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Work Comp Insurance Company Tricks

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Beware when a Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company makes you a settlement offer.

Some adjusters will tell you that you are only entitled to a low amount because their doctor has valued your case at a certain percentage of the injured body part.

This is called an AMA impairment rating.

In Illinois an insurance company can send you to a doctor of their choice and ask for an impairment rating.

Remember, the insurance company is paying the doctor for their opinion and the doctor understands who is paying the bill.

An example, is that the doctor will examine you for less than 30 minutes and give an opinion that your arm injury that resulted in surgery is worth 5 percent of the arm. In Illinois, an arm is valued at 253 weeks. 5 percent of the arm equals approximately 12.5 weeks. 60 percent of your average weekly wage is multiplied by the 12.5 weeks to come up with the settlement value.

The problem is that AMA guidelines usually result in a low impairment value.

What the insurance company does not tell you is that AMA ratings are only one factor in determining settlement value in Illinois.

The real value of the injury with surgery may be closer to 20 percent of the arm.

This is four times the value the insurance company has offered you.

As you can see, relying on the insurance company alone may result in a very low settlement for you that is not close to true value.

Make sure that you talk with an experienced Illinois Work Comp lawyer before you settle your case.

It will not cost you anything upfront. All Illinois Workers’ Compensation lawyers are paid on a contingent fee basis, and they will be able to tell if you are being made a fair offer.

Questions about your work injury case? Feel free to contact Illinois Workers’ Comp Attorney Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-827-4371.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Social Security Disability

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Some people with conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome find it difficult to win their Social Security Disability case.

Part of the problem is that the Judges like clear, easily diagnosed, and treatable conditions.

This is certainly not the situation with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

These conditions are misunderstood and some Social Security Judges like to characterize those who suffer with them as lazy, unwilling to work with a little pain and fatigue, and mentally impaired complainers to a certain extent.

Some new medical news may help those with chronic fatigue syndrome.

A group of doctors has issued a report detailing and renaming chronic fatigue. It has been renamed as Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease or SEID.

They estimate 860,000 to 2.5 million suffer from SEID.

The new definition for children and adults focuses on profound fatigue lasting at least 6 months, total exhaustion after minimal physical or mental exertion, unrefreshing sleep, and brain fog or cognitive impairment.

There is no definitive test for the diagnosis of SEID, however, the new definition provides a short list of symptoms to observe and this should be helpful for Social Security Disability hearings.

If you suffer from SEID you should make your doctor aware of this new report.

Hopefully it will open eyes in the medical community and in the circle of Social Security Disability Judges.

Questions about your Social Security Disability case? Feel free to contact Illinois Social Security Disability Lawyer Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-827-4371.

Illinois Work Comp and Doing the Right Thing

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You can help yourself a lot in your work injury case if you do the right thing early in the case.

First of all make sure that you file an accident report as soon as possible. This will make it clear that your accident happened, when it happened, and what body parts you injured.

Second, go to a doctor as soon as possible. Delay will give the insurance company an argument that you were not injured or you were not injured badly.

Third, tell all medical personnel that your accident was a work injury, how you were injured and what body parts you injured. This will prevent the insurance company from arguing that you were injured at home, away from the job, or that you have no idea how you were hurt.

Fourth, follow your doctors treatment recommendations. Workers’ Compensation insurance companies will use failure to treat against you and argue that you are the cause of your condition getting worse.

Fifth, do not do anything beyond your work restrictions. Many Work Comp insurance companies will hire investigators to follow you and video tape your activities at home and around town. Videos of activities that show you dancing when you have a back injury, or working on your roof will severely damage your case.

Questions about your work injury? Feel free to contact Illinois Work Comp Attorney Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-827-4371.

Job Searches and Illinois Work Comp

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If you can no longer work in your old job, or you cannot work at all as a result of a work injury you must look for another job.

This greatly increases the value of your workers’ compensation case and leads to a much larger settlement than you would have received otherwise.

This because the law in Illinois and the courts have provided that the best way to prove loss of ability to work or reduced earning power is to perform a job search.

It is not easy to do this, but it is the best thing to do for your case.

You will have to put in effort and time to perform the job search.

This includes searching and applying online for jobs, applying in person, and going through interviews.

In some cases the insurance company will hire a vocational consultant to help you in the job search.

However, the majority of the work will have to come from you.

The best way to look at it is to take the long term view. It may take 6 the 12 months but the payoff in the end will be worth it because it shows you can no longer work or that you have to take a lower paid job.

In the event you find a job, then this makes it easy to determine your wage reduction as a result of the injury.

Make sure you consult with an experienced work comp lawyer to insure that you are getting the best settlement possible.

Questions about your work injury case? Feel free to contact Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-827-4371.

Back Injuries and Illinois Work Comp Cases

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Whether it be from falls, lifting, or being struck with objects, back injuries are one of the leading injuries in Illinois Workers’ Compensation cases.

If you suffer a back injury you should be aware how to help your case and maximize your settlement.

The first thing you should do after hurting your back is to file an accident report with your employer as soon as possible.

The injury report will detail how you hurt yourself, the time, date and place of accident, and body parts injured and any witnesses. You should also notify your supervisor. This will protect you from your employer claiming the injury did not happen at work.

The next step is to make sure you get medical attention. The sooner the better. You must tell all medical personnel that your injury happened at work, explain how it happened, and describe all body parts injured. Failing to seek medical treatment promptly and failing to tell staff how that you were injured at work will damage your case. The insurance company may argue that you are not seriously injured because you have not seen a doctor immediately, or that you were not injured at work if it is not described in the records.

You should also treat with a doctor consistently and follow treatment recommendations. Once again this shows the seriousness of your injury and that you are not the cause of any additional problems because you did not follow doctor’s orders.

You must also follow your doctor’s restrictions. Some insurance companies will send an investigator to follow the injured worker and attempt to video tape them doing things that show that their back injury is not severe. Of course, this will seriously reduce the value of their case.

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