Q: my attorney has not contacted me in over a year what can i do im still in pain with my injury

A: I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I wish I could tell you that it was unique. Client communication is the single biggest complaint lodged against attorneys, though I appreciate it is no consolation for you. When you hired your attorney, you should have had a long discussion about the game plan going forward, what your attorney expected you to do, and what you could expect from your attorney. Surprise, most work comp clients never have that conversation with their attorney because it takes a lot of time and it yields no income for the attorney. Your attorney should have instructed you that it was critically important for you to continue to receive whatever medical care you need and for you to be paid your TTD benefits, each week. It goes without saying that if anything prevented you from securing medical care ordered by your doctor or if your weekly benefits were interrupted, it was your job to contact your attorney immediately so that your attorney could speak with the defense attorney, with the adjuster, or file the appropriate motion before the Illinois Worker's Compensation Commission.

Your attorney also should've explained to you that while you were off work, it is illegal to deduct anything (other than Court-Ordered child support) From your weekly checks so when you are injured, it is necessary for you to contact human resources, immediately, and offer to voluntarily pay your contribution toward your health insurance. Your attorney can make your employer pay for any medical care that is related to your work injury but you still need health insurance. If your health insurance lapses and you have an emergency appendectomy, you could be looking at medical bills of $50,000 or more.

There is probably no good excuse that your attorney did not contact you for more than a year but this isn't "don't ask, don't tell." Right now, you need to contact your attorney's office and make an appointment for an in-person or Zoom videoconference with your attorney ASAP. You need to prepare questions for this meeting. If you don't write down every question that you want to ask your attorney, I guarantee that you will forget half of them or time will run out and your attorney will legitimately need to excuse himself/herself before half of your questions are answered. You should also consider sending a copy of your questions to the attorney, in advance of your meeting. That way, your attorney would have an opportunity to secure input from opposing counsel or the insurance company.

Many people in your situation want to fire their attorney. BE CAREFUL!!! according to you, your attorney has been working for you for more than one year. Whether your attorney has done a great deal of work or whether your attorney has done very little beyond filing your claim with the Commission, your attorney is entitled to a percentage of your recovery and whether you have one attorney or 5 attorneys, it is ILLEGAL for you to pay a total fee in excess of 20% of your recovery. That means if you fire your attorney, you have to find an attorney who is willing to represent you for a discounted rate. Also remember that even when a Workers' Compensation attorney is working for full fee, the attorney is only charging you a little more than half what he charges to represent someone in an auto accident. It is truly imperative that you make every effort to rebuild your relationship with your current attorney before giving any thought to firing the attorney. If the attorney refuses to meet with you or refuses to take your calls or does not return your emails, memorialize it. Send the attorney an email or a letter with the facts: "Please allow this to memorialize that I contacted your office on__________ and __________ and ____________ but never received a return call, and they refused to schedule an Appointment for me to discuss my case." Send a letter by certified mail, Return receipt requested.

Good luck!