News

The average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Illinois grew annually between 1 to 3 percent since 2012, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. The growth was due to small to moderate changes in medical payments per claim, indemnity benefits per claim, and benefit delivery expenses per claim, according to Ramona Tanabe, WCRI’s executive…

Potential standards to prevent workplace violence in the health care sector and improve emergency response and preparedness are back on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s radar. In July 2017, the two potential standards were moved off the Trump administration’s main regulatory agenda and placed on a long-term actions list, meaning the agency did not expect to have a regulatory action…

The U.S. workforce has steadily gotten older over the past two decades, which has both positive and negative connotations for workplace safety, experts say. In 1994, people ages 55 and older represented 11.9% of the labor force – a number that is rising and is expected to reach 24.9% in 2024, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.…

The Fifth District Appellate Court backed the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC) in a Madison County workplace injury case, according to a May 4 ruling. James Burns appealed a Madison County circuit court ruling that backed the IWCC, which overturned an arbitrator’s judgement that rewarded Burns with benefits. The courts’ decision comes after Burns stated that he worked under harsh…

Provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have resulted in proposals and approvals for midyear workers compensation rate reductions in five states, according to details behind several recent filings by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Rate reductions will go into effect June 1 for Idaho and Florida, per recent regulatory approval. Reductions have not been announced in other…

An Illinois appellate court has decided a health care provider is not entitled to recover interest from employers when they don’t pay worker compensation medical bills on time. Further, the court said such disputes actually may not belong in the courts, at all, but rather with the state's Workers Compensation Commission. The April 26 decision on the appeal, which was…

For two years, Illinois State Trooper James Bradley worked the night shift, cruising highways around DuQuoin, searching for speeders and drunks while mentally impaired by post-traumatic stress disorder. Like all cops, he carried a gun on his hip and a pump shotgun in the trunk. But unlike most cops, Bradley says he has PTSD because his supervisor had it in…

Now that Illinois' contentious primaries are over, state lawmakers have an opportunity to get back to business and tackle the litany of financial woes affecting the state. This year, Illinois ranked dead last on U.S. News & World Report's list of the most fiscally stable states. Despite this ranking, some Illinois legislators continue to push bills that add undue stress…

A new trial date has been scheduled for the postal worker accused of racing motorcycles while receiving $94,000 in disability. Jerry French, 40, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 27 in Dayton’s U.S. District Court on one count of false statements or fraud to obtain federal employees compensation. French was hired in 2004 as a letter carrier at the…