THIRD-PARTY PRACTICE:
Our strength in workers' compensation and tort defense matters lend themselves to a natural proficiency in third-party defense matters and workers' compensation liens. In Illinois, employers are only liable to their injured workers through workers' compensation. If an employee can identify another entity who is responsible for his/her injuries, than that employee may initiate a civil lawsuit against that entity. The employer may than be sued as a third-party defendant by the defendant named in the civil suit initially identified by the injured worker. (i.e. punch press manufacture can sue employer in contribution but the injured worker cannot directly sue employer) Although right now in Illinois an employer is only liable for the full extent of its workers' compensation liability to the defendant joining in the employer into the civil case, there are many intricacies in play concerning ongoing workers' compensation files and pending third-party actions. Bringing in an experienced and knowledgeable attorney not only may save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in catastrophic loss files but may be able to recoup all the money you paid including attorneys' fees depending upon the facts of your case.

There are alternatives to consider in catastrophic workers' compensation loss cases other than to pay ad finem, particularly when a civil suit has been filed by an injured employee. An experienced and knowledgeable attorney in joint and several liability, comparative negligence and workers' compensation should be able to explain these concepts with you and your colleagues to work out the best possible solution for your high-end exposure cases. Merely sitting back and waiting for your workers' compensation lien to be collected can be a costly and embarrassing lesson of what not to do. Our firm would be most willing to meet with you and your support team to come up with action plans designed, where possible, to mitigate your expenditures.

Incidentally, if you do not have a team approach to litigation, retaining us puts you on the team.

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