Strategic Evaluation of Trial Exposure
Conducting a trial exposure evaluation is an essential task as we develop the detailed legal blueprint that accompanies each workers’ compensation defense claim we handle at Knell Law L.L.C.
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Defense Law Firm
Located in Peoria, the lawyers of Knell Law L.L.C. provide workers’ compensation defense services for employers, insurance companies, and third-party administrators throughout the state of Illinois. Our attorneys represent employers of all sizes, from small family-owned businesses to local government employers and some of the largest private companies doing business in Illinois.
How Do We Evaluate Trial Exposure and Financial Risk?
A trial exposure evaluation requires analysis of both legal and financial risk. To develop a successful trial exposure evaluation requires an in-depth knowledge of workers’ compensation law as well as strategic understanding of the different ways juries, judges and arbitrators tend to view workers’ compensation cases in different venues and counties throughout the state.
In a nutshell, conducting a trial exposure evaluation requires us to analyze the strength of the claim for workers’ compensation benefits as well as the effect of the local demographics on the likely outcome of the claim.
The process of creating a strong trial exposure evaluation includes asking and answering questions such as:
- Did the injury occur at the workplace?
- Did the injury arise out of the employee’s job duties?
- Is the medical condition causally related to a workplace accident or is it attributable to a prior medical condition or other factors?
- Is the employee permanently disabled or entitled to temporary benefits and/or a wage differential?
- Is the employee legally entitled to reimbursement of medical expenses or vocational rehabilitation costs?
- Is the employee entitled to any kind of permanency benefits?
If, in our legal opinion, the claim is clearly compensable, then we provide an analysis of the likely value of the claim. If, however, we believe one or more legal defenses exist, then we analyze the likely success of each defense.
Our goal in conducting trial exposure evaluations is to be able to give each client very specific information about each claim; for example:
- “The case is clearly compensable and worth about $50,000.”
- “The case is not clearly compensable because there’s a question about whether the injury was causally related to work. Based on our experience in this venue, we believe we have about a 60 percent chance of succeeding with that argument.”
Contact Knell Law L.L.C. for Defense of Workers’ Compensation Claims
Make arrangements for a free initial consultation by contacting us online or by calling our Peoria offices locally at 309-740-9115 or toll free at 866-958-5843.
For additional information, please see:
Workers’ Compensation Defense / Compensability & Benefits Assessments
