The Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation Tuesday to modify several workers compensation timelines. S.B. 269, which also unanimously passed the Senate in late January, would require workers compensation insurer or the employer of the injured worker to file report of payment of compensation for claims with the state’s workers compensation board within 14 days. Current law allows for…
Workers compensation pays more than group health to treat comparable injuries, according to a new study comparing costs for treating various injuries in 27 states. The Boca Raton, Florida-based National Council on Workers Compensation analyzed data on 12 different common workers compensation medical conditions going back 10 years and compared the prices and quantity of care with the same injuries…
As a growing number of plaintiffs’ lawyers use an Illinois biometrics privacy law to target Illinois employers with potentially crippling class actions, a state appellate court will soon weigh in on whether the state’s workers’ compensation law can be used to punch out the widening field of lawsuits. A decision on the question could have potentially huge ramifications for the…
Lawmakers in Illinois are considering workers compensation legislation that would provide workers compensation to first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. H.B. 5569 was sent to the rules committee on Tuesday and would amend the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act and the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act and apply to firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Lawmakers on Tuesday also introduced H.B….
Tracking more than 500 pieces of comp-related legislation so far in 2020, the National Council for Compensation Insurance on Wednesday reported that this year’s “legislative trends and hot topics look very similar to 2019,” with workers compensation for first responders, medical marijuana and independent contractors remaining key issues. Bills affecting workers compensation for first responders are making headway among lawmakers,…
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill that would cap reimbursement for ambulatory outpatient surgical centers treating injured workers. Bipartisan bill H.B. 1332, introduced by Republican Rep. Matthew Lehman, passed with a 91-1 vote on Monday. The bill stipulates that reimbursement for ambulatory outpatient surgical center services covered under workers compensation may not exceed 225% of the Medicare reimbursement…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today convened the first meeting of a task force that will facilitate collaboration between the Attorney General’s office, county prosecutors and state agencies in order to better protect workers’ rights and law-abiding businesses in Illinois. The Worker Protection Unit Task Force was created under Senate Bill (SB) 161, which was initiated by Attorney General Raoul and…
A railway worker has accused his employer, Alton and Southern Railroad, of negligence following an accident at a rail yard. Dwayne Buchannon, who was employed by the Alton and Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of Union Pacific, filed suit Jan. 7 under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) in St. Clair County Circuit Court, claiming he suffered serious injuries when struck…
The Illinois Workers Compensation Act does not allow medical providers to go after a workers compensation settlement received just after a bankruptcy filing. In Re Hernandez, the Illinois Supreme Court held on Friday that the proceeds of a workers comp settlement are exempt from claims made by medical providers who treated the injury or illness associated with that claim. Between…
A veteran police officer who ran a construction business does not qualify for a line-of-duty disability pension on the grounds that he did not prove his back condition was caused by a work incident, an appeals court in Illinois ruled Thursday. Terry Olson, who had been a police officer for the Village of Lombard for 29 years, applied for a…
