This week, Illinois workers’ compensation attorney Brent Eames secured another victory at trial against an employer who refused to pay for related medical treatment for its injured correctional officer after she suffered a work-related accident. Our office represents an injured Deputy Sheriff who was working as a correctional officer in the McHenry County Jail when she was assaulted by a combative inmate. The incident was caught on video. The Deputy Sheriff obtained emergency medical treatment for intense back pain, but her condition failed to improve despite prolonged conservative treatment, including physical therapy, injections, and work restrictions. After her treating orthopedic physician recommended spine surgery, her employer sent her for a second opinion with an independent medical examiner, who not only opined that our client did not require the proposed surgery, but actually claimed that our client was capable of returning to full duty work as a correctional officer with no more restrictions or medical treatment required.
After approval for the surgery was denied, Attorney Brent Eames aggressively pushed the case to trial via an emergency hearing. The employer’s retained medical doctor testified on behalf of the employer. During cross-examination, Brent Eames was able to get this retained doctor to admit that despite testifying as a retained expert on spinal injuries, he had not actually performed a spinal surgery in close to thirty years. When pressed further on cross examination, this retained doctor also admitted that he does not even practice medicine anymore. Rather, he makes many thousands of dollars exclusively performing these medical examinations in legal cases, which are performed almost exclusively on behalf of employers, corporations, and insurance companies. Ultimately, the Arbitrator found the opinions of our client’s treating surgeon to be more credible and persuasive, and he ruled for our client by ordering her employer to pay all owed benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act. This included payment of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses, as well as temporary total disability benefits while our client is off from work recovering from her injuries. Due to the fact that our client is a correctional officer, she will be entitled to additional disability benefits and protections pursuant to the Public Employee Disability Act.
Chicago work comp attorney Brent Eames is aggressive and experienced attorney for police officers and firefighters in Illinois. Mr. Eames will fight back when employers and insurance companies deny and dispute owed benefits. If your employer is refusing to pay for Illinois work comp benefits, it is always worth it to immediately contact an experienced work comp attorney at Eames Law Group, Ltd. to discuss your rights and put yourself in the best position to fight for your benefits. Eames Law Group, Ltd. never stops fighting for our clients, and we will aggressively push cases to trial in order to obtain justice when insurance companies attempt to trample on the rights of our clients. If you have been injured, you should contact Brent Eames for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.
The content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only and does constitute or establish an attorney-client relationship, nor constitute legal advice. If you wish to discuss any further aspect of the material contained herein, please contact Brent Eames at Eames Law Group, Ltd.
