Can I Afford to Hire a Workers’ Compensation Attorney?

Workers' compensation is a no-fault system of benefits paid by employers to workers who experience job-related injuries or diseases. Oftentimes after a workplace injury the medical bills begin to pile up on top of your everyday bills and expenses. Many people are unsure about hiring a workers’ compensation attorney because they don’t think they can afford one. Fortunately that is not the case.

All workers’ compensation attorneys are paid on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless the injured employee secures a recovery against the employer, there is no attorney’s fee charged. In Illinois, the workers’ compensation attorney's fee is set by the State of Illinois at 20% of the injured employee's recovery.

The State of Illinois also provides the form that must be used when you decide to hire a specific lawyer for your workers’ compensation claim. The form, called the attorney representation agreement, indicates that your attorney will get 20% of your medical bills, 20% of your payments for time off work, and 20% of what is recovered for the permanent nature of your injury.

However, none of the attorneys we recommend will not charge a fee on those benefits – other than what is obtained in a settlement - provided they remain undisputed. For example, if the payments for time off work and not in dispute the attorneys we recommend will turn all of that money over to you. On the other hand, if such payments were in dispute and the lawyer had to go to trial to recover them, the lawyer may seek 20% of the payment amounts.

If your workers’ compensation lawyer asks you to give money up front for costs related to your case we recommend that you find a new attorney, as this is almost always a bad sign. There is no cost for filing a workers’ compensation case and generally the only expenses the attorney may have are obtaining medical records or paying expert witness fees. Your attorney should only receive money after your case is over and only if you recover.

If you are made a settlement offer before you are represented, an attorney can not take 20% on what was already offered, but can get 50% of what they recover above and beyond that offer. We almost never see a situation where an injured worker gets more on their own than they would have at trial.

Finally, if you have a loved one that is killed on the job or paralyzed, and there is no dispute whatsoever as to their benefits, attorney fees will be limited to $100.

If you have any questions about lawyer fees in your workers compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are experienced attorneys who will talk with you for free, answer your questions and do whatever we can to point you in the right direction.