“I was injured at work in Illinois. My work injury is bothering me again. Work comp insurance says my case is closed. What can I do?”
“I was injured at work in Illinois. My work injury is bothering me again. Work comp insurance says my case is closed. What can I do?”
The answer is partly found in the question: What kind of “closed” is your case? It could be one of the following:
1.) The work comp insurance company could be lying, in that they are calling your case “closed,” but really, you have legal rights to more medical care, and your case is not closed at all. This is a trick insurance companies do to try to make injured workers go away. They hope you do not call an attorney, and that you believe them. If you do figure it out and call them out on their lie, then they might not respond or do anything to help you, until you hire an attorney and file a claim.
2.) If you signed a settlement contract for your work injury case, and that contract did not include a special (and generally rare) part about future or “open medical” care, then yes, your medical care in connection with that work injury is closed and final, as far as the law under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, but it is always best to confirm this by speaking with an attorney.
3.) It is possible your case could be “closed” if you waited too long to seek more medical care. If you are over three years from the date of your work injury, and beyond two years from the date of last compensation (such as a medical bill paid or TTD [temporary total disability] paid by work comp), then it could be too late, but you should never give up until speaking with an experienced workers’ comp attorney about your situation.
Workers’ comp and personal injury attorney Peter D. Corti is one option for you, for a 100 % free private consultation at (312)-782-8372, or contact me using our contact form (click here to contact).
