The injustice of the proposed Illinois Workers' Compensation Reforms
Illinois Workers' Compensation reform has been a frequent headline in newspapers throughout the state. The Governor, under pressure by the powerful Illinois Manufacturer's Association and Caterpillar, is pushing the Illinois legislation to enact workers' compensation reform that he believes would be good for "both workers and employers and for the state of Illinois."
We believe otherwise.
Let's take a look at some of the proposed reforms:
Capping carpal tunnel disability payments to 20 weeks- While the average re-cuperating time for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery is 16 weeks, every person who suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome is different. It may take less time, it may take longer.
Most workers who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome are assemblyline workers or clerical workers who may be making the minimum wage or slightly more. A worker making $10 who has undergone carpal tunnel syndrome surgery would receive a settlment of approximately $7380.00 per hand. Much less than the "$40,000 dollar settlement," that some defense attorneys want you to believe.
Additionally, claims for carpal tunnel syndrome could be drastically reduced if workers are allowed to take more frequent breaks. Most carpal tunnel claims caused by keyboarding can be drastically reduced or eliminated by providing the employee with wrists rests and ergonomically correct keyboards.
Denying benefits to intoxicated workers- Present case law already provides for the denial of benefits to intoxicated workers if their intoxication caused the the injury.
Reducing benefits to pre-2005 levels- Most workers do not want to be dependent on insurance companies to support their families. Reducing the benefits a worker receives while they are off recuperating from an injury, will only add to the financial burden most injured workers and their families face. Right now an injured worker receives 66-6% of his gross. However this amount does not include any overtime or bonus pay he may have earned.
If an employee was paying for health insurance, he or she would still responsible for their premium payments while off work on TTD benefits. Their insurance premiums don't go down. Their cost of living doesn't go down. Their mortgage payments and their car payments don't go down. How does an injured worker support his or her family on TTD payments based on wages they were earning 6 years ago? By reducing these levels to 2005, the injured worker will end up in a financial hole that they may never be able to climb out of.
A reduction of 30% of the fee schedule payments to doctors- This is the round-about way employers have devised to control the medical treatment an injured worker receives. Doctors will be unwilling to treat anyone injured on the job with such a large reduction in the fee schedule.
Enhanced authority to prosecute fraud- Fraud should be investigated. But if you're going to investigate fraud, make sure you're looking at both sides of the fence.
Capping wage differentials at the age of 67 or 5 years post accident-This is great if every injured can find a job earning the same amount of money they were making at the time of their injury. But it just isn't the case.
Let's say you have an union sheet metal worker who was making $35 an hour at the time of his accident. What happens if his injury prevents him from going back to work as a sheet metal worker and after months of job searches can find a job earning only $13 an hour? He has a $22 an hour difference in earnings? How do you make that kind of financial adjustment and still keep your head above water. After 5 years the Governor wants to pull in your life raft.
So after we him off, then what happens. He is forced to turn to social programs to help support his family. How does this help Illinois?
The insurance industry has been eerily quiet on the issue of reform. That is because they have the most to gain. The reforms proposed, if enacted, only limits the benefits an injured worker receives. This in turn, means more money in the pockets of the insurance industry.
The Governor states that the reforms will ultimately lead to savings in the millions of dollars for Illinois employers by the way of reduced premiums. When has the insurance industry ever reduced their premiums? There is a reason they make so much money in Illinois. And it's not because they are refunding premiums.
