I tell all of my clients the same thing. At the end of your doctor’s appointment, be sure to ask the doctor for a work status note IN WRITING. I also ask them to immediately take a picture of the work status with their cell phone and text it to me. Finally, I tell them that once they get tot their car, they should call to let me know how the appointment went so I…

Coal Miner, Coal Miner, shining your light. Working in a mine shaft dark as the night. What you gonna do before you go back in? Gonna ask the Lord to let me come out again. (from the song “West Virginia Coal Miner” by Roger White.) If you enjoy Netflix as much as I do, you may have seen the film “Mine 9” while scrolling through the movie menu.  “Mine 9” was originally released back in…

I hear lots of injured workers complain that their temporary total disability (TTD) benefit is not adjusted for inflation and cost of living increases, but instead remains stagnant until they reach maximum, medical improvement. TTD is based on an injured workers’ average weekly wage, which in turn is based on their earnings in the 52 weeks prior to the work injury. The “true value” of the weekly TTD check an injured worker receives in Illinois…

Dealing with a workers’ compensation claim is easy until it’s not. One day your medical treatment is authorized and your checks arrive on time. The next day your claim is denied, your doctor won’t see you without “authorization” and the workers’ compensation carrier has cut off your weekly checks. You find yourself in the position of taking on a well funded insurance company while you are all alone wondering how you’re going to make the…

The days of walking over to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission with a folder full of applications and requests for hearing are over! Electronic filing is in full swing and the transition has been smooth and relatively painless from a Petitioner’s perspective. The COMPFILE web portal now gives us the ability to file Applications, claim cases, file motions, submit settlement contracts for approval, file appearances, file petitions for review, and even submit briefs. The only…

It took a while, but the “first edish” of The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Law Field Manual is now available on Kindle and in paperback. If you’re new to Illinois Workers’ Comp, or if you are an injured worker and have difficulty understanding what is going on with your case, this book will help. It addresses the basics of Illinois Workers’ Comp, but also delves into some more technical and advanced areas: Making sense of Illinois…

Alan Hampton was a police officer for the Village of Bolingbrook. Hampton was on duty on December 20, 2016 when he responded to an accident with injuries in the center of an intersection. Hampton’s lights and sirens were on. There was a fire vehicle on the scene with activated lights. Hampton tried to position his vehicle to protect the scene by blocking traffic from entering the intersection, and while positioning his patrol car was struck…