Michael Helfand

One thing that is true about dealing with insurance companies is that they are not looking out for you. Whether it’s your health insurance, car insurance or something else, the main goal of the company is to limit how much they pay on your behalf.  Sometimes they will tell fantastic lies to further their ends.  I heard a real doozy recently from an injured Illinois worker.

This very nice woman had broken her arm.  She regularly worked 60 hours a week, but was only getting work comp benefits based on a 40 hour work week. When she asked about the extra pay, she was told (wrongly) that overtime isn’t included in work comp payments.  She responded by saying that she wanted to ask a lawyer if this was true and the adjuster went off on her. “If you get a lawyer that will make the case drag on for two more years and they’ll take your money!”

Both of those things aren’t true. First off, the length of a case depends on your medical recovery. The only time getting a lawyer makes it last longer is if you are getting screwed over and we go to arbitration to get you tens of thousands that you are missing out on.  In most cases having a lawyer makes things go faster because we stop the insurance company from playing games and allow you to focus on your health.

As for the second lie, attorney fees in Illinois work comp cases are capped at 20% of what is recovered for your settlement or trial verdict.  In almost every case, you end up with more money by getting a lawyer than if you didn’t have one, even after the 20% fee.  This is a common insurance company lie to try and screw you out of money that they owe you.

This isn’t a one off situation. It happens all of the time.  Later the same day I got a call from an Amazon worker who was dealing with their insurance company, Sedgwick. Whoever she talked to told her that there had been a “global settlement” of their work comp cases and that she had been allotted a certain amount to resolve her case. It was basically implied that all of the cases were getting settled together and that this worker had to take what was a low ball offer.

This was a lie I’d never heard before, but it’s absurd. Work comp cases aren’t class actions. Everyone’s case is their own and you don’t have to take less because all of the cases are resolving at once. They aren’t doing that. Your case settles whenever it’s ready and you get paid whatever it’s worth. Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work. Their lies might try to avoid that, but if you know your rights you won’t fall for their tricks.

The bottom line is that generally speaking insurance companies don’t look out for you and shouldn’t be trusted. Even when they are nice, they have an agenda, so be careful.

If you would like to speak to an experienced Illinois lawyer for free, call us any time at 800-517-1614.  We help with cases everywhere in Illinois.

The most common question that gets asked in any Illinois personal injury lawsuit is, “What is my case worth?” I get it. People want to know how they will be compensated for the pain and agony they’ve gone through.

Most cases just aren’t worth that much. There are two reasons for that.  The first is that your injuries are small. If you get hit by a car and need a month of physical therapy, that case has value, but not much.  In other cases you might have significant damages, but if there is only $50,000.00 worth of insurance out there, that’s likely all you will get.

In some cases though there is a really significant injury or death and there is large or unlimited insurance because the defendant is a corporation or some other entity that is heavily insured. Think of a situation like an airplane crash or if a CTA bus driver ran a red light. A major airline or the City of Chicago can pay out any award made by a jury.

So how do you get a multi-million dollar settlement or trial verdict.  There are a bunch of factors, some obvious and others not so obvious.

1. Big damages. As discussed, you can get hit by a drunk driving bus driver, but if your injuries are small, the value of the case is small.
2. Strong liability. You might become paralyzed during a surgery, but if you can’t prove it was due to medical negligence, the chances of recovery aren’t great.
3. Who your lawyer is. This ultimately becomes the biggest factor. There’s a reason why a handful of law firms in Illinois get the biggest results year in and year out.  And there are so many reasons why a case is worth more in the hands of certain lawyers than it is in others.

• These lawyers have a track record of success, so the insurance company assumes a bigger potential loss which increases room to negotiate.
• These firms know how to properly investigate cases.  If you are in a truck crash or industrial accident, it’s important to have the scene examined ASAP.  They’ve done this many times before and have experts on call to get the job done. This initial work can ultimately be the difference of millions of dollars in the end.
• They know how to find hidden insurance. Many trucking companies operate shell companies in order to make it appear as if their trucks are small companies when really they are a subsidiary of a much larger company. Inexperienced lawyers might tell you that there is only a $1 million insurance policy when in fact there is ten times that out there.
• They have trial skills for bigger cases.  If there is a catastrophic injury it often is a complex case which could mean a two week or more trial as lots of experts will need to testify.  That is way different than handling a car accident trial that lasts a day.
• They have money to finance these cases. Getting experts costs money.  Creating videos that show what a victim’s life is like now cost money. Those things are investments in your case in order to greatly increase the value of your case. But they aren’t cheap. It’s not unusual for a lawyer to spend $300,000.00 of their own money with no guarantee of a payback if you don’t win. Firms that haven’t won these cases many times before can’t afford to do that.  The ones that can make your case worth more money.
• They know the best experts.  The best experts want to work with the best firms.  All of this increases your case value.
• They are able to turn down a large offer when they know your case is worth more. $5 million is a huge case result. But if the case is really worth $10 million, settling for five would be a bad idea. Some lawyers can’t risk losing the fee they’d get from a $5 million case and won’t have the guts to tell you to not take it. An experienced, successful lawyer will only act in your best interests even if settling would still get them a great fee.

The point to take away is that if your case could be worth millions, there are about ten firms in Illinois where having them makes the case worth significantly more than if you get a less reputable law firm. If you would like our recommendation as to the best Illinois personal injury law firm for you, please contact us for free at 312-346-5320. We help with legal advice and attorney referrals everywhere in Illinois.

There isn’t a much more exciting event than the delivery of your child.  There are so many unknowns and such an anticipation of joy. Usually things go very smoothly, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case.  We have helped thousands of people investigate possible medical malpractice lawsuits in Illinois for birth injuries. While not every injury is a lawsuit, every serious injury is worth investigating. These are the six most common ones that lead to lawsuits being filed against doctors, nurses and/or hospitals.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that impairs movement and affects muscle tone or posture. CP is caused by damage that occurs to the developing brain, sometimes during birth. People with CP may experience stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity), variations in muscle tone, and/or lack of balance and muscle coordination, among other symptoms.  When the flow of oxygen to the baby’s brain is interrupted during childbirth, cells in the brain quickly begin to die. This is what eventually leads to cerebral palsy.  These damages can be catastrophic and turn an otherwise healthy child in to someone who needs a lifetime of care.

Shoulder Dystocia

In a full-term or post-term pregnancy when the baby is very big, they might be too big to go safely through the birth canal. The OBGYN should recognize this and perform a C-section. If they don’t, the baby’s shoulder might be wedged behind the mother’s pelvic bone. The doctor may use excessive pressure or force to dislodge the baby’s shoulder, leading to a shoulder dystocia injury.

Brachial Plexus Injuries (Erb’s Palsy)

The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that sends signals from your spinal cord to your shoulder, arm, and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or torn from the spinal cord. Newborns can suffer from brachial plexus injuries, often associated with high birth weight, breech position, or prolonged labor. If an infant’s shoulders get stuck within the birth canal, there is a higher risk of brachial plexus palsy.  While sometimes these injuries get better, quite often it can lead to years of physical therapy and a lifetime of complications.

Skull/Bone Fractures
When a baby becomes stuck during delivery, the OBGYN must deliver the baby quickly. Sometimes this results in the doctor pulling too harshly or being too aggressive while using birth-assistance tools, which may lead to a skull fracture or fractured clavicle. A doctor or nurse dropping a baby shortly after birth may also be a cause of a skull or other bone fracture, but that is less common.  What you should know is that fractures are not an expected outcome of most deliveries so if your child has one it should be investigated by a lawyer.

Facial Paralysis

During labor or birth, sometimes when forceps are used for delivery, pressure on a baby’s face may injure the facial nerve. This injury is evident when the baby cries. There is no movement on the side of the face with the injury, and the baby can’t close their eye. The paralysis may improve in a few weeks if the nerve was only bruised. However, if the nerve was torn, surgery may be necessary.  Whether or not a lawsuit is worth pursuing usually comes down to the recovery made by the child.

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a type of brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation and limited blood flow during or near the time of birth. Other terms used for HIE include birth asphyxia, perinatal asphyxia, and neonatal encephalopathy. In some cases, therapeutic hypothermia given very quickly after the injury may prevent or minimize permanent brain damage. However, with or without that treatment, many infants with HIE develop permanent disorders including cerebral palsy, cognitive disabilities, epilepsy, and others. The largest birth injury lawsuit we’ve ever been involved in came from a HIE case where fetal monitoring strips failed.

Note that while in most cases you have eight years to sue whoever was negligent for a birth injury, it can be as little as two years from when it happened in some cases such as if your doctor was provided through a Federally funded clinic. It’s possible you won’t know that they are so we highly recommend talking to a lawyer as soon as you are aware of an injury. If you would like to speak to an experienced attorney for FREE, please call us any time at 312-346-5320.