Open Medical Rights
Open Medical Rights? What to do when your former attorney won’t help get treatment approved after your case has closed.
Over the years, Black & Jones has had several new clients come into our office lost and unsure what to do. Their former attorneys won’t respond to their phone calls after their file closes. They feel abandoned by their attorney and have no idea what the next step is.
Some injured workers go to trial and are awarded future medical treatment or they settle their cases with the insurance company’s agreement to pay for future medical treatment. While these situations are rare, they do occur. But many times, after their attorney is paid their fee and close their file, the attorney refuses to step up to the plate when the injured worker has problems getting that treatment approved or paid for. So what can the injured worker do? How can they force a huge insurance company to listen or respond to them? Unfortunately, they probably won’t be able to go at it alone. They will need to find a law firm that is willing to step up and knock the ball out of the park. Black & Jones will do just that. We have represented clients who were abandoned by their prior attorneys and fought to get them the benefits they thought their prior attorney was supposed to have gotten.
One such client had been awarded permanent total disability benefits and ongoing medical treatment following a trial in 1992. Over ten years later, her benefits stopped unexpectedly. The doctors stopped receiving payment. She had no income and medical providers were knocking on her door for money. Her calls to the prior attorney went unanswered. Black & Jones, Attorneys at Law were willing to help her. We obtained copies of the prior award, her medical records, and medical bills. We immediately filed a petition before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission against the insurance company and the former employer which was no longer in existence. Through our efforts, we were able to force the insurance company to pay benefits and approve the treatment she desperately needed. Even after the problems were solved and she got the treatment she needed, we still kept her file open and assured her that we will not abandon her in the future.
Black & Jones knows the importance of a relationship with our clients beyond the date their file closes. That is why we assure each one that if they have any questions, concerns, problems, or worries in the future, they are always free to call us. Whether you have problems with benefits, treatment, or even a new injury, we will be there for you. If you have been forgotten by your current attorney, give us a call today to see what we can do for you.