Legal Question in Workers Comp in Illinois

Re: payment of bills.

It is against the Cannons of Ethics for a lawyer to pay his/her client's medical bills. The only monetary advances allowed are for costs of litigation such as filing fees, medical records fees (a racket by the doctors and hospitals if you ask me but that is another questions) etc... Your lawyer cannot pay for your medical records without running the risk of loosing his license. Medical bills are supposed to be paid by the WC insurance once it has been shown that 1) they are related to the injury and that 2) the injury was work related.

I hope this helps,

Nima Taradji

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Re: payment of bills.

The medical bills for your doctor's treatment is to be paid by the WC insurance company. When they don't you have to talk to your lawyer about how to pay them. But I think you are talking about the cost of obtaining medical records in the preparation of your case. If that is so, your lawyer generally pays for the records but is reimburses for ALL of his expenses at the end of the case. Some lawyers may ask you to pay for medical records as they are obtained or make you go to your doctor's office to obtain the records and to pay for them. Unless you have a grave emergency, you should be careful. Lawyers who do that when there is no emergency may be inexperienced or underfinanced. That is never a good sign. On the other hand, you may have a weak case. Some lawyers may advance their time but not their money. If that is the case, it should have been made clear to you in the beginning. Good luck.