Question 1

How long have you been practicing personal injury law?

Accepted Answer

I was admitted to the bar in Illinois on November 8, 1990. I have been continuously practicing law in good standing since 1990.

Question 2

What percentage of your cases are personal injury claims?

Accepted Answer

About 50% of my caseload is personal injury, and about 50% is workers' compensation.

Question 3

What are some of your most memorable victories in personal injury cases?

Accepted Answer

- A medical malpractice case where we were able to obtain a settlement in the amount of $2.9 million.
- A traumatic brain injury case where we were able to obtain a settlement in the amount of $2.15 million.
- A case in which we were involved that went to trial and obtained a jury verdict in the amount of $20 million. 
-A case where we represented a young lady that was raped while at work.
-A case where a young black man was shot by a police officer, and we were able to obtain a settlement in the amount of $950,000.

All the other hundreds of cases that we've had over the years representing hardworking people that were injured where we got them just compensation for what had happened. Especially the ones where we got to thank you.

Question 4

What is the most important piece of advice you would give to someone who has recently been injured?

Accepted Answer

As self-serving as it sounds, my advice would be to get an attorney early on. I know it does not sound good for me to say this because it sounds like I am trying to drum up business for myself and other lawyers. The reality is that the insurance companies are not your friend. They are not going to help you, and they have a system that is in place to try to stop you from getting money for your injuries and just compensation.

Question 5

How do you make sure clients feel supported during a difficult time?

Accepted Answer

We figure out their needs. We have experience. We know where the problems lie. We try to take away their fear of the system. We try to give them clarity and explanation so they understand the system, and that conquers the fear. We support them through the hard times to get what they are entitled to get. We communicate really well.

Question 6

How often do you take cases to trial, and what is your success rate there?

Accepted Answer

The reality is that the overwhelming majority of cases settle without the necessity of filing a lawsuit, and then a large majority of the cases where a lawsuit is actually filed settle. We go to trial on the cases where we can't settle, where we can't get just compensation to the client. Those cases are the ones that go to trial. With the cases that go to trial, we've had great success. We have won the cases that we were supposed to win.

Question 7

How do you prepare a case for trial?

Accepted Answer

The preparation starts from day one. You got to sign up the case properly. You got to interview the client properly. You got to get the information properly. You got to retain the information while you're working up the case. You have to work up the case properly. That means every aspect of the case is important.

The written discovery answers are important. You got to pay attention. You got to be detail-oriented. The depositions are important. You got to prep your client and your witnesses for their depositions. You have to prep and prepare for the depositions of the other party that you take. You have to have a good retention of the facts and be organized. You got to put in the long hours. There are no shortcuts. That's the answer.

Question 8

How do you estimate the value of a personal injury claim?

Accepted Answer

In the olden days, people used to think that it was three times specials. That was just a rule of thumb that worked when it worked. You have to look at a case and see:
- What are the injuries?
- What are the damages?
- What is the pain and suffering that's been endured?
- How long will it last?
- Is it gonna end?
- What are the medical bills?
- Will there be future medical required?
- You have to figure out the present cash values of these.
- You have to figure out the lost wages.
- Will the person be able to go back to work?
- Will there be future lost wages?
- Did they have a change of jobs that they had to have because of an accident?
- Do you have to have an expert testify about what they lost financially?

Question 9

What are some problems or challenges that you’ve encountered in bringing personal injury claims, and how have you handled them?

Accepted Answer

The challenges are sometimes clients don't want to do what's best for them. They don't want to seek treatment. They don't want to seem like they're complaining.

Yes, sometimes if they have very serious brain injuries, they can't even assess their situation and how serious the injury is because the brains don't work right. There's also a complication of insurance adjusters thinking that they know best and then being company people trying to save the insurance companies a nickel, so you just got to keep plugging along and fighting until you get what you're supposed to get.

Question 10

What are some factors that you consider when advising clients who are deciding whether to take a settlement or go to trial?

Accepted Answer

Got to look and see if it's fair. Is it in the range of what's fair?
You have to consider:
- How fast the client wants the money
- The client's ability to withstand the nerve-wracking experience of going through a jury trial
- Their age
- The liability and how strong it is
- The injuries and how severe they are
It's a total picture, and it's not about us. It's about the client. The client is in control. They're the ones who decide when the case ends. You can only guide them and tell them when they're getting short money not to take it, but if they decide that they want it over with, it's about them, not you.

Question 11

Do you work on a contingency fee basis, and how is the contingency fee calculated?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we work on a contingency fee basis. In workers' compensation cases, we charge as little as 20% of the recovered amount. In personal injury cases, we typically charge 33.33%. That amount gets adjusted up to 40% if the case has to be filed in court and litigated.

Question 12

What other costs beyond the attorney fee might be involved in a case, and how are these costs handled?

Accepted Answer

All the costs on the case are the attorney's responsibility to pay up front, whether the case is won or lost. If we win the case, then those costs are attributed to the client and come out of the client's portion of the money that they are to receive. These costs include:
- litigation costs
- deposition costs
- investigation costs
- court reporter costs
- expert fees
- doctor fees for testifying at discovery depositions and evidence depositions
All the costs of litigation get passed on to the client.

Question 13

Have you handled cases involving bad faith or other misconduct by insurers?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we have. I would imagine that almost every case involves some sort of bad faith or misconduct by an insurance carrier. It's just that they usually try to push you until they can't push you any longer, and then they back off of bad faith situations, but they do exist and they do occur.

Question 14

Do you have connections to outside experts or specialists, and when do you use them in your cases?

Accepted Answer

Yes, of course, we use experts on a regular basis and specialists on a regular basis, and we go to them when we have difficult cases to prove. For example, on a traumatic brain injury, TBI case, the person can look perfectly normal, but the brain has been scrambled like eggs in a pan. Regular MRI testing doesn't show it, so you pay a large amount of money to get specific specialized tests done, like a DTI. It's like the entire puzzle is solved, so you spend the money to get what the client deserves.

Question 15

Can you provide referrals for therapy, counseling, support services, or other local organizations or community resources?

Accepted Answer

When necessary, we do so. I don't have any specific doctors that I refer to or have a relationship with. The reason why is because I fight doctors when their bills are too high. I don't pay them the chargemaster rate when they ask for a full boat. Amounts that you pay. As a result, they only refer me their family members because they know I do a good, honest job.

If I was in cahoots with doctors, I could have a lot more business, but then I'd have to pay the doctors the full amounts of their medical bills. That would mean that I'd have to compromise my representation of my clients and not do what's best for them. I'd have to look the other way. That's not who I am. That's not what we are all about.

Question 16

Q: Do I have a personal injury case?

Accepted Answer

If you were injured because someone else was negligent, you may have a claim. Every case depends on the facts, including liability, the nature of your injuries, and the available evidence.

Question 17

How much is my personal injury case worth?

Accepted Answer

There is no fixed value. Compensation may include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, disability, and other damages, depending on the facts of your case.

Question 18

What does it cost to hire your firm?

Accepted Answer

We handle most personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you pay no attorney's fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Question 19

How long have you been handling workers’ compensation claims?

Accepted Answer

Since 1990

Question 20

What percentage of your practice is dedicated to workers’ compensation claims?

Accepted Answer

About 50% to personal injury, about 50% to workers' compensation.

Question 21

Have you represented clients in administrative hearings and court?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I have represented lots of people in workers' compensation cases at the Workers' Compensation Commission and the Illinois Industrial Commission, and I've taken some of those cases up on appeal to circuit court. I have filed appeals. I've actually made law in the state of Illinois that is still, to this day, good law that is looked at by other lawyers entering into similar situations. As of 2026, my case law made is still good.

Question 22

What are some of the industries in which you’ve handled claims?

Accepted Answer

Construction, Retail in pretty much every single industry in which people work where they get injured, which is pretty much anybody working.

Question 23

What are some of your best results in workers’ compensation claims?

Accepted Answer

There are three ways to figure out the value of a case:
1. Nature and extent. These are most cases where someone is able to return back to work and they've made a pretty good recovery.
2. Wage differential. That's where these people cannot work in a job that they had before, and they're earning much less than they used to. These cases are usually a little more valuable than the first way of figuring out cases, nature and extent.
3. Permanent total. This is where the person can never work again, and they're gonna be off for the rest of their lives. Those are really the largest cases because the injuries are so serious and the consequences for life changes are immense.
We have had success with all of these types of cases.

Question 24

What are some of the challenges or obstacles that you’ve faced in workers’ compensation claims, and how have you addressed them?

Accepted Answer

Obstacles of insurance companies trying to cut your client off, thinking that your client can go back to work and that they're ready to work, and forcing them to go back to work when they're not really ready.

The way you overcome this is you have to get sometimes doctors' depositions and doctors' statements about this, and you have to fight it.
Another area that's open for abuse is utilization review. This is where the insurance company finds some doctor in some other state and feeds them some facts and says, "Is this treatment necessary or reasonable?" The doctor comes back and says no, and they disapprove treatment. Once again, you got to fight it with getting a statement from your doctor, taking your doctor's deposition, going to trial.

Question 25

How do you assess the potential value of a workers’ comp claim?

Accepted Answer

See one of the answers above, but there are three ways to figure out the value of a case:
- Nature and extent: someone has an injury, and they're able to go back to the same job, perform that job, and function well. That's the majority of cases.
- Wage differential: they're not able to earn what they used to earn. You have to extend that out for their lifetime and figure out a value.
- Permanent total: the most egregious case is where the person is not able to return to any sort of gainful employment whatsoever. Those cases have the greatest value.
You fight for the value of the case plus medical bills plus a medical set-aside. You have to get compensation for everything available in a workers' compensation case.

Question 26

What factors do you consider when advising a client on whether to settle a workers’ comp claim?

Accepted Answer

You have to consider whether it's a fair settlement. You have to consider whether or not they're going to need future medical, because once you settle, medical gets closed, so you might be better off trying the case sometimes. You have to make sure all the medical bills are paid and everything is covered.

You have to consider whether or not to even file the case if the client is, for example, close to retirement and they've got three years to file the case, but they're 64 years old and want to work one more year and not get retaliated against by the employer. You have to consider timing, things like that.

Question 27

What factors do you consider when advising a client on whether to settle a workers’ comp claim?

Accepted Answer

You have to consider whether it's a fair settlement. You have to consider whether or not they're going to need future medical, because once you settle, medical gets closed, so you might be better off trying the case sometimes. You have to make sure all the medical bills are paid and everything is covered.

You have to consider whether or not to even file the case if the client is, for example, close to retirement and they've got three years to file the case, but they're 64 years old and want to work one more year and not get retaliated against by the employer. You have to consider timing, things like that.

Question 28

What are the first steps that you’ll take when a client hires you?

Accepted Answer

Well, assuming that we've gone through the extensive checklist that we have and paperwork with all the questions, which I believe is about 12 pages of questions, and we have all that information. We file an application for a Justia claim, and then we get started. If the client is behind on benefits, we file petitions to get medical treatment and to get paid TTD, which is temporary total disability benefits.

Question 29

Do you work for a contingency fee, and how is it structured?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we get paid on a contingency fee basis, which is 20%. In death cases, what happens is we get paid every fifth check, which equals exactly 20%. In nature and extent cases or non-death cases where the case is settled or tried, you get 20% of the amount recovered.

Question 30

What other costs beyond your fee might be involved in a claim?

Accepted Answer

- Fees involved with obtaining the opinions of a doctor in a statement
- Deposition fees of the doctor
- Court reporter fees
- Fees to obtain medical records
- Fees for doctor's examinations
- All of the types of costs that need to be passed on from the claim

Question 31

Does your firm have relationships with medical or vocational experts who may be needed to support a client’s claim?

Accepted Answer

The answer is yes. We know that people have certain specialties that we can rely on to obtain reports. People that we can go to for things like a vocational rehabilitation report or things like that.

Question 32

Can you handle personal injury claims against third parties based on work injuries?

Accepted Answer

Yes, of course. Every time we have a workers' compensation case, we screen it to see if there's a third-party claim. We do this by seeing if someone else working for a different company caused this accident to happen. For example, if a delivery person of lumber is arriving at an accident site and one of the subcontractors on the job drops a brick on his head, that's a third-party case and a workers' compensation case.

Question 33

Can you handle problems involving a client’s job, such as retaliation for filing a claim?

Accepted Answer

Yes, of course. The law is on the employee's side. The employer cannot retaliate against them for filing a workers' compensation case. The problem occurs and the gray area occurs when the employer figures out a pretext for the firing and doesn't blame it on the workers' compensation case, or uses FMLA to replace the employee and put someone in their spot.

Question 34

What’s the most important advice that you would give someone who has just been injured on the job, other than to hire a lawyer?

Accepted Answer

Whatever you do, don't try to do your employer any favors by changing the facts in the medical records. For example, you don't want to go to the hospital and say, "This happened at my house," because the employer asked you to do that. It's really important that when you are at the hospital, you tell that doctor, "This is an accident that occurred at work," and you tell them the facts and do not lie about a single thing. There is a saying that says, "Any lie will do." Literally, any lie that causes you to lose credibility is going to hurt your case and may even cause you to lose. Just be honest.

Question 35

What benefits can I receive through workers' compensation?

Accepted Answer

Depending on your case, you may be entitled to payment of medical expenses, temporary disability benefits, permanent disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation, or other benefits provided by law.

Question 36

Can I choose my own doctor?

Accepted Answer

In many cases, Illinois law allows injured workers to choose their own medical providers, subject to certain rules and exceptions. This is where the two-doctor rule comes into play. You get to pick one doctor, and then that doctor can refer you to another and another and another and another. One day you can say, "I want a second opinion," and that's your second doctor. That doctor can refer you to another and another and another, but you can't then decide, "I want a third opinion."

Peter C. Wachowski