The max an attorney can take in IL is 20%, and if a person ends up switching lawyers the cap is STILL 20% and the 2 (or more) attorney's that you have used can divide that up amongst themselves based on how much work they did or whatever, but the cap is still 20% of the total award so it's not like you would end up paying more money except as it comes to "expenses" like making photocopies, requesting medical records, mailing stuff out, etc. But I know the laws vary by state so you would need to check on the rules in your specific state.

And yes...notes need to be specific and cannot generally say something like, "cannot engage in any activity that causes pain." Some companies will have you do ANYTHING just to have you in the building, including paying a car service to get you to and from work, and others will just want you to stay home until you are without restrictions. But regardless the restrictions need to be listed specifically otherwise they will push the absolute limits and if you say you can't do something then they will send you home and turn off your pay. They can be real jerks. I know not all are like this but it certainly has been my experience.