In this episode Jonathan Rosenfeld chats with Jim Hardy (https://tpmblegal.com/james-hardy/) an Attorney at Taxman, Pollock, Murray, & Bekkerman, LLC (https://www.tpmblegal.com/). Here, they discuss: What Should an Employee do if Hurt on the Job? (https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/worker-compensation.html) Read the Transcript Download the PDF (https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/JR-P18-What-Should-Employee-Do-PDF.pdf) Jonathan Rosenfeld: Hi, I am Jonathan Rosenfeld. And today on the Personal Injury podcast, I am joined by Jim Hardy, a work comp attorney in Chicago. And we are going to be talking about workers' compensation settlements, and how to value a work comp case in Illinois. Jim, thanks for joining me today. I appreciate it. Jim Hardy: Sure, no problem. Thank you, Jonathan. I glad to be here. Jonathan Rosenfeld: So Jim, we spoke in an earlier podcast about the benefits that people are entitled to in Illinois, generally under work comp. The money while you're off work, the TTD, the medical benefits while you're injured. And the third prong to work comp cases in Illinois is generally this lump sum payment. When people are talking about, "Hey, I got X amount of dollars for my work comp case," this is what they're talking about. They're talking about that lump sum payment. Jonathan Rosenfeld: And so today I want to talk with you and try to educate people a little bit about how this lump sum is derived, because it's not a random amount. It's a very methodical calculation. And I want you to help us get some insight into how these cases are valued under Illinois law. Jonathan Rosenfeld: And I guess the first thing, can you take a step back and walk us through that settlement process. I guess first off, in order to begin with I guess, when is a case, a work comp case in Illinois right to settle? Jim Hardy: Okay. Thanks, Jonathan. So you're entitled to a settlement for a work injury, but you should not settle your case until the doctor has released you from medical treatment. And the docs call that MMI or maximum medical improvement. So some people want to try to settle their case as soon as they're released back to work in some capacity, but that's not the best time, or that's not the appropriate time to settle a case. Because even though you're back to work, the doctor may still recommend treatment, therapy, follow-up visit doctor visits. Jim Hardy: And once you settle the work comp case, then you close out your medical rights. So the work comp insurance carrier, once it's settled, they don't have to pay for any more medical bills. So that's why it's essential to not pursue settlement and sign off anything until your doctor has said that you are done treating, no more follow up visits, you're good to go and they release you from treatment. So that's the appropriate time and not before that. Jonathan Rosenfeld: And so if you are injured on the job and your doctor's released you but you're not feeling 100%, it may be in your best interest to wait a little bit and see what happens and see what develops. See if you have any more problems. Jim Hardy: Sure. That's correct also.