Illinois Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog

The Illinois House voted down a workers' compensation reform bill, championed by Governor Pat Quinn, due to the steep cuts in physican and hospital payments.

The current bill would cut any doctor and or hopsital fee for treating injured workers by 30%. The Illinois State Medical Society lobbied that the cut was too severe. They had agreed to a 20% cut.

The Illinois Manufacturer's Association and other Illinois business groups were pushing the Governor to enact these reforms to lighten the hit of the 46% increase in corporate income tax that became effective in January.

According to Greg Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, the reforms would have saved Illinois business $700 million.

The call now is to "blow up" the whole workers' compensation system and have these claims handled by Illinois courts instead of the Illiinois Workers' Compensation Commission.

The proposed reforms, undoubtedly, are geared towards appeasing the Illinois business community. The cut in fees to doctors and hospitals, is the way around an injured worker choosing their own physician. If a doctor knows that they would get paid 30% less why would they agree to treat them. This forces the injured worker to accept treatment through a compay clinic or doctor.

The talk of savings to Illinois business keeps changing. Initially the savings to Illinois employers was at $300 million and now it's up to $700 million. We would like to see some justification of these numbers.

The insurance industry has been eerily silent on this whole issue. Why? Because they stand to gain the most. They are virutally unregulated in the State of Illinois when it comes to picking and choosing who they want to cover and at what price. We are skeptical of the claims that Illinois businesses would be saving $700 million because part of that would have to come through a reduction in premiums. As long as they remain unregulated in Illinois, workers compensation insurance carriers have no reason to reduce premiums.

The pressure is on by Illinois businesses to pass reform to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. With the increase in sales tax and promises by other states with lower operating costs, the Illinois legislature is working to appease Illinois businesses and still provide benefits to injured workers.

But it appears that time is running out.

That argument is that Illinois businesses are more concerned about their bottom line than taking care of their employees. Business contends that workers' compensation costs are too high in Illinois and that the current system is too "lax"

Doctors are arguing that the proposed 30% fee cut is way out of line.

"Politically, it's a minfield," sais Senator Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat. "I think in the end nobody will be happy...but you want everybody to put some skin in the game."

Legislators agree that the system needs some overhauling. They want to make business happy and address the abuses. Lawmakers agree on a large portion of the proposed reforms, but there are some sticking points.

Continue reading " Illinois Workers' Compensation: Time is running out " »

Ruling: The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission modified the arbitrator's decision to increase the award of Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits. Rather than terminating the TTD award on December 8, 2008, the Commission extended benefits through April 17, 2009.

Case name: Fraley v. Favorite Health Care Staffing Inc., 19WCLB 39 (Ill.W.C.Comm. 2010).

Summary: Fraley suffered a work injury to the cervical spine Oct. 25, 2007, while lifting a patient. She bent over and heard a pop. She was originally diagnosed with a back sprain, but subsequent tests revealed neural impingement and cervical radiculopathy. After unsuccessful attempts with conservative therapy, Fraley's doctor recommended a cervical diskectomy and fusion. The arbitrator awarded temporary total disability benefits through Dec. 8, 2008, along with medical expenses. Upon review, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission increased the TTD award to extend through April 17, 2009.

Continue reading " Illinois employer's job offer does not justify cutting off TTD benefits " »

the Illinois Workers' Compensation Comission awarded the claimant benefits for a leg injury, including 40-2/7 weeks of temporary total disability benefits, medical expenses and permanent disability under Section 8(d)2 for the loss of the person as a whole to the extent of 35%.

Case name: Stine v. Yellow Transportation, 19 ILWCLB 22 (Ill.W.C.Comm. 2010).

Summary: Stine, a truck driver and dock worker, was injured when a dock plate was dropped onto his lower left leg. He suffered fractures of the left tibia and fibula at the level of his ankle with a dislocation of the fibula and a rupture of the deltoid ligament. He underwent an open reduction with internal fixation of his fractures. He subsequently developed symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. The defendant began paying temporary total disability benefits but subsequently stopped based on its belief that Stine could return to work.

Continue reading " Illinois truck driver under video surveillance by insurance company " »