Working with You
We work closely with our clients to get them the compensation they deserve.
Consultation
The initial consultation is complementary. We begin by listening to your story and evaluating the merits of your case.
Gather Evidence
We work closely with our clients to gather all the necessary information and documentation, such as medical records, police reports, and witness statements.
Engage Experts
We maintain relationships with esteemed medical experts and others whose testimony will strengthen and inform your case. Additionally, Jim Coyne worked on construction sites for more than 15 years while pursuing his law degree.
Fight for you
We are skilled litigators who understand the importance of compelling storytelling and who are able to present complex legal arguments in a clear and persuasive way.
Negotiate
We negotiate expertly with insurance adjusters and opposing counsel to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries, lost wages, and medical expenses.
Compensate
We work on a contingency fee basis. This means that clients only pay legal fees if their case is successful and they receive compensation.
Referral Partners
For legal services outside our core areas of personal injury and workers’ compensation, we recommend these firms. Please reach out if you need help connecting.
Real Estate Closings
Bell & Shah is a boutique Chicago firm that specializes in real estate, estate planning and business matters
Property Tax Appeals
Employment Law
Contract Law
Social Security Disability
Bell & Shah is a boutique Chicago firm that specializes in real estate, estate planning and business matters
Estate Planning
Divorce & Family Law
Immigration
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
FAQ
What is workers’ compensation?
Which employees are covered under workers’ compensation?
What injuries are covered under the law?
What are some benefits provided by workers’ compensation?
- Medical care that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the employee of the effect of the injury;
- Payment of two-thirds (2/3) the employee’s average weekly wage, called Temporary Total Disability (TTD);
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) benefits for an employee who sustains a permanent disability or disfigurement, but can work; and
- Permanent and total disability (PTD) benefits for an employee who is rendered permanently unable to work.
Can a worker be fired for reporting an accident or filing a claim?
It is illegal for an employer to harass, discharge, refuse to rehire, or in any way discriminate against an employee for exercising his or her rights under the law. Such conduct by the employer may give rise to a right to file a separate suit for damages in the circuit court.
An employee with a pending workers’ compensation claim may still be disciplined or fired for other valid reasons.
What medical benefits are covered under the law?
The employer is required to pay for all medical care that is reasonably necessary to cure or relieve the employee from the effects of the injury. This includes, but is not limited to, first aid, emergency care, doctor visits, hospital care, surgery, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, pharmaceuticals, prosthetic devices, and prescribed medical appliances. If the work injuries result in a disability that requires physical modifications to the worker’s home, such as a wheelchair ramp, the employer may have to pay those costs, as well.
What are the worker’s responsibilities regarding medical care?
The worker should take following steps:
- Seek first aid or medical attention immediately after the injury or the point at which gradual symptoms first begin affecting physical activities at work or at home.
- Cooperate with the doctors and make efforts to achieve a complete recovery and full return to work, if possible. A worker may lose benefits for injurious or unsanitary activities.
- Tell the medical providers that the treatment is for a work-related condition. This lets the providers know that the employer is responsible for the medical bill.
- Give the employer the name and address of the doctor or hospital chosen. If the employee changes providers, the employee should again notify the employer.
The employee must also give the employer enough medical information for the employer to determine whether to accept or deny the claim. This includes all medical records relevant to the condition for which benefits are sought. A worker is not required to give anyone free access to his or her doctor or medical records, however.
The employer is not required to provide benefits if it does not receive the medical information necessary to determine the worker’s medical status and fitness to work. If the employee’s doctor does not send medical records to the employer, benefits may be delayed.
What must the worker do to receive benefits?
It is the worker’s responsibility to prove he or she is eligible for benefits. The employer does not need to disprove a worker’s claim. By law, the burden of proof rests with the employee.
Some of the main issues in a workers’ compensation case are listed below. The employee must prove all of them to qualify for benefits.
- Jurisdiction: on the date of the accident, the employer was subject to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation or Occupational Diseases Act.
- Employment: on the date of the accident, a relationship of employee and employer existed between the parties.
- Accident or exposure: the worker sustained accidental injuries or was exposed to an occupational disease that arose out of and in the course of employment.
- Causal connection: the medical condition was caused or aggravated by the alleged accident or exposure.
- Notice: the employer received notice of the accident or exposure within the time limits set by law.
If the worker prevails on these issues, they will generally qualify for some benefits, but there may be other issues in dispute.
Who pays the benefits?
Who should the injured worker notify?
The employee should inform the employer promptly. The law requires the employee to notify the employer of the date and place of the accident, if known. Notice may be given orally or in writing to the employee’s supervisor or foreman. To avoid problems, we recommend the employee give the employer a written notice containing the following items:
- The date and location of the accident;
- A brief description of the accident, injury, or disease; and
- The employee’s mailing address and telephone number. Notice to a fellow worker who is not a part of management is not considered notice to the employer.
What are the time limits for notifying the employer?
What are the time limits for filing a claim?
Generally, an employee who fails to file a claim within the time limits loses their right to claim future benefits.
In most cases, the employee must file a claim within three years after an injury, death, or disablement, or within two years of the last payment of TTD or a medical bill.
Are workers’ compensation benefits considered income?
PERSONAL INJURY
FAQ
How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
Coyne Reinke Law offers a free case evaluation to all prospective clients and, if you choose to retain us, we work on a contingency fee basis. You will not have to pay attorney fees unless we obtain a favorable verdict or settlement on your behalf. If we are not successful, you pay us nothing.
Why Hire an ATTOrney?
There are many reasons you should hire an attorney when you are injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, including:
Experience with insurance companies
When dealing with an insurance company after the accident, it is extremely important to have an experienced attorney on your side. Always remember, an insurance representative for the at fault party is not your friend. If you are dealing with them directly, they will use their experience and training collect information to undermine your case at every opportunity. Once you hire an attorney, the insurance company is prohibited from contacting you directly and may only communicate through your attorney. Attorneys at Coyne Reinke Law will control the narrative of the litigation ensuring you receive the compensation you deserve.
Medical treatment
Attorneys at Coyne Reinke Law will help you find the medical treatment you need to recover from your injuries. We will assist you in finding medical professionals near your home to address your particular injuries. Whether you need physical therapy, diagnostic testing or even surgery, we can help even if you do not have health insurance. We understand the financial compensation after being injured by someone else’s negligence is great, but nothing is more valuable than your health.
Increased financial recovery
Insurance companies have no real incentive to offer you fair compensation for your injuries if you are not represented by an attorney. They know that, without an attorney, you likely will not file a lawsuit to force them to cover all damages, so they will offer you as little as possible to make you go away. Often times, substandard insurance companies won’t even call you back if you do not have an attorney, expecting you to go away without any compensation at all. Insurance companies will try to take advantage of your lack of experience and minimize your financial recovery if you are not represented by an attorney. Hiring an attorney can increase your financial recovery exponentially above the offer you receive negotiating with an insurance company on your own.
Experienced attorneys not only know how to get you the most money, they also know how to find the money. Recovery may not be limited to the driver’s car insurance policy, but the insurance adjuster probably will not notify you of the additional coverage. An experienced attorney will find if there is an umbrella insurance policy, whether the at fault driver was working for a company with general liability coverage or even underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy. Without an attorney, the adjuster may convince you to settle your claim for one policy when multiple exist. Once you sign that settlement release for the primary insurance policy limits, your case is settled and you can no longer go after the additional insurance policies. Hiring an experienced attorney will help you avoid making these mistakes that could cost you thousands of dollars.
What do I do after I am involved in an auto accident?
The actions you take and the decisions you make after a car accident can be critical to the outcome of your claim and the amount of compensation you receive. Here are the crucial steps to take in the aftermath of a major car accident.
File a police report
Contact the police from the scene of the accident. Make sure to provide your detailed version of how the accident happened to make sure the responding officer has the information to produce an accurate a police report. Make sure the police officer confirms the other driver’s contact and insurance information to document in the report. The report will have important details including date, time and location of the car accident as well as the officer narrative containing his/her assessment of the incident.
Gather evidence
Physical evidence at a car accident may be critical to your case. If possible, take photos and video footage at the crash scene showing the location and position of the vehicles. If possible, talk to other people at the scene who may have witnessed the crash and collect their contact information. Eyewitness accounts are extremely valuable as they could help corroborate your statements throughout the case. Be sure you take the other party’s insurance information, which they are required by law to provide.
Get medical treatment
It is extremely important to go for treatment as soon as possible after an accident if you are injured. If you are feeling pain in any part of your body after a collision, ask to be transported to the nearest hospital or emergency room. Even if you believe you haven’t suffered serious injuries, we strongly suggest you see your primary care doctor shortly after the accident to document any injuries. Some injuries sustained in car accidents may take days or weeks for you to feel significance symptoms. Seeing your doctor immediately after an accident can prevent a delay in treatment the insurance companies will use against you in litigation.
Contact an attorney prior to talking to the at fault driver’s insurance company
We recommend you contact your insurance company and report the details of the crash to confirm coverage. However, you should refrain from speaking with the other party’s insurance company or adjuster. The adjuster for the at fault driver’s insurance company will likely act very friendly and caring about your injuries, but they are not trying to help you. The main reason they are talking to you is to collect information to use against you and your claim. Contact an attorney immediately so someone with experience can control the information provided to the insurance company. You need an experienced advocate on your side, who will fight for your rights and help your claim move quickly through the process so you can get the compensation you rightfully deserve.
What Compensation Can You Receive?
As with all personal injury cases, the value or worth of your case is heavily dependent on the nature and extent of your injuries and damages, as well as the degree of negligence of the other parties. In general, here are some of the types of damages you may be awarded:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Loss of normal life
- Loss of earning capacity
- Loss of consortium (for victim’s spouse or partner)
- Permanent injuries and disabilities
- Past and future pain and suffering
Recovery often may be limited by the insurance policy limits, so it is important that you hire an experienced attorney who will find and recover all available insurance coverage including liability, umbrella, uninsured and under insured coverage.
What damages are recoverable in wrongful death lawsuits?
What happens if I was injured by a hit and run driver or an uninsured driver?
If you are a victim of a hit and run driver, we need to look into your personal insurance coverage to recover for your injuries. Many, if not most, insurance policies have some uninsured coverage to protect you when the at fault driver leaves the scene or does not have insurance. We recommend to all of our clients that they contact their insurance companies and increase the uninsured and underinsured coverage on their policies immediately to protect themselves. If you are involved in an accident with an uninsured driver and you do not have uninsured coverage or only minimal coverage, you may cost yourself tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in recovery.
How Long will my case take?
There is no set amount of time a personal injury case can take in Illinois. Attorneys at Coyne Reinke Law understand that a lawsuit can be stressful so we maintain constant contact with our clients to keep them informed and to address any concerns they may have about the progress of their case. We understand that a lawsuit is YOUR lawsuit and we work for you, so we work to resolve your case as effectively and efficiently as possible to recover the maximum.
