01How does referral intake work, and what is the same-day placement SLA?
A senior coordinator answers every intake call at (312) 451-0101 or acknowledges an inbound email or form submission within 30 minutes during business hours. Once we have a client name, phone number, mechanism of injury, and the referring firm, we open the case file, verify contact, and place the client with a credentialed chiropractor or PT within four business hours. Placement is confirmed back to the firm's paralegal by email with the provider's name, clinic address, and the first appointment time. For after-hours referrals, an on-call coordinator triages overnight and completes placement by the next morning. Most referrals received before 2:00 PM Central are seen the same day. We do not use phone-tree systems, third-party call centers, or generic patient lead routing — every intake is handled by a coordinator who already understands Cook County personal injury case flow.
02What is included in the 48-hour records package delivered at case closure?
Within 48 hours of the client reaching maximum medical improvement (or the firm's written closure request), we deliver a single PDF packet containing: the initial evaluation and mechanism-of-injury narrative, the full visit ledger with dates and CPT codes, the treatment plan and any interim narratives, all imaging reports and radiology impressions, an itemized billing statement, and the executed lien assignment letter on the provider's letterhead. Records are delivered by encrypted email to the paralegal of record and, on request, by hand delivery to firms located in the Loop. Everything is formatted for direct inclusion in a demand package — no re-typing, no re-formatting, no missing signature pages. If a specific insurance carrier or mediator requires a particular records order, tell the coordinator at intake and the package is assembled to match.
03How does lien-based billing work for the firm and the client?
Every provider in the network treats on a Letter of Protection basis. The client signs a standard Illinois lien assignment at the first visit, which authorizes the provider to be paid from the settlement or judgment. The firm receives a countersigned copy for the case file. Nothing is billed to the client, no health insurance is used, and no charges are sent to the firm during active treatment. At closure, the itemized ledger is included in the records package. When the case resolves, the firm's disbursement letter goes to the provider or their billing agent, and the provider signs a satisfaction of lien releasing the balance. If the case does not resolve favorably, providers within the network negotiate in good faith with the firm on reductions — the norm in our network is a substantive reduction on any hardship or unfavorable outcome.
04Is there any cost to the firm for using Injury Network Chicago?
No. There is zero cost to the referring firm at any stage — intake, coordination, treatment, records assembly, or case closure. We do not charge a referral fee, records fee, coordination fee, or a per-file administrative fee. We are compensated exclusively by the credentialed providers in our network based on the coordination services we provide to them, not by attorneys or clients. Because we are neither a law firm nor a medical provider, there is also no fee-splitting or joint-venture exposure to disclose. If a firm has ever been asked to pay a records-retrieval fee, a case-management surcharge, or a 'network access' fee elsewhere, none of those apply here. This is documented in our engagement summary, which we send to any firm requesting one for their intake compliance file.
05How does provider credentialing work?
Every chiropractor, physical therapist, and pain-management provider in the network is credentialed against a written checklist before they receive a single referral. That includes a clean and active Illinois license verified with IDFPR, no open board actions in the last five years, current malpractice coverage at minimums that meet PI standards, documented experience with motor-vehicle and workers'-compensation caseloads, and a working records-and-billing system capable of producing demand-ready documentation. We re-verify licensure and malpractice annually. Providers who fail to meet documentation standards — late records, incomplete narratives, unresponsive to paralegals — are removed from active rotation. The firm can request the credentialing summary for any provider we placed on a case; we will send it within one business day.
06How are treatment updates communicated during active care?
Every active case has a coordinator of record whose direct line is included in the placement confirmation email. Firms receive a written treatment update every two weeks for the duration of active care, delivered by encrypted email to the paralegal handling the file. The update covers visit adherence, any change in treatment plan, imaging results, and expected treatment horizon. If a client misses appointments, drops off contact, or the provider recommends escalation to pain management or an orthopedic consult, the firm is notified within one business day so counsel can decide whether to reach out to the client directly. Firms that prefer weekly or milestone-only updates can set that preference during intake — the coordinator honors the firm's cadence.
07What happens when a client reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI)?
When the treating provider determines the client has reached MMI or a treatment plateau, the coordinator is notified the same day. We then send the firm a closure memo summarizing total visits, dates of service, imaging performed, provider's clinical impression, and the recommended discharge date. The firm has the opportunity to request additional evaluation — for example, a permanent-impairment rating or a functional capacity evaluation — before we trigger records assembly. Once the firm confirms closure, the 48-hour records-package clock starts. If the client's condition later worsens and re-treatment is medically appropriate, we can reopen the case with the same provider and add supplemental records to the existing packet on request, keeping the billing ledger continuous for the demand narrative.
08What is your coverage area — the Loop, West Loop, and Cook County?
Our office sits at 10 S Riverside Plaza in the Loop, and our provider depth is heaviest across downtown Chicago and the near neighborhoods: the Loop (60601–60606), West Loop and Fulton Market (60607, 60661), River North (60654), South Loop (60605), Near West Side, Pilsen (60608), and Little Village (60623). We also coordinate care across the rest of Cook County when a client lives or works outside downtown — we place with a provider near the client's home, workplace, or CTA/Metra line, not near our office. Referrals from firms based anywhere in the county are welcome; the same intake SLA, records timeline, and billing standard applies regardless of where the client is treated within Cook County.
09How are workers' compensation cases handled differently from PI cases?
Workers' compensation cases follow the Illinois WC fee schedule, so billing is reconciled through the schedule rather than the settlement, and the lien assignment used on PI cases does not apply the same way. On WC files, we verify the employer, insurance carrier, claim number, and adjuster of record at intake, then place the client with a provider experienced in WC documentation — including work-status notes, functional restrictions, and IME preparation. Records include work-status documentation the firm needs for TTD calculations, plus the standard treatment narrative and billing ledger. Coordinated care spans the same specialties: chiropractic, physical therapy, pain management, and imaging referrals. Common WC subtypes we handle regularly include construction-site injuries, warehouse-and-logistics injuries, and restaurant-and-hospitality injuries throughout the Loop and inner suburbs.
10How are injured individuals without an attorney handled?
Injury Network Chicago is a medical coordination service, not a law firm, and we do not select attorneys for clients or take referral fees from firms. When an injured individual contacts us directly without counsel, the coordinator opens the medical intake so treatment can begin promptly — delayed care is the single largest documentation problem we see. During intake we tell the client plainly that we do not provide legal advice and cannot represent them, and we encourage them to consult independent counsel of their own choosing. If the client asks for names of firms that handle their type of case in the Loop or Cook County, we will share a neutral list of firms known to accept referrals from our network, disclose that no compensation is exchanged either direction, and let the client choose. All records remain the client's property and can be released to any firm they retain.