Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorneys Blog

Illinois Workers' Compensation News: On April 14, 2011 Illinois Senate Bill 1349, a proposed amendment to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, was defeated. The proposed amendment would have drastically altered or eliminated many of the rights and benefits that workers' compensation attorneys in Chicago and across Illinois have been fighting for on behalf of injured workers for years. Among some of the proposed changes were:

Providing explicit definitions for the terms "accident" and "injury";
Stricter guidelines for establishing causal connections between the workers' injury and the work accident or circumstances of employment;

Eliminating the injured worker's right to choose their own physician for the first 60 days following notice of the accident, and replacing it with the employer's right to choose which physician may initially diagnose and treat an injury;

Eliminating Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefits for injured workers if they are fired for cause, regardless of whether they have finished treating or are able to work;

Eliminating an employer's liability to provide medical care or benefits beyond an initial emergency inpatient or outpatient visit if the employee was intoxicated by alcohol, marijuana, or any controlled substance when he or she was injured;

Terminating wage differential awards at the time when either the employee reaches the age of 67, or when the award has been paid for 5 years, whichever occurs at a later date;
Stricter guidelines for establishing the extent of an injured workers' Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) after treatment has concluded;

Clearly, this proposed amendment would have had a devastating effect on the rights that injured workers have relied on in order to receive the benefits they deserve. However, Senate Bill 1349 only received 25 of the 30 votes required in order for the bill to pass, and the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act survives in its current form to provide for the injured worker.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reached a settlement with five Chicago-area construction firms that were falsly classifying employed Illinois workers as independent contractors in an effort to skirt Illinois Workers Compensation laws. The misclassification of workers severly restricts their access to worker's compensation, as well as other benefits.

Illinois workers who are injured on the job are entitled to worker's compensation benefits, such as being paid for any time off of work related to the injury, payment of medical expenses for treatment related to the injury, and an amount of compensation for permanent disability related to the injury. Independent contractors, on the other hand, are not entitled to these worker's compensation benefits under Illinois law. This is significant because Illinois employers save money by not having to pay out worker's compensation benefits to injured workers if the injured workers are "independent contractors."

Under the Illinois Workers Compensation Act, it is a felony for Illinois businesses to intentionally misclassify their workers in an attempt to cut off their employees' access to worker's compensation benefits. Illinois businesses that follow this practice could be required to pay restitution to their defrauded employees in addition to being slapped with hefty fines.

Madigan reaches agreement to ensure workers receive employment benefits they deserve, illinoisattorneygeneral.gov, August 10, 2009.

Continue reading "Illinois Attorney General Madigan Makes Sure Injured Illinois Workers Receiving Benefits They Deserve" »

As previously posted, a couple of politicians running for office in Illinois have mentioned workers compensation reform as part of their platform. Now, others are jumping on the bandwagon, claiming that workers compensation reform is necessary to attract businesses to Illinois. Make no mistake about it, this push is most likely being encourage by the insurance industry.

It is important for Illinois workers to understand that "reform" means that you will lose your rights to compensation if you are injured at your place of employment. This should be especially alarming to older workers and workers for whom physical labor is a part of their jobs. If you are a member of one of these groups, even if you are not currently disabled due to a work injury, you should be concerned. If you are a member of one of these groups, the chances of being injured in the future are higher. Do not wait until you are injured to find out that you will not be receiving adequate compensation to take care of yourself and your family because the workers compensation laws have been "reformed" to favor employers. Act now. Call your representatives and preserve this important right.

Winters a Candidate for Lieutenant Gov, Rockford Register-Star, Jul 22, 2009

Gubernatorial candidate Dillard stops in Jacksonville, Journal-Courier, July 28, 2009

Continue reading "The Winds of Change are Blowing: More Illinois Political Candidates Are Talking About Workers Compensation Reform" »

It is no secret that Illinois Workers Compensation Insurance companies attempt to exert influence on the Illinois state government to change the laws that protect workers who are injured on the job. And, of course, they always try to change the laws to save them money at the expense of the injured worker.

The present budget crisis in Illinois has provided an opportunity for these insurance companies to exert their influence. There is no question that the State of Illinois is facing serious problems with the budget. However, the citizens of Illinois must ask themselves if the right way to fix the budget is to save money for businesses and insurance companies, at a time when may Illinois workers are struggling to make ends meet. Cutting benefits to injured workers makes it harder for these workers to get back to work after they have been injured, and also takes money out of pockets of inured workers and their families at a time when they are struggling even more than everyone else.

Illinois State Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, has suggested just this - that workers compensation protections for injured workers be weakened, as a way to strengthen business and encourage more businesses to open up shop in Illinois. He argues that this will increase the tax base and help fix the budget. However, this is not free, and comes at the expense of someone. And that "someone" are injured workers in Illinois. If you have been injured on the job, or know someone who has had to depend on Workers' Compensation benefits, you will understand how devastating any cuts in these benefits can be.

It is important that we continue to fight for these benefits for injured workers. As experienced Illinois workers compensation attorneys, we have been doing just that for over 20 years.

Illinois State Senator Suggests Cuts to Workers Compensation Benefits to Fix State Budget, The News-Gazette, June 5, 2009

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is concerned about the effect that the Chrysler bankruptcy will have on workers compensation benefits for Illinois injured workers. Madigan has filed an objection to the bankruptcy, claiming that the State of Illinois will have to pick up the tab for unpaid workers compensation benefits.

Under Illinois law, if an employer files for bankruptcy while your workers compensation claim is pending, then the State of Illinois may have to pay your benefits. This is better news than finding out you will not be paid any benefits at all, but it is not good news. Obtaining benefits from the State will take much longer than from your employer's insurance company, and you will likely not get paid the full amount of the benefits due under the Workers Compensation Act .

Attorney General Lisa Madigan is doing a good thing, not only looking out for taxpayer money, but also making sure that injured workers in Illinois get the full benefits due to them under the Workers Compensation Act.

Illinois Attorney General Madigan Files Objection To Chrysler Sale On Behalf Of Workers' Compensation Fund, Press Release, May 22, 2009