Injury Cases

Do you like secrets? I’ve got a great one about personal injury lawyers in Chicago and really attorneys in Illinois in general.  Want to know what it is?

Ready???

Personal injury lawyers in Chicago or anywhere in Illinois love to make money?  Is that a surprise to you?  I’m guessing it’s not.

Even though it’s common sense, people seem to forget this fact.  If you have a good case that an attorney can make money off of, they will gladly take it.  The biggest consideration for them beyond “Is this a money maker?” is, “Is this worth the headache?”  That sounds terrible to say, but it’s true.

What do I mean by headache?  That refers to the work that needs to be done and the client themselves.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had lawyers tell me that some person has a decent case, but they are abusive to their staff and unreasonable in their demands so the lawyer is dropping the case.  The bigger the potential payout is for that lawyer, the more tolerance they will have for a difficult client.  The bigger the payout, the more likely they are to take on a case that needs to go to trial most likely and will require hundreds if not thousands of hours of work.

For example, if you are in a car accident and break your leg, if the other driver is at fault, that case has value. But if their insurance policy is only worth $50,000.00, that is likely all that will be recovered.  Getting a lawyer will actually get more money in your pocket.  Without one it’s probable that medical providers or health insurance companies will be the only ones that get paid. Most attorneys are happy to take that case on, but would be more reluctant if it turns out you are a really difficult and unreasonable client.

On the flip side, if you had a loved one who died or was catastrophically injured and it’s the fault of a semi truck driver, attorneys will bend over backwards to help you out and have a much higher tolerance for problem clients.  It sounds gross, but it’s true.

I thought of this recently when a nice woman contacted me.  She was looking for a car accident lawyer for a case in Indiana.  She had called ten firms locally, but was convinced that they had all been bought off or were corrupt which is why none of them would take their case.

Nope, that’s not what’s going on.  The truth is that she has a bad case as evidenced by the fact that she was listed as the at fault party in the police report.  Beyond that, the person she was in the accident with has no insurance and neither does she.  No lawyer is bought off or afraid to take this on. They see the truth that there is almost no chance that they’d ever make money on the case.

Would it be great if there was a free lawyer for everyone who would take their case on no matter what, that’s just not realistic or the case.  Most of the personal injury attorneys I know in Illinois are good people, who care about their clients and want to help people.  They also want to pay their office rent, staff and themselves like pretty much every other business person.  It’s not a big secret, but it is one that people often forget.

A caller to our office was pursuing a worker’ compensation claim for carpal tunnel.  They had a lot of questions, but one of them was wanting to know what the odds were of them winning their case.

I get questions like that a lot about Illinois workers compensation law.  The honest answer is that every case is different and that a win to some people might be a loss to someone else and might be a push to another person.

There’s one very shady Chicago workers’ compensation law firm who advertises that they’ve won 98% of their cases.  That “win” total includes cases on which they recovered $500 for their clients when insurance companies just paid to make the case go away. If your medical bills aren’t paid, is that a win?  Of course not, but they claim that it is.

For this caller, the only way to say they won would be if their case was disputed and went to trial.  Most cases settle though. If 100% of your medical bills get paid, all of your time off work gets paid and you get a settlement for 85% of what your lawyer thinks your case is worth, would you consider that a win?  Most people would, but some would not.

If your best case scenario is getting $500,000.00 and they won’t budge past $420,000.00, is that a win?  It certainly could be and that’s a lot of money.

If your attorney is able to get every medical procedure your doctor recommends except one additional week of physical therapy, would you consider the case to have gone well?

What most people really want to know is if they will get most of the benefits they are entitled to.  To determine the chances of that, we have to look at the case facts. How were you hurt?  What possible defenses does the insurance company have?  What prior medical problems did you have?

In this case, since they are claiming a repetitive trauma injury, they’d have to prove how often they used their hands at work, the force applied, the angle of their wrists and of course get an orthopedic doctor to state that more likely than not their job contributed to them getting carpal tunnel.  The insurance company will surely have a hired gun IME doctor to state that it’s not work related.  They will point to things like diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, etc. that could be the “real” cause.

The stronger the possible defenses, the greater a chance you either go to trial or reach a compromise settlement.  Any compromise could be considered a win or loss depending on your perspective.

To me, the better strategy is to work with your lawyer to determine the best and worst case scenario on your claim.  After that you try and get most of the best case scenario as possible.  You almost never get everything, but the closer you are to that, the more that it will feel like a win to you in the end.

We are straight talking, experienced Chicago attorneys who will talk to you for free. Call us any time at 312-346-5320 for a free consultation.

A very nice woman contacted me about a possible medical malpractice lawsuit.  She had a previous breast implant surgery and was now in a lot of pain due to scar tissue building up.  She told me that she believed the doctor would settle quickly because he had insurance and wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to his reputation.

I get similar calls for people who want to sue huge companies like Amazon, McDonalds, etc.  They will tell me that the company will settle because they are worth billions.

In the words of that famous commercial which I think is for car insurance, “That’s not how any of this works!”

Insurance companies and big corporations don’t just give money away.  Might they pay someone $1,500 to make a headache go away?  At times, sure.  But if you are looking for real money, you need the facts on your side.

When it comes to settling a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois, there are typically two things you need in your favor: 1. Provable negligence. 2. Major injuries.

When it comes to provable negligence, that’s not just showing that you were harmed by a doctor or they messed up, but also showing that their mistake was against the standard of care and caused you a harm that you wouldn’t have otherwise suffered.  By that I mean, if your doctor nicks your colon in a colonoscopy, that is a mistake, but it’s a risk of that procedure.  If they tell you on October 1 that you don’t have cancer, but you learn on October 10th that you have stage four cancer, it’s a screw up, but not one that will make a difference in your ultimate outcome. In other words, that ten day delay won’t change anything.

As for major injuries, let’s say you go to a hospital with chest pain and they send you home saying you are fine.  That night you have more pain and go to a different hospital where they discover an aneurysm that is about to burst. Emergency surgery saves your life.  That first hospital was negligent, but their error didn’t cause a major injury.  Even if you have a surgical error that causes you to miss three months of work, the value of that case isn’t much.  No matter the case, it costs a lot to bring a lawsuit because you have to pay for experts.  A lot of cases cost $100,000.00 or more to go to trial.  Insurance companies of course know this, so generally they don’t pay much for minor injuries because they know that no lawyer is going to spend 100k in hopes of recovering 150k for a client.

This doesn’t mean there are never five and low six figure malpractice settlements in Illinois.  What it does mean though is finding an attorney to take on a case like this can be challenging. When push comes to shove, doctors win more than 80% of cases that go to trial.  So most lawyers we know are very selective in the cases they take on.

Cases that do settle tend to be ones that have very big injuries.  Death, brain damage, permanent disability, etc.  Those aren’t guaranteed wins, but you have a better chance of getting an insurance company to offer money if they think you can also prove negligence.

I don’t write any of this to discourage you, but rather to be honest about how most cases seem to go.  Please call us any time for a free consultation to see if you have a case.  There is never a fee to pursue a claim unless a recovery is made for you.

Before I talk about workers’ compensation law and Coronavirus, I want to talk about work comp law and marijuana.  Long story short, if you get hurt at work and test positive for marijuana, it creates a “rebuttable presumption” that you were high when you got hurt and allows the insurance company to deny your case.  This is of course ridiculous as marijuana stays in your system for a while.  The good news is that you can through your testimony and/or witnesses show that you weren’t high when you got hurt and win your case.

Why do I bring this up?  Because with Coronavirus, this same philosophy has been made law, but in this case it’s for the benefit of workers in Illinois.

From March 9, 2020 through December 31, 2020 (and it may be extended if we don’t get out of this mess), if you get Covid and work in certain jobs, a law was put in to place that creates a “rebuttable presumption” that if you have Covid, you got it from work.

So if you are a healthcare worker or front line worker and get Covid, it’s presumed that you got it from work although the insurance company has a chance to argue otherwise.  That means 100% of your medical bills will be paid with no co-pays or out of pocket expenses.  This is huge as there have been many reports of people hospitalized with Coronavirus having bills in the six or seven figures.  It also means that you will get compensated for your time off of work which is great because it doesn’t put pressure on you financially to rush back to work when your doctor feels you should be at home.  And it also means  that you will be entitled to a settlement for how this will affect you in the future.

It’s obvious what healthcare workers are, but what is a front line worker?  That means law enforcement officers and anyone employed by a company that was deemed an essential business.  This includes people who work at grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, convenience stores, hardware stores, transportation providers, schools, restaurants and many other businesses.  The only exception is if you don’t come in to contact with the general public as part of your job.

The presumption that Covid came from work may be rebutted by evidence including that the employee was working from home or on leave for a period of 14 or more consecutive days immediately prior to getting diagnosed, showing that the employer was following current public health guidelines for two weeks prior to when the employee claims they contracted COVID-19 or that the employee was exposed to COVID-19 by an another source.

The bottom line is that if you have or had Covid, you should contact a lawyer to discuss whether or  not you have a workers’ compensation case.  Feel free to call us any time at 312-346-5320.

We are experienced Illinois attorneys who will talk to you for free.  Our lawyers answer questions and/or refer you to the best lawyer for your case.  We treat you like a family member or a friend. If you would like our help, fill out our contact form or call us at 312-346-5320. We cover all of Illinois.

Did you know your skin is actually an organ? In fact, it is the largest organ in your body. And just like every other organ in the body, the skin also has a set of very specialized functions. For starters, the skin is responsible for protecting our inner organs and it also carries out a number of bodily functions that help us to maintain a healthy life. Changes in the skin can reveal a lot about your health and can be a sign that something is wrong.

When there is pressure on the skin it reduces blood flow to that area. Without enough blood, the skin can die and an ulcer may form. Skin ulcers are open wounds that develop on the skin as a result of injury, poor circulation, constant friction or unrelieved pressure.

There are several types of skin ulcers, but one that continues to be a growing problem in medical facilities are decubitus ulcers. Doesn’t sound familiar? How about a pressure sore or bed sore? These terms are often used interchangeable in the medical community.

These usually occur on bony areas of the body such as the lower back/tailbone, hips, shoulder blades, heels and ankles. They can occur quickly and are difficult to treat, but are actually rather easy to prevent. The risk is increased if you are bedridden, in a wheelchair, or limited in your ability to maneuver, such as a limb in a cast. Prevention is as easy as moving position every couple of hours, using pillows and other products to relieve pressure and keeping skin clean and dry.

But if one cannot easily move themselves because of paralysis, illness, old age, or frailty many depend on caretakers to help them do so. Still, pressure sores can occur to anyone of all ages and those who do not appear to be at risk. Pressure sores may be preventable, but they’re nothing more than a breach of care by healthcare providers and are subject to a lawsuit. Plain and simple, nursing homes, hospitals, rehab facilities, etc have a duty to prevent these sores from happening.

Pressure sores develop in stages based upon the depth of skin damage, ranging from the least severe (stage 1) to the most sever (stage 4).

• Stage 1 Pressure Ulcer: redness of the skin and may be itchy
• Stage 2 Pressure Ulcer: The skin may have a painful open sore or blister, with discolored skin around it.
• Stage 3 Pressure Ulcer: A crater-like appearance develops, due to tissue damage below the skin’s surface.
• Stage 4 Pressure Ulcer: Severe damage to skin and tissue, possibly with infection. Muscles, bones and tenons may be visible.

Treating pressure ulcers is not always easy.  Open wounds are unlikely to heal rapidly, but even when there is healing it may inconsistent because of the damage to the skin and other tissues and can spread elsewhere in the body causing other medical complications. Serious wounds may even need surgery. Less severe pressure ulcers often heal within a few weeks with proper treatment.

There is no cost to hire an attorney to bring a case against these facilities if they are negligent and you develop a decubitus ulcer.  If you would like our help in finding the right lawyer for your case, please contact us any time.

See also: Do I Have A Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit?

I got a call from a very nice young woman who was injured in a car accident.  She was looking to sue her doctor for not diagnosing her injury, but it became clear pretty quickly that she did not have a malpractice case.

I asked her if she had a lawyer for the car accident case and she said she didn’t because she couldn’t.  I wanted to know what she meant and she let me know that she was the passenger in the car and her boyfriend was driving and at fault for the crash.  She told me that she couldn’t sue him.

I’ve heard similar statements from people many times over the years. Some callers don’t think they have a right to sue because of the dating relationship.  Others just would never do it.

If a lawsuit was filed, technically it would say her vs. him.  In reality though, the case is her vs. his insurance company.  In other words, we would never go after him personally if the client didn’t want us to.  If the driver has $100,000 in insurance, that’s all that we would go for even if the case might be worth more.

What happened in this case is that the insurance company knew their client was at fault, but picked up on the fact that the girlfriend wouldn’t do anything so they blew her off.  Fortunately we were able to help her understand that even if his insurance goes up, it wouldn’t go up that much and it would certainly be offset by what she is owed for medical bills and pain and suffering.

While it didn’t apply in this case, in some claims we’ve been involved with, passengers could have actually gone after the driver of the other vehicle, but didn’t want to bring their significant other in to the case. That is almost never an actual concern.

You must remember that you are the client and whoever your attorney is, they can’t go against your interests. All they can do is advise you of your rights to help you make an educated decision.  So if you are a passenger in a car accident in Illinois and don’t want the driver to have to pay out of pocket, your wishes should be followed.

The bottom line is that no matter what happens, you should make sure you speak to an attorney before it’s too late (in most cases you have two years to sue) and learn your options to make an educated decision. Our attorneys are always happy to talk with you for free.  Call us at 312-346-5320 any time. We help everywhere in Illinois.

Full disclosure.  I asked my assistant who is an avid motorcycle rider to contribute to this. She goes across country on her bike every summer and has taught me a lot that is relevant to helping people injured in a motorcycle accident in Illinois. If you would like a free consultation, please call us at 312-346-5320.

If you ask a group of motorcyclists why they ride, you would get a variety of answers. Some love to ride for the speed, others the camaraderie and others say they just love the freedom of the open road. Motorcycling is a popular and favored pastime however, motorcycling riding is not without its risks.

Although they do not occur as frequently as car accidents, it should no surprise that motorcycles are more dangerous than a passenger car. Motorcyclists are generally more exposed to serious life-threatening injuries. The number of fatalities and serious injuries in motorcycle accidents close to double when compared to passenger vehicle accidents.

With little protection from the force of an impact, bikers and their passengers may sustain life changing injuries including brain injuries, spinal cord injury, broken bones, amputated limbs, lacerations, road rash or even death. Even accidents at low speeds can be the cause of these life altering or ending injuries. Motorcycle accident cases range from hit and runs, rear-end crashes, failure to yield, limited visibility collisions, stop sign accidents, left hand turns, lane splitting and more. Not all motorcycle accidents end in death yet, these accidents cause deaths thirty times more than other motor crashes.

In 2008, in the U.S. alone, over 100,000 motorcyclists were injured in traffic accidents. An additional 5,000 were killed. Motorcycle crashes are dangerous and devastating. And motorcyclists routinely get blamed for accidents they did not cause. Additional studies have demonstrated that in a vast majority of motorcycle crashes, the driver of the passenger car is either at fault or at more at fault than the motorcyclists. Despite continuous studies and statistics, insurance companies are quick to point the finger at the motorcyclists.

Managing the aftermath of an accident can be difficult, especially when you have better things to worry about like your recovery. But keep in mind in Illinois you usually have two years to file a lawsuit against an at-fault driver if you are hurt in a motorcycle accident and in some cases it’s just one year.

Motorcycle accidents with injuries are considered personal injury cases and the attorney you choose to represent you in an accident can have a significant impact on the outcome of your case. From injuries, lost wages, medical bills, permanent disabilities, rehabilitation and more motorcycle accidents can be costly. And every case is different. The length of the case and the time that it takes to settle all depend on the severity of the injury, the amount of treatment needed and the type of recovery that the person has.

Hospitals, medical providers, and insurance companies fight to make a profit from one of the worst days of your life. Without the right lawyer on your side your fight can only be harder.  If you have any questions or want our help in finding an experienced, tough motorcycle injury lawyer who will fight for you, call us at any time.

We are experienced attorneys with a track record of success in nursing home abuse and negligence cases in Illinois. If you would like our help in finding the right lawyer for your case, call us for free any time at 312-346-5320 to discuss your case with an attorney.

If you’ve been followed the news lately, you’ve seen that there have been scores of deaths at Illinois nursing homes due to Coronavirus. There was a large outbreak at a Symphony Care nursing home in Joliet that reportedly lead to 26 deaths.  Allegedly all of the infections traced back to one worker.  In Chicago at the Lakeview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Lincoln Park, at least 12 people have died of COVID 19.

There are more than 100 Illinois nursing homes and long term care facilities in Illinois with at least one COVID-19 diagnosis. While the majority of these are in Cook County, cases are happening throughout the state.

The question we’ve had of late from potential clients is, “Do I have a lawsuit for my loved one dying of Coronavirus in a nursing home?”

The answer is that it depends, but it’s definitely worth investigating.  As part of the investigation attorneys do, we want to see if the nursing home, rehab center or long term care facility failed to take action to prevent their clients from getting infected.  Were they taking proper precaution such as mandatory use of masks and gloves?  Were sick residents quarantined and kept away from healthy ones?  Were employees and outside workers screened for possible exposure and illness?  Did those people take precautions?  Was everyone constantly checked?

All of those things matter.  A big problem we are also seeing is that some patients were misdiagnosed as having pneumonia or another condition and were not given a prompt transfer to a hospital for care and treatment.

We are also seeing a big uptick in patients getting dehydrated, malnourished or having bed sores because loved ones aren’t allowed to visit.  When a family member isn’t there these facilities need to step up. If an injury occurs they can be liable.

It’s important to understand that the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act provides residents with lots of rights and protections.  We hope that you aren’t dealing with a loss of a loved one, but if you are we’d be happy to talk to you to see if we can help you obtain some justice and prevent this from happening to another family.

We are honest, experienced, Illinois attorneys who will talk to you for free and/or help you find the right lawyer.  If you would like our help, please call us any time at 312-346-5320 or fill out our contact form and we will call you.

For couples expecting a baby, there are several overwhelming feelings a parent will feel throughout the 9 months of the pregnancy. By the 3^rd trimester of pregnancy, most new moms are emotionally ready to give birth, but their bodies are also physically ready too.

Nature is good at controlling most aspects of labor, but sometimes nature could use a nudge. Inducing labor is the stimulation of uterine contractions during pregnancy before labor begins on its own to achieve a vaginal birth.

There are many different ways that labor can be induced, including being given the drug Pitocin to strengthen contractions. A woman’s body naturally produces oxytocin, the hormone the body uses to induce contractions. Pitocin is a synthetic version of oxytocin.

Nature typically prepares the cervix for delivery in the most efficient, comfortable way. However, if a health care provider is concerned about the health of the mother or the baby, inducing labor might be the best option. There are several reasons why inducing labor might be recommended. For example:

• Labor hasn’t started naturally as one has approached two weeks beyond their due date
• Labor hasn’t begun even after a woman’s water has broken
• There is an infection in the uterus
• The baby has stopped growing at the expected pace
• There is not enough amniotic fluid surrounding the baby
• New mother is diabetic or has a high blood pressure disorder

Pitocin may be used to start, strengthen, and make contractions more frequent. In other situations, it may be used to induce contractions if a pregnant woman does not go into labor on time, her contractions are weak or there are other complications.

Unfortunately, Pitocin also has some pretty heavy risks and is most commonly associated with preventable adverse events during childbirth. Both the Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the Food and Drug Administration have high alert warnings against Pitocin due to the uncertainty of its benefits compared with its risks.

If the Pitocin is used improperly it can cause contractions to be too strong or too frequent, with little rest in between. When this happens, the baby is at risk of not getting enough oxygen, suffering from birth asphyxia which, in-turn, can cause subsequent brain damage or even fatality. In addition, the mother can suffer extreme pain, cervical or vaginal lacerations, uterine rupture and postpartum hemorrhage.

In a recent Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit, a family was awarded $14 million who negligently gave Pitocin and didn’t monitor the contractions. Their failure to act lead to a delay in the delivery and ultimately severe brain damage.

There are strict guidelines for the use of Pitocin and is mandatory medical professionals follow the strict guidelines to only administer Pitocin when absolutely necessary. If medical staff do not follow the proper guidelines and an injury occurs, it is medical malpractice. If you suspect your child’s birth injury is a result from the misuse of Pitocin, contact us today for a free consultation.

There was a very sad case recently that lead to an Illinois wrongful death lawsuit where an 11 year old boy passed away after having an asthma attack and seizure at school.  The lawsuit alleged that the boy was unsupervised and his medical condition was known.  Regrettably, even though that had an outstanding law firm in their corner, the case was dismissed.

There are a few of reasons the family didn’t get their day in court. First, it’s generally held that schools can not supervise every student at all times.  That’s not to say they can be left on their own for hours.  Schools just aren’t expected to supervise them at all hours.  Second, you can’t sue public schools in Illinois for general negligence.  You have to show they had “wilful and wanton” disregard which is a much higher standard. Third, public schools in Illinois are protected by the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. This law immunizes public employees from liability for a failure to examine someone, or failure to examine someone adequately, for a disease or mental health problem.

In plain English, suing a public school for a injury in Illinois is very hard to do.  Or to be more clear, it’s hard to win.

If your child falls from the monkey bars and breaks their arm, there might be negligence by the school, but not a wilful and wanton failure unless they knew the monkey bars were broken.  If your child gets beaten up by a bully, it’s probably a tough case to win unless the school knows it’s going to happen or teachers stand by and encourage it to happen.

It’s much different if your child is hurt at a private day care or private school. There the general laws of negligence apply.

I don’t write this to discourage anyone from finding out if they have a case. On the contrary, you can call us for free to discuss any case that you want.  We just want people to be educated about what the laws are in IL.  A lot of people think that attorneys are scared to take on the State or a school.  It’s simply not true.  What lawyers want to do is get involved in winning cases.  The reality is that the laws for suing schools are stacked heavily in favor of the public schools.  That doesn’t mean there can never be a victory.  We’ve been involved in winning cases against public schools.  What it does mean is that it’s harder and there are no slam dunks.

I hope this isn’t confusing to anyone. If you have any questions, please call us any time at 312-346-5320.

It’s that time of year where even with the occasional nice day of weather, there has been a lot of snow, ice and slush.

Depending on where you live in Illinois, there are different laws about whether or not you have to shovel.  There are also different outcomes when it comes to falling on ice and getting hurt on someone else’s property.

Generally speaking, if you fall as the result of the “natural accumulation” of snow and ice, the property owner will not be held responsible.  In other words, if it snows overnight and the Jewel parking lot is icy, they likely won’t be at fault if you fall.  Property owners aren’t always required to clear snow or ice and certainly aren’t required to do it as it’s happening.

In Chicago residential homeowners can face a fine for not shoveling, whereas business owners can be sued by you if you fall and get injured.  The City of Chicago requires that if snow stops coming down before 4 p.m. you have three hours to clear it. If the snow stops falling after 4 p.m., you have to clear before 10 a.m. on the next day. No shoveling is required on Sundays. You are required to clear a 5-foot wide path along the sidewalk, where conditions allow.

In most cities outside of Chicago you aren’t required to shovel, but can’t create a hazardous condition or ignore defects the snow and ice cause.

So what is an un-natural accumulation?  The most common example would be ice that forms because it came down off of an awning or a gutter.  Those things are man made and added to properties.  If they create a hazard, you’d likely be successful in suing the property owner for an injury from a fall. On the other hand, if you fall from water that is dragged in to stores off of shoes, you’d have a harder time prevailing.  Store owners are not required to continuously mop.

If you are hurt as the result of a fall on snow or ice, this is what attorneys we work with want you to think about:

1. Get medical treatment right away if you need it.

2. Have someone take a photo or video of the area where you fell right away. You have to prove that you fell due to some negligent or hazardous condition. It’s hard to do this when you are on the ground with a broken ankle, we get it. To the extent you can though, have someone document the area  where you fell right away.

3. Talk to an attorney who understands the Chicago ordinance and/or the Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act.  An experienced lawyer can certainly be the difference between winning and losing a case or even the difference of tens of thousands of dollars when a case settles.

If you have any questions or want a referral to a lawyer with a track record of success in these cases, please call us any time, for free at 312-346-5320.  We help everywhere in Illinois.

One of the common tactics big employers use in the state of Illinois when a worker gets injured on the job is to send them to a “company clinic.”

These are legit medical facilities, but in my experience, they tend to favor the employer.  It’s not that they will ignore injuries, although that has happened.  It’s more so that their treatment plan seems to often be VERY conservative.

You may have heard of Concentra as that is a big company clinic with over 500 locations across the US. There are others too.  A recent caller to my office was injured in the Illinois and got sent to Concentra.  Every detail of how he describes his injury sounds like he has a herniated disc in his neck.  He has burning pain that shoots down his arm and also has numbness and tingling in his fingers.  Despite these complaints, he’s not been sent for a MRI or referred to an orthopedic doctor even though he’s been off work for over a month.

The biggest problem I have with these company clinics is that often the employer makes their workers feel like this is the only place they are allowed to receive medical care.  That’s simply not true.  Employers want their workers at these clinics because it saves them money and often the care is very conservative.  That’s well and good, but has nothing to do with looking out for your health or best interests.

The best advice we can give you is that if you have been injured on the job in Illinois and are in pain after seeing a company clinic, go see a doctor of your own choosing.  If that pain continues, ask that doctor for a referral to a specialist.  Get to that specialist and let them tell you what is wrong with you and what treatment you need.  A company clinic doctor may be great, but they are not the best person to take care of a serious injury.  They are more like an urgent care for a first diagnosis.

And if you get any push back from your employer or just have questions or concerns, you should get with an attorney. If you’d like to speak with a lawyer for free about Illinois workers’ compensation law, contact us at any time.

With the caveat that all of the information I get is from disgruntled patients or their family members along with from malpractice attorneys in Chicago, and just my opinion, I have to wonder how is St. Bernard Hospital in Chicago still in business.

In the last month I’ve had six different people call me looking to sue them for medical malpractice.  Not every one of them had a case, but they all had nightmare stories of how they were treated and allegations of terrible medical care.

It would be one thing if this was atypical, but the truth is I get more calls from people looking to sue them than any other hospital.  This is true month after month.

St. Bernard is an important hospital because it serves a lower income area.  Not every doctor or nurse is willing to work there.  It’s a grind and they are allegedly over worked and under staffed.

All that said, I once had a prominent Chicago medical malpractice attorney tell me that he wouldn’t take his dog there.  This is not a guy that blurts that type of stuff out willy nilly.

When we think about social justice or social equality, it is clear that health care has a long way to go in terms of catching up.  The reality is that the behavior that is acceptable by staff at Saint Bernard would not fly just a little down the road at University of Chicago hospital or at a place like Highland Park Hospital.

This is a little bit of a rant.  Medical malpractice will happen.  It’s inevitable.  At any hospital.  The problems that I hear about St. Bernard are that it’s a rather outdated facility.  It’s dirty. The security guards, per online reviews and people that have called, and some of the staff, are rude and will look at you like you are a criminal.    I’ve been told many times about terrible bedside manner, that exams are rushed.  Twice in the last month I’ve had a call from someone who was told by a different hospital that if they hadn’t sought a second opinion after being discharged by St. Bernard, they would have died.

I’ve heard complaints about almost every hospital in the Chicago area. The number at this one is staggering though. In my opinion, if you have the ability to go somewhere else, you should.  And if you go there and don’t think you got the best treatment, get a second opinion right away.  If your experience is like that of some of my callers, it could literally save your life.

I kind of hate writing posts like this because they seem insensitive.  That is not my intention at all, and I almost never do it if it happens in Illinois as I don’t want to be seen as trying to fish for a case.

That said, I do find that events like the tragic helicopter accident that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, can be very educational to people who are curious about wrongful death law.  It can also be instructive if you have a family member or friend in this situation. You don’t want their grief to prevent them from having a chance at justice.

While I don’t know anyone involved with this case, I would bet anything that within hours of this terrible crash happening, there were experienced personal injury lawyers and their investigators on the scene.

There are not a ton of major helicopter, airplane or trucking deaths per year in the United States.  When those accidents do happen, they are usually investigated by the Federal Government.  While I expect that in a high profile case like this they will do a thorough and clean investigation, it isn’t always the case. Like many government agencies, they can be under-staffed and over worked.

The families of the victims, if they bring a lawsuit, will need to prove negligence. While it appears that this is a case of a pilot making an error to fly in fog – other helicopters in the area were reportedly grounded due to weather – the pilot was very experienced. It’s possible that there was mechanical failure or some other reason the chopper went down.

Attorneys and their investigators can’t interfere with the official investigation, but they can also make sure that no potential defendant is interfering either.  If they see something like that, they can go to court to make it stop.  In one case we were involved in, the lawyers on the scene actually video taped the potential defendant removing debris from the scene of the accident.  That quick thinking likely saved the case.

Lawyers would also want to go around to anyone who may have heard or seen what happened. Documenting this type of information, especially when it’s fresh in someone’s mind, is very important.  Investigators can also share information with and learn information from the government workers.

I wouldn’t expect that any of the husbands/wives/parents of the deceased are thinking about any of this right now, but I’d bet at least one had a family member or friend step up and make sure that this happened.  It may not seem like it, but it’s really the best way you can support someone when they lose someone so suddenly and tragically. At first they will be just grieving but at some point they will want answers and justice to prevent it from happening to anyone else.  Getting an early investigation is the best chance to make that happen.

See also: Chicago Law Firm Goes The Extra Mile To Investigate Ethiopia Air Crash

With a history dating back to 1842, Illinois railroads easily are the nation’s most important in terms of the region they serve and the volume of traffic which is handled. Chicago, where the East meets the West, has been coined as the nation’s railroad capitol.

Illinois proudly ranks second in the country with the greatest number of railroads, with total rail miles, and employing over 300,000 railroad employees. But unfortunately, railroad workers have a higher risk of injury than people in most other occupations. Considering the railroad industry is relatively small, the risk of injury is statistically very high. While railroad workers are not covered by workers compensation, they do have other legal options to help recover damages incurred by accidents at work.

Before workers’ compensation, there was the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA). Put in place by the United States Congress in 1908, FELA provides compensation for work injuries to railroad workers. As a railroad employee, you are not entitled to state worker compensation benefits. FELA is your only right to compensation as a railroad employee.

FELA was born out of a need to protect railroad workers and force carriers to improve their safety standards for both their employees, patrons and property and become more accountable to their employees for any injuries they caused. Both programs, FELA and workers’ compensation were founded with the common goals of promoting a safe working environment and compensating workers following work-related illnesses and on-the-job injuries.

When compared to workers’ compensation however, FELA is considerably different in laws and process. The most important of these is the difference in proving the role of negligence. In a standard workers’ compensation claim, there is not always a need to prove employer negligence in order to claim benefits for medical expenses and lost wages. For FELA, an injured railroad worker must always prove the railroad was negligent in order to obtain compensation for their injury.

To add insult to injury, pun intended, every railroad retains skilled claim agents and attorneys whose sole job is to immediately investigate injuries of employees, focusing primarily on how to protect the interests of the railroads, not the injured.

The United States Supreme Court recognized the unfairness of this and as a counter action authorized a designated counsel familiar with FELA to represent injured railroad workers. It is in the best interest of the injured to hire an experienced and aggressive counsel to fight for their rights for several reasons.

While FELA provides an employee up to three years from the date of injury to file a claim, an injured railroad worker should seek counsel and advice at the earliest opportunity if they feel they have a potential FELA case against a railroad. This includes before submitting an injury report or talking to a claim agent. The people representing the railroad are trained and skilled at ‘manipulating’ the situation in the railroads favor. The wording, complaints and answers in an accident injury report can mean the difference between winning and losing a case and having an experienced FELA attorney is your right.

Another difference between workers compensation and FELA is filing claims. Workers’ compensation requires an injured employee to file a claim with the insurance company providing the workers’ compensation benefits. Under FELA, injured railroad workers can file claims in state or federal court and also mandates that the injured party is entitled to a jury trial.

Most FELA claims will end up in court as the railroads save money litigating every FELA claim. Here is just another reason an experienced attorney is best interest of the injured. If an attorney is not experienced and familiar with FELA, they may be unwilling to go to battle against the railroads in court and often times setting less than fair value.

Railroad employees are not in the social security system, but rather in the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) pension system. In an injury there can be a decreased earning capacity and a decrease work life expectancy, even if an employee is able to return to work. Even retirement annuity can be negatively impacted as it is determined by the employee’s earnings and length of service. Just another reason an experienced attorney is needed. They should properly investigate and quantify any loss from the (RRB) pension system and retirement annuity for the injured.

FELA can be a complicated claim. Many railroad employees are uncertain of their rights and their employer’s liability requirements under FELA and find answers with the help of an experienced FELA lawyer in Illinois.  If you would like our recommendation as to a great lawyer for your case or if you just have questions, call us for free any time at (800) 517-1614.

A very nice woman called me recently after getting in to a car accident in Chicago.  She has a pretty big injury, and the other car that hit her is clearly at fault.

Her concern was that she had just hired a personal injury lawyer in Chicago who advertises a lot. By a lot, I mean you have all seen the terrible commercials. He was charging her a fee of 40% based on whatever recovery they get for her.  She had talked to some friends after hiring them and was told that their fee seemed high.  Her question was, is a 40% fee normal for a Chicago car accident lawyer?

The answer is that while there are a lot of attorneys who charge that much, it’s not normal.  Most accident lawyers we know, certainly the best car accident lawyers we know, typically charge 1/3 of what they recover.  In big cases that can be the difference of tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket in the end.

So why does this firm and some others charge more?

It’s not because they do a better job. The biggest reason they do it is because they think they can get away with it.  They’d charge a client 50% if they thought they could line their pockets more.  Attorneys like this, in my opinion, don’t care as much about their clients as they do about their own bottom line.

Another reason they do it is because they have huge overhead.  All of that TV, radio, internet and billboard advertising isn’t cheap.  So they have to recoup as much of the costs as they can.

What’s crazy about this one particular firm is that car accident cases aren’t really what they do and certainly not what their main lawyer has done for most of his career. Of course their clients don’t realize that.  They also don’t understand that many of their cases are handled by very young lawyers.

The reality is that most of the prestigious law firms in Chicago would never do this and in many cases they will cut their fee to 28-30% depending on the facts of your case.

You can get a great lawyer on your case and at the same time not get ripped off by that attorney.  If you have any questions about law firm fees in Illinois car accident cases or simply want to speak with a lawyer for free, call us at 312-346-5320 or fill out our contact form and we will call you ASAP.

We are Chicago attorneys who help people, for free, with legal guidance and/or lawyer referrals on any Illinois legal matter.  Call us at (312) 346-5320 for a free consultation or fill out our contact form and we will call you.

A recent caller to my office thought they had a good medical malpractice lawsuit, but didn’t want to proceed because they didn’t think they could afford a lawyer to bring the case.

This is a common concern people have.  This isn’t a concern most people should have.  The short explanation is that every lawyer who handles medical malpractice cases in Illinois works on a contingency basis. That means they can’t charge an hourly fee and only get paid if they win the case.  As a result, attorneys in Illinois who handle these cases are very selective in which matters they get involved in.

There is a longer explanation though.  Some callers are worried about the case expenses.  Most contracts to hire a medical malpractice attorney state that the attorney will advance the costs of the case, but get paid back by the client.  These cases often cost more than $100,000.00 to take fully to trial.  Many callers are worried that the attorney will sue them if they lose the case. That is why they don’t think they can afford the risk of hiring a lawyer.

The truth is that if the case is successful, the attorney will be reimbursed their costs.  If it’s not successful, some contracts state that the client will have to pay the lawyer back. I’ve NEVER seen this happen with the attorneys that I know and recommend. I do think it’s happened with smaller firms that can’t afford to advance these costs.

My advice to anyone who is hiring a malpractice attorney in Illinois is to discuss this issue with the lawyer before you hire them.  The ones that I know will change their contracts to state that you’ll never have to pay them back a penny if they don’t make a recovery.  If you have a good case they will be happy to do this.  It’s a risk for them for sure as most cases, even the ones that seem good at first, don’t result in a recovery. But firms that really crush it in this area of law have the ability to take that type of risk.

Bonus tip.  There are some smaller firms who will ask their clients to contribute to some of the costs of the case. Unless there are really odd circumstances (like asking an attorney to file a last minute lawsuit) I don’t suggest you do that.  While any firm can take on a malpractice lawsuit, the truth is that most of the top results are handled by around ten different law firms, all in the Chicago area.  You don’t want to get a lesser firm on your case that would ask you to pay the costs.  You also don’t want to get a firm that skimps on costs, ultimately costing you a win or resulting in you not recovering as much as you deserve.

As always, if you have any questions or want an attorney referral, please contact us at any time.

If you have a suffered a work injury in Illinois, the best-case scenario is to receive excellent medical care and recover well enough to return to work without restrictions. Unfortunately, the process of a Worker’s Compensation claim can often be long, arduous, exhausting and just plain complicated. The capstone to the process often ends with a Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE).

So what is a Functional Capacity Evaluation? The FCE is a series of tests used to evaluate your work-related physical abilities. If one has been ordered for you, it usually means that you are coming to an end of your treatment and the doctor is ready to send you back to work, with or without, restrictions depending on the FCE report.

An FCE is prescribed by a doctor.  You have the right to choose the facility where it takes place. Careful to assess injuries without causing any further damage, the evaluator will test a variety of physical performances critical to an employee’s job including:

• Push and pull strength
• Overall strength
• Lifting ability
• Flexibility
• Stamina
• Range of motion
• Ability to carry objects
• Any abilities related to the employees job

For example, if an employee’s job requires heavy labor, the evaluator will be sure to administer tests specific to their ability to lifting and carrying heavy objects, push and pull strength and range of motion.

It is very important for the employee undergoing the FCE to be very honest, consistent and specific about what he/she is able to do and what hurts. The FCE’s are only as good as the data that received.  In addition, the FCE could hurt an employee’s case if they try to exaggerate their symptoms. This could be a costly mistake as the FCE has been designed to avoid any fraud.

Following the FCE, a report will be generated. A successful FCE test report will address an employee’s functional limitations, any additional rehabilitation needed, the employee’s ability to return to work and if so what tasks they will be able/unable to perform. This report provided by your doctor will ultimately determine the next course of action.

If your injury is serious enough that a FCE is needed, you would be nuts not to have an experienced attorney in your corner.  If you would like our recommendation as to which attorney is best for your case, please complete our contact form or call us at 800-517-1614 to speak with an attorney for free.

Back in 2013, a really nice woman called us with what seemed like a relatively minor Illinois workers compensation case.  She had hit her elbow on something on the job and originally it seemed like a relatively small bone bruise.  I didn’t expect that the case would take six years to resolve.  I also didn’t expect that she’d end up getting a major bout of RSD.

RSD or reflex sympathetic dystrophy is a chronic condition that causes burning, swelling, stiffness and/or skin sensitivity to whatever body part is affected by it. Nobody knows what exactly causes it, but it’s thought to be a malfunction of the nervous system. As happened in this case, it often occurs following some sort of trauma.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a synonym for RSD and they both don’t have a cure. Some physical or pain management therapy can make the pain tolerable.

Because you can’t see RSD and since treating it is expensive, insurance companies often dispute these cases.  That’s what happened to this nice woman.  Insurance companies have doctors for hire who will say that you weren’t really injured on the job or don’t have CRPS.

This woman was so severely affected by this issue that she is no longer able to work.  It took years but eventually the attorney we referred her to was able to get her a settlement for around $550,000.00.  This settlement included almost $200,000.00 for her future medical care.

What is scary about this case is that an inexperienced lawyer could have easily settled it right away.  If your attorney doesn’t understand the medicine behind CRPS, they can not truly advocate for you as well as someone who has handled many of those cases.

Fortunately we know many lawyers who have had success with RSD cases and were able to connect her with one of them.  This attorney told me that it was one of the most medically complex cases he had seen.  Getting the right lawyer likely put hundreds of thousands more in her pocket than she would have received without it.

In any work comp case that is beyond a minor injury, it’s really important to get an attorney who handles these cases all day, every day.  We see many firms who try to do workmans comp but also criminal law, divorce and other unrelated practice areas.  It’s not that those law firms couldn’t do a good job. It’s that they don’t give you the best chance for success. And since all Illinois work comp attorneys get paid the same amount, why wouldn’t you want the best firm you can get?

As always, if you need help with a case or just have questions, please call us any time at 800-517-1614 or fill out our contact form and we will call you.