Illinois Work Comp Attorney

How to Handle Claims Adjusters

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Whether you have a motor vehicle injury, work injury, or dog bite the insurance company representative will often want to speak with you.

The insurance company adjuster’s job is to gather information and medical documents that may be used to deny your claim or reduce the offer that the insurance company will make to you.

Whether the adjuster takes a recorded statement or takes notes of your conversation the focus will be on the details of how the accident happened and your injuries and the treatment of them.

The problem is that the insurance company and its lawyer may use this information against you in a deposition or trial.

For instance, if you tell the adjuster during your statement that the car that hit you was going 20 miles an hour but two years later at a deposition you testify that the car was going 35 miles an hour then you will face intense questioning. Why did you change your story? Wasn’t your memory closer to the time of the accident a better recollection?

If the insurance company wants to question you  and gather information make sure that you secure the assistance of an injury attorney to protect your interests.

Questions about your work injury or motor vehicle injury? Feel free to contact Illinois injury lawyer Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

Injury Tips

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Whether it is a work injury, dog bite, or car crash there are several things you can do to increase the value of your case.

Make sure that you make a incident report or injury report right away and provide it to your employer or the authorities. Make sure that you get a copy of it for your records.

Make sure that you go to the doctor or hospital as soon as possible.

Give a complete and accurate description of your accident and all the body parts injured.

Show up for all your doctor and therapy appointments and comply with all the doctor’s orders.

Make sure that you tell the doctor about all your continuing pain, swelling, limited range of motion, or numbness and tingling.

Ask your doctor to provide any permanent restrictions or limitations at the end of your treatment.

Questions about your injury case? Feel free to contact Illinois injury Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

2017 – 01/12/2017 – Masonry contractor continues to expose workers to fall hazards | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

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Source: 2017 – 01/12/2017 – Masonry contractor continues to expose workers to fall hazards | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Click above to read.

Falls leading cause of fatalities in construction industry since 2010. Workers’ Compensation law in Illinois pays specific death benefits.

Make Sure to Coordinate Your Work Comp Settlement and Social Security Claim

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Social Security law requires that your disability payments be offset or reduced to take into account any Workers’ Compensation settlement.

This makes it very important for your Workers’ Compensation lawyer to be aware of your filing for Social Security Disability benefits.

The best situation is to use the same lawyer for both the work injury claim and the Social Security Disability claim, however if that is not possible then make sure that your Workers’ Comp lawyer talks with your Social Security attorney.

Your work comp lawyer must make sure to put special spread language approved through SSA to reduce any offset as much as allowed pursuant to SSA rules.

I have seen several Work Comp settlements that have not used this special language and the disabled workers suffers greatly as a result.

These injured workers have had their Social Security disability benefits cut off for several years.

The result is that it would have better for the injured worker to never have taken any money for the Work Comp settlement.

Make sure that you do not sign any work comp settlement contracts without having them reviewed carefully by and experienced Social Security Disability attorney.

Do you have a work comp injury and are you disabled? Feel free to contact me, Dirk May, an experienced Social Security Disability and Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney at 309-827-4371.

How is the Workers’ Compensation Settlement Determined?

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Injured workers in Illinois are entitled to 3 rights.

  1. Payment of medical bills for related treatment.
  2. 66 percent of your average weekly wage for the time your doctor has you off work.
  3. 60 percent of your average weekly wage for the value of your permanent partial disability, this is often referred to as the settlement.

There is no pain and suffering damages for workers’ compensation in Illinois.

There is no schedule of benefits for certain types of injuries; some states mandate payment of a certain amount of money for a broken leg, for instance. Illinois does not do this.

An example is that a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, without surgery, may be worth 10 percent of a person.

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act says your back is worth a total of 500 weeks. 10 percent equals 50 weeks.

Assume a person earned $500.00 a week for the 52 weeks before they were injured. 60 percent of $500 equals $300.

50 weeks times $300 equals $15,000.

As you can see the value of your settlement will vary dramatically based on your wage.

There is also a minimum and maximum rate used in calculating your permanency rate.

Questions about your Work Comp injury? Feel free to contact Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.