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By far the number one question we get from people is “what is my case worth?” If you have been injured on the job in Illinois, that is a reasonable question. Depending on when you were hurt and where you are in your medical care, the answer will be one of two things:
- It’s too soon to accurately tell.
- We can tell you, but we need to see your medical records and discuss the case facts.
For active clients, an Illinois work comp attorney will of course have the medical records and know the case facts. When people call us out of the blue, we do not have that.
One recent called did not want an answer to what his case was worth. He just wanted an estimate. “I’m not going to hold you to it, I just want an idea as to what I will get some day.”
Fair enough. I then went through my usual spiel and told him I needed some information to determine what his case might be worth:
- When were you hurt?
- How?
- When did you first go to the doctor?
- When did you report it to your employer?
- How much money were you earning when you got hurt?
- Did you have any other jobs?
- Had you treated for similar injuries in the past?
- If so what was that treatment?
- What medical care did you have for this injury?
- What recovery did you make?
- Are you back to the old job?
- Any permanent restrictions?
- Has any part of your case been denied, if so, why?
- Are you owed back pay for TTD?
- Are all of your medical bills paid?
- Do you need any future medical care?
- How old are you?
- How have you felt since you went back to work?
- Was vocational rehabilitation needed?
- Do you have other health issues?
Those are the questions I would typically ask. If that seems like a lot, it’s because it is. This is what legal work involves and how we earn our 20% fee when we represent someone. If you skip these steps, you could lose out on a ton of money. And even with this, we might not know what defenses the insurance company has that could affect settlement negotiations. This could be things like surveillance, you not listening to your doctor, a gap in treatment or a whole list of other things.
This caller unfortunately could not give as detailed of a history as we would want with his medical care and I said I would need to see the medical records to give an accurate estimate. That was not an answer he liked and he made clear I would never see them.
As an aside, anything we discuss or learn about your case is confidential. We take that very seriously. This includes keeping medical information between us, you and any other lawyer who works on the case. That’s it.
The reality is that in most cases people ask us too soon what their case is worth. If you do not know your ultimate recovery, it’s all just a guess. This person had a shattered elbow. Based on the limited information I got from him, an estimate would have been between $35,000 and $250,000. That is such a wide range that it is meaningless.
The only way to get a real accurate estimate is to be back to be done with your medical care and able to work or know that you can work within certain restrictions. Without that, a lawyer is just making it up.
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