Short blog answer:

NO

Longer blog answer:

Illinois has been called a Judicial Hell Hole. It’s a phrase that was made up by people in the insurance industry.  They did it to try to help in lobbying for laws that favor them and would make them even more money on top of the billions they have in profit every year.

A bogus message like that doesn’t play too well in the Chicago area.  It does, however, play well downstate.  They’ve marketed to people in a way that makes it seem like lawyers are the enemy and Insurance Companies are somehow the good guys.

It’s been effective.  I was called recently by a nice man with a major injury on the job that caused him to lose his career as a plumber.  He trusted in the insurance company until one day they told him his case was closed.  They played nice and then blew him off and by the time he called a lawyer he missed the statute of limitations to file a case.

Their marketing saved the insurance company a couple hundred thousand dollars and of course left the plumber with nothing.

Stories like that happen all of the time. It goes to the root of what insurance companies do.  They make money, in part, by limiting what they pay out in cases.  If they know that a case should cost them 50k and they get out of it for 20k, it’s a huge win for them.  And if they get away with paying nothing then they’ve really won the day.  It’s not about people or what’s right or the law.  It’s about their bottom line.

Does Illinois have a lot of lawsuits?  Not in compared to other places that have a lot of people. And despite what you’ve heard, attorneys aren’t filing baseless lawsuits because they know insurance companies don’t pay on those cases and juries don’t award money on them.

Somehow they’ve gotten away with it and have made people think that the decline in manufacturing is due to lawsuits instead of technology and the economy.  People are looking for someone to blame and unfortunately are doing it at their own peril.

I wouldn’t want to hire a lawyer either, but if you are injured in an accident or otherwise wronged, not doing so could cost you.  If that happens you’ll be left holding the bag or having to go on public aid.  Neither option is a good one.

If you are a good person with a legitimate injury you should at the very least learn your rights and make an educated decision before it’s too late.  If you’d like to discuss any case with one of our lawyers for free you can call us at 800-517-1614.