It absolutely does. And I hear that question a lot of time from clients, saying “Hey, look, the insurance company called me and they said they’re gonna pay my medical bills and they’re gonna pay me part of what my income is while I’m not at work.” And they think that’s great. The problem is that the insurance company’s and the employers forget to tell the client about a third component of recovery that that client’s entitled to that is often the biggest single lump sum payment the client will get.

Because under the law of Illinois, workers’ compensation case, the benefits include payment of all reasonably related medical bills, payment of your time away from work on a reduced basis, if you do miss more than two days of work, and in addition to that, you’re typically entitled to a lump sum payment in recognition of the fact that you’re injured body part, be it your leg, your back, your arm, is now not as good as it’s going to be.

And there’s kind of a complicated formula to figure that out. And insurance companies, again, sometimes forget to tell clients about that. And it’s your job as a lawyer to point out, “Well, there’s another part to that equation, and you’re not getting the full story, and here’s what else you’re entitled to, and here’s how you analyze the third benefit that you might be entitled to.” So that’s why you need a lawyer.