You must understand how the Judge views your work injury case to present your best possible case.
The Judge, whose title is Arbitrator, will decide whether or not you win and how much you win.
Let’s take a look at a few different situations from the Judge’s perspective.
1. The injured worker is asked whether she told her boss about her fall and torn knee at work.
She testifies that she told her boss a week later because she was afraid that her boss would get mad at her and fire her.
The Arbitrator thinks it is strange that the worker waited so long to tell the boss if she had a serious injury, and company policy requires prompt reporting of all injuries.
2. The injured worker is asked when he went to the doctor for his back pain.
The injured worker testifies that he waited to see the doctor for two weeks because he thought the pain would get better.
The Arbitrator does not believe the pain was that bad if he was able to hold off on seeing the doctor.
3. The injured worker testified that he stopped seeing the doctor after his back surgery, however his pain kept him from lifting more than 10 pounds and he was unable to stand more than 20 minutes at a time.
The Arbitrator is unable to understand why a person would stop seeing the doctor if his limitations were that severe.
4. The injured worker testifies that she told her supervisor immediately after hurting her shoulder lifting 30 pound bags and completed an accident report detailing the accident and injuries to her neck and right shoulder. The injured worker has medical records of a doctor visit the same day and a history of the accident sustained. She has medical records with off work notes, and restrictions detailed.
The Arbitrator finds it easy to understand how the accident happened and the nature and extent of the injuries.
Help the Arbitrator make it easy to rule in your favor.
Questions about your work injury? Feel free to contact Bloomington, Illinois Work Injury Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.