Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorneys Blog

In an effort to cut costs, some employers are going to extremes by not reporting or underreporting workplace injuries to keep Illinois worker's compensation insurance costs down. A new report has found that many employers are not reporting injuries for fear of increasing their workers compensation insurance premiums. Additionally, many workers are not reporting job-related injuries for fear of being fired or disciplined.

The report found that more than half of health practitioners felt pressure from company officials to downplay injuries, and almost half reported being pressured to do so by the workers themselves.

It is an unfortunate reality that companies will take measures to cut costs at the expense of the well-being of their workers. Injured workers who do not know their rights may succomb to pressure from supervisors not to file a worker's compensation claim, of if they do, to downplay the seriousness of their injuries. These workers may be pressured not to get the treatment they really need for their injuries, or they may be pressured to return to work before they fully recover.

The insurance companies which handle workers compensation claims are also interested in keeping costs down, which is why the claims of workers who might have valid work-related injuries are often denied or the treatments recommended by their doctors are not approved.

Illinois workers have a right to compensation for the entire period of time during which a doctor has ordered that they remain off work as a result of their injuries under the Illinois Workers Compensation Act. Additionally, Illinois injured workers are entitled to compensation for their medical expenses, and for any permanent disability related to the work injury. The best way to protect these rights is to hire an attorney who will aggressively fight for the worker's benefits and maximize the worker's recovery.

Soft on Safety Human Resource Executive Online, December 8, 2009