to be. Never forget that their only goal is to hurt your Workers Compensation case.

Here is something that most Workers Compensation lawyers will not tell you: Workers Compensation cases are driven by (1) how much money you earn per hour; and (2) what doctors say.

First, be aware that as a general rule, the more hourly money you make, the bigger compensation you get in a Workers Compensation case. In other words, a guy making $20 per hour is going to be compensated twice as much as a guy making $10 per hour for the exact same injury, and exact same treatment. It is the way the entire Illinois Workers Compensation Act is set up.

Second, no matter how bad you are hurt, if your doctor does not back you up, we are going to have a fight on our hands. That is why I always tell clients to make sure that they have a good relationship with their doctor. If your doctor is a jerk, treats you bad when he finds out you have an injury case, then choose a different treating doctor. I have literally seen people get less compensation than they deserve, and get sent back to work before they were really ready, all because their doctor torpedoed their case because they did not like lawyers or lawsuits. I see this very often when an employee decides to treat with a company doctor. Treating with a company doctor occasionally is okay, but generally, it is risky and one of the worst things you can do.

Under the Workers’ Compensation Act, you can choose your own doctor to be your treating doctor. You can pick up to two doctors to treat you for your injuries (this actually gets a lot more complicated). However, the company can request that their doctor examine and evaluate you. If they request this, they have to make the arrangements, inform you, and pay for your transportation to and from the doctor’s office if it creates a problem for you. You must attend the exam and cooperate or you risk hurting your case.

Here are the Top Five Guaranteed Ways to Destroy Your Injury Case

1.  Fall For What I Call the Good Cop Tell Me All About It Routine. This is when the insurance adjuster acts like he is she really cares about you, your injuries, and your financial needs, especially after a motor vehicle collision.  They call you, tell you not to worry about the medical bills, that everything will be taken care of. Be aware, they are doing this so that you open up, let your guard down, and provide them with a recorded statement, or sign away your rights on paperwork they send you to sign.  Once the insurance adjuster uses the skills he or she has in getting the RIGHT kind of answers out of you (RIGHT for the insurance company, but WRONG for you and any chance of getting a fair recovery) and once the Medical Payments coverage is exhausted, their attitude changes.  They got what they wanted, and now, you cannot get a return call or any help whatsoever.

2. Give a Recorded Statement. Every insurance adjuster out there is trained by insurance company lawyers about WHAT questions to ask, and more importantly, HOW to ask them to get the answers they need to defeat your claim.  That’s why the ONLY time I allow one of my clients to give a statement is when they are in my office and being represented and advised by me.

3. Sign the paperwork . This sounds like a horror story out of a book.  And it is so underhanded and rotten, I can barely believe it myself.  But early in my career, I was contacted by an elderly gentleman who could not read too well.  He got hurt in an accident.  The Insurance company told him to sign these papers we send you and we will send you $1,000.00 for your pain and we will pay all of your doctor bills.  Guess what?  He got the $1,000, but because he could not read too well, he did not realize that notwithstanding the promise to pay the doctor bills he was told on the telephone, he signed away his rights forever. Even highly educated people’s eye glaze over when an insurance company sends them a document with teeny tiny print using legal mumbo jumbo.  But that legal can kill your chance at fair compensation.

4. Tough it out and don’t see a doctor (or see a doctor 3 months after the accident) . When a seriously injured person fails to be seen by a doctor after an injury, it is like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve all rolled into one for an insurance company.  They love it.  Now, you and I know that MOST people do not like going to a doctor, and MOST people put it off until they just cannot stand it anymore.  But, when someone tries to explain that at trial, juries are skeptical.  They think €œthis guy is asking for money for his injuries how bad could the pain have been if he waited a month to see a doctor? EVEN WHEN THEY THEMSELVES HAVE PUT OFF SEEING A DOCTOR FOR MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS FOR THEIR OWN MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

5.  Try to Hide a Prior Medical Condition, Old Accident (or Lie About Anything, Really). When I was a young lawyer, I heard stories about lawyers who told their clients to keep old injuries a secret, or to try to suppress they fact that they had a car accident before.  Aside from the fact that this is completely unethical, a lawyer can lose his license for suggesting this, and a client can lost their case, it is just plain stupid to try to do this.  We live in the computer age.  Believe me, there are databases that track everything about you, including prior accidents, prior medical treatment, you name it.  You are just asking for trouble.  I always advise my client to tell the whole truth.  As Benjamin Franklin said:  If you always tell the truth, you do not have to remember anything.

Obviously, these are just the top five I see many,  many more mistakes made in injury and accident cases all the time, but the above five are probably the most common.

The best way to level the playing field and ensure that your rights or the rights of a loved are protected are to order my Special Injury Report and Audio CD, to arm yourself with the knowledge you need to protect your rights.  And consider hiring a skilled, aggressive, and ethical personal injury lawyer.  Insurance companies hate it when a good lawyer gets involved in the case, because they know the shenanigans stop, and the injured person then has their best chance at fair compensation the very thing the insurance company goes to great lengths to avoid.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.  If you have any questions or would like to consult with me about handling your case, you can contact me HERE.

If you would like more info visit: Chicago Workers Comp Injury Lawyer.