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Do You Settle or Have a Trial in Your Workers’ Compensation Case?

Dirk May Help, Illinois, Illinois Work Comp Attorney, Illinois Work Comp Lawyer, Law, Lawyers ,

Make sure that you understand the ramifications of your choices in your Illinois Workers’ Compensation case.

When you settle your case you will be paid and then all further medical treatment related to your work injury will be stopped. If you need another xray, MRI, injection or surgery it will be your responsibility.

It most cases this does not matter because your injury has healed and there will be no need for additional treatment.

However, you must be certain that you will not need more medical treatment before you settle.

If you believe you may need additional medical treatment, then you will have to take your case to trial.

The reason is that if you win at trial you are automatically provided with the right to seek future medical.

An example would be if you have a surgery that involves screws or plating, then you may be need future removal of the hardware. You would have to seriously consider taking your case to trial in this circumstance.

Questions regarding your Illinois work injury case? Feel free to contact Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.

Man hung in cell for hours at St. Louis lockup while guards streamed Netflix | Law and order | stltoday.com

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The St. Louis Community Release Center is a 550-bed facility for people coming out of the state prison system. An internal investigation alleges all kinds of mishaps.

Source: Man hung in cell for hours at St. Louis lockup while guards streamed Netflix | Law and order | stltoday.com

Click above to read.

Lawsuits may be filed for money damages in situations such as this. The basis is that the release center employees have a duty to properly supervise and protect inmates. This would include protecting inmates from self harm. In this circumstance the facility was on notice that the inmate had mental health problems.

Motor Vehicle Collision Tips

Dirk May Help, Illinois, Law, Lawyers ,

When you are injured in a motor vehicle collision make sure that you follow these steps to improve the value of your case.

Make sure that you contact law enforcement and complete a traffic report. This will capture most, if not all, of the important information such as location, date, time, names, addresses, insurance companies, and the cause of the crash.

Make sure that you go to the hospital or emergency room for immediate medical treatment. Insurance companies will attack your lack of medical treatment if you do not go for treatment as soon as possible after the accident.

Make sure that you follow up with your medical doctor as quickly as possible. Delays will damage your case.

Make sure to tell medical personnel the body parts injured and how the injury occurred. This will prevent the insurance company from denying that the collision caused all your injuries.

Do not give a statement to the insurance company unless you have consulted with an injury attorney. Any statements may be used against you in your future case.

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

Injuries hurt. Call Williams and Swee.

Work Comp Tip

Dirk May Help, Illinois Work Comp Attorney, Illinois Work Comp Lawyer, Workers Compensation, Workers Compensation Commission ,

Over the years I have seen a number of people with work injuries and have reviewed their medical records.

There a certain number of people who report to their medical providers that they did not know how the injury happened.

They explain to me that the reason they did not tell the doctor or hospital that it is an injury at work was because they were afraid work would be mad or they just wanted to have their own insurance handle and avoid the hassle.

I understand what these people were saying, however when they change their mind and decide to pursue a work injury case later on it becomes very difficult for them.

The Arbitrator (a workers’ compensation judge) gives great weight to what the injured worker told the doctors and emergency room personnel at the time of the accident.

The nature of the world causes suspicion so you can understand why the information given close to the time of the accident is very important.

The best practice is to tell your supervisor, co-workers, doctors, nurses, therapists, and emergency personnel how the injury happened at work and what body parts you injured.

You do not have to file a work injury application of claim, however you must leave that option open for yourself. If you do not, then most likely you have closed the door on recovering benefits under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act.

Injuries hurt. Call Illinois Work Comp Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371 to discuss the best way to help your case.

Should You Apply for Social Security Disability?

Dirk May Help, Illinois, Illinois Social Security Disability Attorney, Illinois Social Security Disability Lawyer, Law, Lawyers, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income , ,

Social Security Disability involves a complicated application process.

There is also usually a long waiting period before you are accepted.

The odds of being approved are not great.

All this to say that you should make sure that you truly cannot work a job before you apply for disability.

Monthly disability payments may range from $400 to $2500 depending on your earnings history.

So Social Security does not pay you a tremendous amount of money, however if you cannot work it is a wonderful safety net.

The other advantage of Social Security Disability is that eventually you will be entitled to Medicare.

The SSDI program has the added feature of allowing you to work part-time with a monthly earnings limit that changes every year.

This allows you to earn some money in addition to your disability payment.

The whole process may take up to 2 to 3 years, therefore you should make sure that your health definitely prevents you from working.

Many people work until they absolutely cannot continue and then file.

Before you stop working you should ask your doctors for the proper testing to document your conditions such as xrays, MRIs, nerve testing, or breathing tests.

This will provide objective evidence of your condition and support your claim.

Questions about winning your disability claim? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Disability Attorney Dirk May at 309-827-4371.