Articles Posted in Annoucements

We are pleased to announce that Attorney David Barish has been named in the Leading Lawyers Top 10 Workers’ Comp Petitioners Lawyers for 2022 in Illinois. Mr. Barish joins other Katz Friedman Lawyers in this wonderful honour. Since the firm opened in 1954, the lawyers at Katz Friedman have been fighting for full and fair compensation for our injured clients and have established a reputation in Chicago and Illinois as the most knowledgeable and ethical attorneys among our peers. Over the years, Katz Friedman and its attorneys have received countless awards at the local, state and national level for their legal work as experienced Workers’ Compensation lawyers.

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If you or someone you know have been injured and are in need of representation do not hesitate to contact our office. For a free consultation, call 800-444-1525 or visit www.katzfriedman.com and use the “Contact Us” form on our homepage.

We are pleased to announce that Partners Richard Johnson and Philip Bareck have been named in the Leading Lawyers Top 10 Workers’ Comp Petitioners Lawyers for 2021 in Illinois based upon a survey of their peers.

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Katz Friedman would also like to extend our congratulations to the rest of the Attorneys listed in the Top 10: Arnold Rubin, David Menchetti, Mitchell Horwitz, Kenneth Given, Daniel Capron, Patrick Nicholson, Richard Turner and Nick Avgerinos.

Over the years, Katz Freidman and its attorneys have received countless awards at the local, state and national level for their legal work as experienced Workers’ Compensation lawyers. Since the firm opened its doors nearly 7 decades ago, the lawyers at Katz Friedman have been fighting for full and fair compensation for our injured clients and have established a reputation in Chicago and Illinois as the most knowledgeable and ethical attorneys among our peers.

Volkswagen is recalling more than 246,000 SUVs in the U.S. and Canada because faulty wiring harnesses can make them brake unexpectedly, sometimes while in traffic.

The recall comes three days after The Associated Press reported that 47 people had complained to U.S. safety regulators about the problem, some reporting nearly being rear-ended by other vehicles. Many reported that warning lights and alarms would go off, the driver’s side windows would roll down and the SUVs would suddenly brake while in traffic.

Volkswagen says in documents posted Friday by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the recall covers certain Atlas SUVs from the 2019 through ….

VitasMPhoto-300x300We are pleased to welcome Vitas J. Mockaitis to Katz Friedman!

Katz Friedman is pleased to announce Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association President Vitas J. Mockaitis has joined our firm.

Vitas is an experienced and respected trial attorney, whom for over 32 years has been fighting for the rights of injured workers. We wish him continued success as part of our Katz Friedman team.

In early 2021, United Continental Holdings (commonly known as UAL) began offering its flight attendants a Voluntary Separation Leave package with additional benefits to encourage voluntary separation from the company. As a term of the separation agreement, the flight attendant must waive his or her right to pursue legal claims and release United from liability related to his or her employment with and/or separation from United. Flight attendants are understandably concerned that this may affect their right to file a workers’ compensation claim and collect benefits for work related injuries.

This agreement does carve out some exceptions, including the right of the flight attendant to claim workers’ compensation benefits. This means that accepting the VSL does not forfeit your right in a workers’ compensation claim! Remember that you have three years from the date of the accident or two years from the last payment of compensation to file any Illinois workers’ compensation claim. You may file the workers’ compensation claim even after accepting the VSL.

However, flight attendants considering accepting this agreement should note that by signing the VLS agreement, the flight attendant is certifying that he or she had “no unreported on-the-job injuries”. By signing this agreement, the flight attendant who suffered unreported injuries or Occupational disease exposures in the past may jeopardize his or her right to obtain workers’ compensation benefits in the future. Accordingly, if a flight attendant has an unfiled workers’ compensation claim, it will typically be in his or her best interest to report the injury and file the claim with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (not just Sedgwick) prior to signing the VSL agreement to protect his or her right to workers’ compensation benefits. However, every case is different and this blog is not intended to provide legal advice, simply guidance and things to consider.

We have heard stories from our clients and other attorneys about the difficulties that working men and women are having balancing their desire to be safe during the Covid-19 pandemic while earning a living or giving their children an education. We have heard about factories where there have been many positive tests. Sometimes were hear about all the steps management has taken to try to reduce the spread of the disease and sometimes we hear about management that is only focused on production and doesn’t really seem to care about the safety of their employees.

We have also heard about workers who have no choice but to face an increased risk of getting Covid-19. These are the first responders, police, and fire and healthcare workers. There are delivery drivers. There are grocery store workers and restaurant staff. There are teachers who are caught between the competing legitimate desires to remain safe and yet complete the mission of educating our children.

We have slowly started returning to some union halls to meet our clients. Those locals are very protective and make sure that there are a limited number of people in the building, that everybody practices social distancing, that there is plenty of hand sanitizer around and that everybody is wearing a mask. We had a number of paper masks with our firm’s name and number on it that we bring with us when we travel to these union halls. If somebody needs a mask, we have one for them.

image000000-227x300Are you new to or simply need a refresher in handling Workers’ Compensation claims for either Petitioners or Respondents?

Great news! Our very own Partner Philip Bareck will be a presenter for The Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Annual Work Comp bootcamp program in October.

Please consider attending this informative live webcast on October 2nd. There are just two weeks left to lock in early bird pricing!

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