How long does it take to get paid?

[tat_nurse]

My son was hurt on the job over two years ago. He was training as truck driver and was fresh out of truck driving school. An improperly loaded truck was filled with liquid Tide. His trainer told him to go unload the truck, without trying to clean up the mess first. He slipped and came down flat on his back, hard. He hired an attorney within 3 months after the accident. He was refused medical treatment for 18 months. The only money he has received was one check for $1500. Two years and only $1500! Now they approve treatment sporadically, and I have to pay for his medication. Today he was supposed to get another steroid injection but the insurance company refused to pay for it. It seems to me that the insurance company is delaying this in the hopes that eventually he will be so destitute that he'll be forced to drop the claim and find a job. Is that what happens to people who don't have someone to support them? The attorney said he will get a hearing or trial date sometime this month, but he can't/won't say when this will be settled. When we ask the lawyer if he thinks my son can get a settlement he always says that he will definitely get some money, but he won't even ballpark a figure. He told me once that he would get money, but whether it was a dollar or a hundred thousand dollars he couldn't say, which is not very reassuring.

I was under the impression that legally he was entitled to at least 60% of his wages at the very least. What about pain and suffering? What about medical costs? Loss of function? He went so long without treatment that he may never be 100% again. These are the questions that his lawyer should be answering, but I can't even get him to answer my calls half the time. A 2nd lawyer is suing KMart for negligence because the truck wasn't properly loaded. He wants to combine the cases. Is this a good idea?

Does anyone know how long this can continue without him getting paid?
Is this lawyer jerking him around? He says that in Illinois they only have certain times when you can go and get a court date. He had a date several months ago, but he screwed up and put the wrong county on the documents so we had to scrap that date and wait for the next cycle. What do we do if this continues to drag on indefinitely? I was on disability for 4 years and just started working again in March. I want to work more than anything, but I still have some major health issues, so I might not be able to keep my job. I mentioned this to his attorney to let him know that we may end up losing our vehicles, and our son's home, or even our home if this isn't resolved soon. He offered to get me a loan for $200. What good is $200? That's not even a car payment. This is going into the 26th month now. I figure that just the lost wages alone should be over $50,000, (before the lawyer takes his cut) which isn't near what he deserves for all he has been through, but it's better than nothing. Besides, what choice do we have? We can give up and the past two years were all for nothing, or we can hang on, but potentially risk losing everything. Any advice would be appreciated.

T.J.

Does he not also have workers comp?

[tat_nurse]

Well, he was supposed to have workers comp through his employer, that is why I don't understand what is happening here. He worked for a large, nation-wide trucking company.

[able1]

You should have an injury lawyer look over this for you and see what is happening. Something does not sound correct here. A few hours or so should make it clear and it may be free or for a low fixed review cost.

Are your talking about a monthy check? or a settlement check?a monthy check should follow about 4-6 weeks after proper paper work has been submitted. Settlement discussions should begin to start about 24 months after the accident.Well first of all, If your son was injured on his job, you should have gone ASAP to a worker comp lawyer. The lawyer would have taken card of everything. The injury was hopefully reported to the superviser and a reportr was made out. Then a visit to the ER room the same day...did this happen?
Second, your son has to go to his Doctor every month and a c4 form is then filled out and sent to the workers comp broad. a C4 form has to be received every 45 day from his doctor or else bebefits could be discontinued. Your sone has to say with the doctors visits and PT. but his lawyer should be doing all the work. If the lawyers are not doing a good job, then perhaps your should consider consulting else where.