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Michael Helfand

Get It In Writing

Have you ever thought of drawing up a written agreement between you and your partner for anything that could be legally related, but decided not to because “it’s not a real contract”? As one woman in Cook County found out, written agreements do in fact matter.

A woman in Cook County filed a lawsuit for child support for her twins. In most instances, this would be an easy fix. There is a father, and child support payments would be ordered. This is not the typical case. The man in this case wanted to be a sperm donor only, and in 2012 the parties signed an agreement as such which relinquished all of his parental rights and obligations. Again, not being the typical case, this couple also engaged in a sexual relationship during this time.

If it were to be proven that the twins in question were conceived during natural intercourse, the father would be held responsible for support of the kids. If it were proven they were conceived instead through IVF, the signed written agreement would be enforceable relinquishing his rights as the parties had agreed upon in writing.

In this case, the judge ordered that the parties split all costs and fees associated with determining a better timeline to pinpoint the conception. This order caused the woman to drop her case. The mom in this case said that there was no point in proceeding because she already knew that the kids were conceived during the IVF process. She apparently had not been completely honest with her attorney when they decided to file the Petition for Child Support.

Honesty and written agreements do matter. While a written agreement may not constitute an actual contract, they do show what the party’s intent was at the time of negotiation. Had this just been a verbal contract or agreement between the two of them, it’s much more likely that the Dad would in fact be on the hook for child support. The contract literally saved him tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Most people don’t enter in to contracts because they are trusting, don’t want to offend someone or think it will cost a lot to do so. The reality is that you can be trusting, but smart and protect yourself. You can’t worry about offending anyone when you are looking out for your best interests. And most of these contracts are simple and many don’t even require a lawyer.

Getting agreements in writing is what banks do, car dealers do, real estate agents do and anyone else who is smart does as well. Protect yourself by getting it in writing. If you don’t it could cost you a ton in the long run.

Suing The Boy Scouts For A Lack Of Leadership

You can be sued for negligence if you get into a car accident while driving your own children; IF the circumstances all line up and a judge agrees. One father found this out the hard way. He was driving the children back from what was supposed to be a Boy Scouts of America camping trip. When bad weather came about, the trip was cancelled. Many in the group hunkered down for the night through the storm, and left in the early morning after cleaning the camping site.

In this circumstance, an unregistered volunteer of the Boy Scouts of America drove only his own children back to the location and guidelines the group had in place. Along the way, he drove of the side of the road, and his Buick flipped. His two children were injured. His younger son thankfully walked away with only lacerations. His older son however was not as lucky. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury and a broken ankle. He will have motor and sensory effects for the rest of his life due to the accident.

To make this case even more heart wrenching, the person who filed the lawsuit is not only the children’s mother, but also the wife of the driver. She chose to blame the father for the accident, believing it was driving while fatigued that caused the accident. She also chose to blame Boy Scouts of America, its local affiliate, the Three Fires Council, and Naperville Presbyterian Church. She sued and the negligence suit was later settled out of court for $11 million dollars. One attorney involved in the case stated that the leadership of the entire event had a responsibility to ensure no one left the site in a fatigued state. That responsibility was not upheld.

The guilt involved in any accident involving your own child is unbearable, but to then have to go through the horrors of court with the finger of negligence pointing at you in unimaginable. Needless to say, the wife has since divorced her tired driving husband, and has taken the children with her. Both children are now doing well, the oldest son is looking forward to graduation.

The reality of this case is that although the husband was named as a defendant, it was only because the Boy Scouts and the Church were the real lawsuit targets. So don’t expect to see a lot of similar kid vs. parent type cases in the future without a big defendant to be a part of the case too. In general a kid can’t sue a parent for this type of accident, but this case was an exception to the rule.

You Don’t Need A Lawyer If …

While people call me to help them find a lawyer, I actually offer two services with my website. It’s lawyer referrals AND legal guidance. By that I mean that I will give you my opinion of what should happen on your case and often that means telling you that you don’t need a lawyer.

Some people aren’t happy with that advice and are usually talking out of emotion instead of logic. A good lawyer takes the emotion out of a situation and offers objective advice. So for example, I had someone call me who was furious that their friend had borrowed $200.00 from them and hadn’t paid it back. They wanted an attorney no matter what it costs because to them this was about justice.

I tried to reason with them and make clear that while they could sue their former friend in small claims court, paying an attorney would be a waste. They’d likely spend $1,500.00 or more to recover $200.00 which when you aren’t angry clearly makes no sense.

There are hundreds of other examples I could give. Sometimes small claims court makes sense. Other times (especially if you live out of state), you just have to take the loss and move on.

Even in more serious matters, sometimes getting a lawyer isn’t worth it. For example, when someone calls us for an Illinois medical malpractice attorney, we can agree that a doctor or hospital was negligent, but also end up telling you that we don’t know a lawyer for your case. That’s because many people don’t have (fortunately for them) big damages which would justify the costs of a malpractice lawsuit.

In other words, it can cost more than $100,000.00 to go to trial in a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois. Just because a doctor was negligent does not mean that their insurance company will pay you anything voluntarily. So if we sue that doctor and you have only $50,000.00 in damages, we’d likely have to spend more than we can recover to take on the case which makes it not worth the while. Essentially we’d be going to trial in order to get our expenses back. You’d end up with nothing in the end.

In those situations small claims court isn’t a realistic option so all you can do is report the doctor to the Illinois Department of Professional Regulations, but realistically nothing is going to happen.

None of this is fair of course, but while we want justice in every instance where it’s possible, the hard truth is that just doesn’t happen.

How To Lose An Illinois Workers’ Compensation Case

I talk to approximately 200 people a month who have questions about Illinois workers’ compensation law or need representation for an injury.

In about 10 of those calls I hear something that I find a little odd. It’s something along the lines of “I’m too busy to get medical treatment for my injury.”

If you don’t go to a medical doctor, you can’t prove you are injured. You might get hit by a car and think your leg is broken, but the way to prove that is with an X-ray. Generally speaking it’s assumed that if you aren’t seeking medical help, you aren’t injured. You can testify that you hurt your back lifting a box and tell the Judge about all of the pain you are in. But if you’ve been treating your pain with only Advil then it’s pretty much impossible to prove something is wrong with you.

Another, more understandable, example is when someone has PTSD after getting robbed at gun point. Many people have nightmares, are afraid at work, become teary, etc. It usually sounds to me like they are going through post traumatic stress. If they don’t go to a psychologist of psychiatrist who confirms that they have that diagnosis and it’s related to the job then they have no case.

You also can’t decide that you are too injured to work and expect to get paid for your time off. Only a doctor can do that.

The reason for all of this is that you are biased in your own favor even if you are being honest. A doctor is independent and much more credible and if you want to pursue a case you have to see them.

You shouldn’t see a doctor just to have a case, you should get medical help if you really need it. Nothing is more important than your health. If you do get medical help, make sure not to delay in doing so. If you were injured in April, but don’t see a doctor until October, it’s really hard to prove the need to go to the doctor is due to your work injury. A six month delay in treatment is a long time. You still could win a case, but it would be much harder.

When You Work For Cash Under The Table

Everybody breaks the law at some point in their life. For most of us this means speeding, even if we don’t get caught. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone. If the speed limit is 55 mph, I think most people have no problem believing that actually means it’s OK to drive 64 mph, especially if that’s the flow of traffic. I certainly act this way and knock on wood, I haven’t gotten a ticket since 1994.

Fortunately most people don’t try to justify other minor criminal offenses like shoplifting. But there is one criminal offense that is committed every day by tens of thousands of people that is worse than petty shoplifting yet doesn’t cause most people to think twice about it. I’m of course talking about working for cash under the table.

When you do this, you and your employer are committing tax fraud. In fact, some studies have shown that if it weren’t for the lost revenue from this type of fraud, we’d be close to having a balanced budget.

Most workers will not get in trouble for this. The bigger legal risk is on the employer. Yet you do have some concerns. For example:

– If you get fired it will be near impossible in most cases to get unemployment benefits.
– You lose out on many worker protections under the law.
– If you are injured while working it makes it harder to prove you are actually an employee. If you can’t do that then you won’t be able to get workers’ compensation benefits. If you get a major injury you are screwed.
– It’s hard to show a job history to future employers.

There are many other things which could go wrong for you, but these are the big ones. It’s not as bad as it can be for an employer who gets caught as they could face huge fines or even jail time, but it’s still a risk for workers. I get that any job is better than none at all, but I can’t recommend enough that you avoid this situation if possible. Short term it’s probably great for you, but long term it’s often not worth it.

See also: Can a store detain you if they suspect shoplifting?

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Settlements

A caller to my office was rightfully upset with his Chicago workers’ compensation attorney.

His case was settled, the contracts were signed and approved by the Arbitrator. Once that happens they get sent to the insurance company for payment. That should take 2-3 weeks usually for them to issue a check to your attorney.

All of that happened and everything was looking good. His attorney got the check, but then told him that it takes a month for the bank to process and approve the check and that he’d get paid then.

LAWYER LIE!!!!!

Checks from insurance companies are like any check you’ve ever received except better because they are usually issued from a billion dollar company. At most they take 5-7 business days to get processed and for the funds to clear in your attorney’s client trust account. Once that happens your lawyer can write you a check for your settlement less their 20% fee and any costs they have.

So why is this attorney lying?

My guess is that it’s because he’s part of a big law firm in Chicago that is rumored to be breaking up and the individual lawyers are looking out for their own bottom lines instead of what’s best for the clients. In other words, if a firm has 10 partners who split everything equally, if five of them leave, they will have a harder time making a claim for that money. So the partners who are staying might be motivated to hold some checks until their soon to be ex partners take off.

If this is the reason it’s immoral and pathetic. When you represent injured workers you have to put their needs above anyone else and certainly above your own.

If you are the client in a situation like this, you have to keep on your lawyer and not feel bad about calling every day if you aren’t getting answers or returned phone calls.

The only better advice I can give about Illinois work comp settlements is to not settle before you are as good as you are going to get medically because once you settle, that case is closed forever. You can not re-open a closed case in Illinois. Also, if you aren’t happy with a settlement offer, don’t let yourself be rushed and don’t take it. You can always go to trial and get compensated that way.

And if your lawyer is sketchy as appears to be the case in this situation, file a complaint at IARDC.org.

No matter your situation, we are happy to help and will always talk to you for free. Call us at (800) 517-1614 or fill out our contact form to the right and we’ll call you.

Cancer from weed killer, find a lawsuit attorney

It has been an interesting year for unveiling the effects of long-standing, common household products. First, it was Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, now it is Roundup week killer. Roundup has been found to be a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Evidence linking Roundup to such cancers as myeloma, leukemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has shown up in studies worldwide.

According to one lawsuit filed in California:
“Those most at risk are farm workers and other individuals with workplace
exposure to Roundup, such as workers in garden centers, nurseries, and landscapers.
Monsanto assured the public that Roundup was harmless. In order to prove this,
Monsanto championed falsified data and attacked legitimate studies exposing
glyphosate’s dangers. Monsanto orchestrated a prolonged campaign of misinformation
to convince government agencies, farmers, and the general population that Roundup
was safe. As a result of this deception, agricultural workers and farmers have been
exposed to a carcinogen, while Monsanto has made billions.”

As of August 2016, the maker of Roundup, Monsanto, has asked federal judges to centralize the 21 lawsuits filed in 14 district courts. They are asking all of the lawsuits be moved to the Southern District of Illinois. The attorney also states in the brief that has, “over two hundred additional plaintiffs under contract or investigation who allege similar allegations.”

Monsanto, has spent over 35 years marketing Roundup as safe for people and pests. However, exposure to the chemical glyphosate has already been proven to cause cancer in other mammals. Until recently, the studies were not sufficient to show a link between humans and the chemical. Now that the research is available, people are lining up to file their complaints against Monsanto in an effort to hold them accountable for their false advertising and in the hopes of recovering medical damages after a loved one has died.

Those most susceptible to exposure include landscapers, farmers, avid gardeners and anyone who lives where Roundup is heavily used. If you think you have been exposed to this cancer-causing chemical, contact us to be connected with a qualified attorney in your area to determine if you have cause to bring forth legal action.

All calls are free and confidential. Call us any time at (800) 517-1614 to speak with one of our staff attorneys and find the best law firm for your case.

Three Bizarre Illinois Lawyers

When people call me for Illinois legal advice, I tell them the number one thing to do is be honest. It helps their case and helps their credibility. And of course it’s just the right thing to do. So I’m always surprised when there are attorneys who don’t follow the same rule. Or I guess I’m not surprised. Three examples lately have puzzled me.

Attorney #1 told a potential client that he could get his whole record cleared within 35 days tops. That surprised the client as he had heard different from other attorneys so he called me to find out the truth. Unfortunately this attorney was either lying or just making stuff up because the minimum time for a challenge to sealing or expunging your record is 60 days and even then the process takes 4-6 months on average from beginning to end. But some lawyers will just tell clients what they want to hear in order to get a case.

Attorney #2 is apparently short on money or burned out from the legal profession because he is teaching grammar school part time. But he assures his potential criminal defense clients that this other job won’t impact his ability to help them. Really??? What happens on the days that he needs to be in school and in court? Aren’t his relationships with prosecutors and Judges going to be lessened because he isn’t around them as much? If this attorney was honest with himself as well as the client of his that was freaked out about the teaching job, he would admit that you can’t be great at two things at once. Attorneys do get burned out on the law at times and some choose to leave the profession for other jobs. That’s fine, but don’t hurt others. Be honest and don’t take on cases that you shouldn’t handle.

Attorney #3 promotes himself heavily and talks about all of the great work that he does for clients. But the truth is that he’s just an incredible marketer and never actually goes to court. The lawyers that work for him do, but many people hire them on the belief that the main guy will be in their corner. That’s not at all true, at least not according to the many people who have fired him and called me for advice. But this guy apparently has no moral compass or is able to ignore it because he makes millions off of his brilliant self promotion.

For you as a potential client of any lawyer, the lesson is that while most lawyers are legit, not everyone is. You won’t offend them if you ask tough questions about them and verify what they do, who will handle your case, what to expect, etc. And if they have a problem with it you should find someone else.

The Illinois Income Withholding For Support Act

If you are in the situation that you are supposed to receive child support, but the employer of the person responsible to pay isn’t withholding the funds, or then dispersing them for your benefit, there is relief available.

Did you know that under the Illinois Income Withholding for Support Act (750 ILCS28/) if an employer does not initiate income withholding within 14 days of receipt of the IWN (Income Withholding Notice) they are subject to penalty. If the employer doesn’t submit those withheld funds within 7 days, they are also subject to penalty.

The Withholding Act requires a payor to “pay a penalty of $100 for each day that the amount designated in the income withholding notice (whether or not withheld by the payor) is not paid to the State Disbursement Unit.” In some cases, those penalties can be extreme and substantial.

Take for instance the case In re marriage of Scott Bos and Lisa Watson, when all was said and done, the husband’s employer is facing $2 million dollars in fines because they did not withhold and pay the court ordered child support. In this case, over a 38 pay period time-frame, the employer should have withheld and submitted $7,820 in child support. Instead, they ignored the countless attempts to make them recognize the existing IWN. Because of their willful failure and refusal to pay, the employer now owes $2,263,500.00 between the amount of the withholding order and penalties and fines.

In another case involving Auto Zone, (-Grams v. Autozone, Inc., 319 Ill.App.3d 567, 745 N.E.2d 687, 253 Ill.Dec. 564, (Third Dist., 2001) the court was not friendly in its response. Auto Zone claimed that the $100 per day penalty could be devastating to an employer, the court responded “the penalty is justified on the basis that noncompliance with a child support withholding order by an employer may place a substantial burden on a child support obligee, who could be forced to miss mortgage payments or postpone purchasing necessities for a child until the overdue payment arrives.”

In Illinois, making sure you receive the child support ordered to you is a priority to the court. There are few legal issues where a person may feel like the court, or “the law” is actually on their side. This is one of those situations. The courts have thoroughly defined income source, as well as applying the statutory penalty to those who have failed withholding or submitting. The court has made it very clear in the matter that the “Payor” (employer in most cases) has to take their responsibilities in this Act extremely seriously.

If you are in a situation like this, the best thing to do is to speak to a knowledgeable Illinois attorney. If you would like our help in finding one, call us at (312) 346-5320. You can fill out our contact form if you prefer.

Why Illinois Lawsuits Settle Just Before Trial?

I was involved in a case that stemmed from a terrible act of negligence by a doctor. It was obvious when the case started that the doctor screwed up and there was no apparent defense. The family of the patient lost a great person who was loved by many. They weren’t looking for a lottery ticket, but wanted compensation for their loss and to ensure that measures were put in to place to prevent this from happening to anyone else.

The case took almost four years and right before the trial was about to start, the first settlement offer was made. Previously the insurance company said that no offer would be made. The first offer wasn’t good enough, neither was the second. But after a little back and forth the parties settled for a fair sum. Each side spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands in legal costs to get to this point. Nothing really changed from day one and the amount that was settled for was basically the bottom line from when this tragic accident happened.

So why do so many cases settle right before trial?

There are actually a lot of reasons. In no particular order:
– While the insurance company/defendant may know they are at fault, they don’t know who will be suing them. By making you give a deposition, they may learn that you’d make a terrible witness at trial or that your loved one was a terrible person. Maybe they’ll learn that you didn’t have much of a relationship with them or that you are a drug addict or convicted child molester. Most of these things aren’t probable, but before you give away millions, you want to find out.
– You or whoever is bringing the lawsuit could die. That would potentially reduce the value of the case. If a man dies and leaves behind a wife, but no kids, if she passes away, the impact of the loss isn’t as great. Sounds morbid, but this is how insurance companies think.
– They earn interest on the money they aren’t paying you.
– New facts could emerge that make what seems like a slam dunk case turn in to just a so-so case. They are looking for any reason to deny your claim and if they don’t go through the discovery process they’ll never know what defense they could have had. We were involved with a case of a woman who was rear-ended by a semi truck driver. Seems like a sure thing, right? Well their expert alleged that her break lights weren’t working and since this happened at night, it created a possible defense.
– People who are scared of trial might jump at a low ball offer. If your case is worth $10 million and they offer you $4 million a year before trial, you won’t feel as anxious because there is plenty of time to negotiate. On the other hand, if opening statements are tomorrow morning and then you have to testify, you might want that sure thing and avoid the agony of being on a witness stand. At least that’s their theory.
– The insurance company doesn’t want people to think these cases are easy. If they don’t make the plaintiff’s attorneys spend their own money and have something at risk then they will bring every possible lawsuit that they can.

Of course there are plenty of other reasons too and not every case takes this long. Just know that if it happens to you, you are not alone or experiencing anything unique. To you it’s rightfully a serious matter. To the insurance people it’s a game or about risk analysis.

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