Posted on August 15, 2017 in Blog

If you got hurt at work or developed a condition as a result of your job, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits.

Unfortunately for many people, it is not enough to simply fill out all the right forms and hope for the best. Many times, workers and their attorneys have to engage in a protracted struggle to obtain necessary workers' compensation benefits. Depending on the circumstances, some cases may contain more complexity than others.

Medical coverage

The first thing you may worry about after an injury is getting the medical treatment you need. Workers' compensation benefits may include medical costs for treatments. Sometimes, employers and their insurance companies dispute the necessity for the type or extent of the treatment your doctor wants you to have. If this happens, you may need to attend an independent medical examination.

Permanent or temporary disability

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 Posted on August 03, 2017 in Blog

When you get into a car crash, you have much to worry about and deal with afterward. Motor vehicle accidents are scary enough as it is without having the responsible driver flee the scene. Unfortunately, hit-and-run accidents happen in Illinois, so you need to be prepared for what to do.

First, however, you must know what constitutes a hit-and-run. It applies to more than just when the motorist who crashed into you drives away. It also includes motorists who are underinsured, uninsured, drunk or untruthful about personal information.

What to do in a hit-and-run accident

Most of the actions you must take following a hit-and-run are the same as for any type of auto collision. These steps include the following:

•        Calling the police to report the accident
•        Getting medical treatment for any injuries
•        Photographing the accident scene

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 Posted on May 04, 2017 in Blog

The best things you can do to ensure your safety on the road are to drive carefully and to follow all traffic laws. This is especially important when sharing the road with tractor trailers, as getting into an accident with one comes with high fatality and injury rates for those in passenger vehicles.

However, your driving is only half of the equation. The other half is knowing causes of semi-truck accidents so you can watch out for and avoid dangerous situations.

1. Reckless driving

Truck drivers are usually at fault for most accidents due to reckless driving. Common unsafe practices are speeding, making illegal moves, overcompensating for errors and driving too closely to other vehicles. These behaviors increase when a trucker lacks proper training and experience or is in a rush.

2. Impairment

Sometimes reckless driving happens because the big rig driver is impaired. The source of impairment may be from:

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 Posted on April 28, 2017 in Blog

After a car accident, you might consider submitting an insurance claim or filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you are contemplating these options, being properly prepared is instrumental to your success. You must have an effective argument based on your injuries and concrete proof of property damage.

You are probably in a flurry of stress and confusion after your car crash, so below is a guide for what critical documentation you should collect to support your assertions. By following these tips, you can bolster your claims and improve your chances of getting compensation you deserve.

1. Medical records

Whether you have serious injuries or had a health care provider evaluate you as a precaution, make sure you get copies of medical information including records and bills. Collect this information from any medical professional you saw related to your accident, whether it was immediate emergency care or ongoing physical therapy. Keep track of any medications prescribed too.

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 Posted on February 28, 2017 in Firm News

When you think about people who might get hurt on the job, you probably picture firefighters, law enforcement officials and other overtly high-risk professionals. Office employees face their own risks and hazards, however, and while they differ in many ways from those of, say, first responders, they still have the capacity to cause you considerable harm and hardship.

From back injuries and strains to the everyday hazards that have today's office workers slipping and falling, here are some of today's most common office injuries.

Falls

Leading the pack is slips and falls, which can result from a wet floor, an electrical wire, poor lighting or any number of other elements. American office workers are tripping over open drawers and slipping on spilled coffee, and to an extent that they are more than twice as likely to suffer a serious, fall-related injury as those who work in non-office environments. Keeping organized is among the best ways to reduce your chances of a fall at the office. Make sure wires are properly secured or taped down, and make sure to close all drawers and doors after you are done with t hem. Avoiding storing items on the floor and making sure to maintain adequate lighting should also help reduce your risk of a fall.

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 Posted on February 06, 2017 in Firm News

It is commonly known that asbestos is an unsafe material that was used in the 1970s. If you currently work in construction, flooring, plumbing, roofing or with automobiles, you could still be exposed to asbestos on the job. When there is exposure to asbestos on a jobsite, employers are required by law to control work practices, institute engineering controls and establish regulated areas to reduce levels of asbestos in the air. When it comes to this harmful material, there is no safe level of exposure. Those who have been exposed to asbestos in the past may deal with a lung condition called asbestosis.

Asbestosis is linked to scarring in the lungs that limits the ability to breathe long-term. There is no current cure for the disease that is caused by chrysotile fibers in asbestos. As you are exposed to fibers for an extended period, the fibers build up and set the stage for fibrosis or long-term scarring. At this point, the tissues of the lungs thicken, restrict breathing and cause pain.

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 Posted on October 13, 2016 in Firm News

Currently, here in America, the general workers’ compensation system is state-based. There are no federal standards in place for state workers’ comp regimes.

So, each state has its own particular rules regarding workers’ comp benefits and the process for applying for such benefits. This is why, when a worker here in Central Illinois suffers a workplace injury, they may want guidance from a legal professional with deep knowledge of Illinois’ workers’ compensation system.

Might the future see a greater level of federal involvement in the area of workers’ comp? A recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor raises this possibility.

The report looked at changes that have occurred in the workers’ comp laws of various different states in recent years. The study concluded that some of these changes are making it more difficult for workers to get the workers’ comp benefits they need. It further concluded that the risk of injured workers ending up in poverty is becoming particularly high.

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 Posted on October 05, 2016 in Firm News

We live in an era of specialization. Football teams have special squads. In health care, there are insurance plans that seek to manage the care process in hopes that costs can be kept under control. Just what the level of management should be and how well it works remains the subject of a lot of debate here in Central Illinois and across the country.

In general terms, if an attorney graduates from law school and passes the bar, he or she is deemed qualified to practice. But the law has its areas of specialty, as well. One attorney might focus on estate planning; another on family law. Yet another might provide criminal defense services. Personal injury law encompasses such a broad range of potential issues that protection of client rights warrants special commitment.

Whether you suffer injury in a city or a rural setting, whether your issue involves a slip and fall, a work injury or the loss of a loved one due to negligence of others, you want to have confidence that the attorney you enlist will be prepared to deal with your matter from start to finish.

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 Posted on September 30, 2016 in Firm News

Forced arbitration is a term many people might not be too familiar with, but it is something that anyone in central Illinois who might have a beef with a business entity needs to be aware of. The reason is simple. Even if you have a legitimate legal claim that you feel entitles you to your day in court, it might not be possible to obtain if your agreement with the offending entity includes a clause requiring going to arbitration.

The move toward mandatory arbitration agreements is one that has been underway for about 30 years. Many observers trace the origin back to the 1980s. That's when the U.S. Supreme Court reinterpreted a 1925 federal law in a way that granted corporations to shift possible legal claims by employees and consumers from civil court to forced arbitration.

The negative effects of the trend are now notable across a whole array of industries. But this week, the administration issued a new rule that some say will tip the scales more in favor of those who have claims of abuse, harassment or wrongful death due to nursing home negligence.

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 Posted on September 23, 2016 in Firm News

Anyone with a measure of experience with construction knows it can be dangerous. On-the-job injury may be common across the central Illinois region, though regulators would argue that wouldn't be the case if employers fulfilled safety obligations to their workers from the outset of every project.

Unfortunately, that doesn't occur all the time. In some cases, it's not a matter of a one-time oversight. Sometimes, the problem can be chronic. That's the allegation the Occupational Safety and Health Administration makes against one Belleville roofing company.

OSHA observes the contractor has a "long history of putting his workers in danger." One area director describes the contractor as having "a callous disregard" for worker safety and "utter indifference" to the law.

That statement follows a probe this year in which investigators found five employees lacked fall protection at one site as they worked 13 feet off the ground. But OSHA notes that the company's record of violations goes back to 2006. It is delinquent on paying nearly $270,000 in penalties and regulators are seeking another $89,000 in citations for the latest infraction.

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