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Pat Quinn, Governor |
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posted 1/5/10
Commission submits fee schedule report to Governor, General AssemblyIn 2005, when the legislature enacted the first workers' compensation fee schedule in Illinois, it directed the Commission to report on its implementation by January 1, 2010. The Commission worked with the Workers' Compensation Medical Fee Advisory Board and others to draft the report. In the process, the participants started to form consensus on changes needed to make the fee schedule work as best as possible. The report will serve as the agenda for future discussions. Thanks to all who helped. To read the report, click here. posted 12/30/09
Commission decisions availableAt present, the Commission does not publish its own decisions in bulk. Since Tower Records* has gone out of business, people have been asking where they may obtain Commission-level decisions. We have listed all known vendors below. The Commission is not affiliated with any of these companies and does not endorse any company. The list is provided as a convenience to the parties. Decisions may be purchased on a disk or online from QDEX. The following vendors sell subscriptions to online legal research that include Commission decisions: LexisNexis and Westgroup. The following vendors summarize some, but not all Commission decisions, in their publications: LRP Publications and WC Summaries. If other vendors exist and would like to be listed, please click here. *This Tower Records is not related to the music store also known as Tower Records. posted 12/21/09
New Galesburg and Joliet arbitration hearing locationsEffective January 1, 2010, Galesburg arbitration status calls and hearings will be held at the Best Western Prairie Inn, 300 S. Soangetaha Rd. Note: Review hearings will continue to be held at the VFW Hall. Effective January 1, 2010, Joliet arbitration status calls and hearings will be held at the Will County Court Annex Building, 57 N. Ottawa St. Ste 201. Note: Review hearings will continue to be held at the Will County Courthouse. posted 12/14/09
Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit issues annual reportIn 2008, the Illinois Department of Insurance investigated 41 reports of possible workers' compensation fraud, and referred 35 cases for prosecution. Working on referrals from prior years, the Illinois Attorney General and county State's Attorneys obtained seven convictions. Click here to read the report. To see the list of fraud convictions, click here. revised 2/3/10; posted 12/14/09
Chairman Masters convenes rules review groupChairman Masters has assembled a group of attorneys, arbitrators, and commissioners to conduct an extensive review of the rules. Chairman Masters has solicited ideas from the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association, and the Illinois Self-Insurers Association. The rules review group consists of: Greg
Becker, Becker Schroader & Chapman PC Once the rules revisions are formalized, they will be voted upon by the Commission and proceed through the formal rule-making process, during which the public will have an opportunity to review and comment. posted 11/24/09
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| • | Started shifting responsibility for RAF from the Fiscal Department to a separate RAF Department; |
| • | Hired an attorney who is dedicated to RAF; |
| • | Established tighter, clearer procedures; |
| • | Created a database to better track cases, and continues to improve the technology; |
| • | Searched LexisNexis databases to find beneficiaries’ addresses and verify eligibility status; |
| • | Redesigned forms to better identify potential RAF cases and to verify beneficiaries’ ongoing eligibility; |
| • | Educated arbitrators and commissioners on how to write PTD and fatal awards; and |
| • | Added a RAF web page to its website. |
The IWCC and the Office of Internal Audit have entered into a multi-year interagency agreement to work on improving internal controls further. It now appears that in FY09, the IWCC has paid beneficiaries appropriately, and is searching for people who were missed in the past.
Individuals who received a final PTD or fatal award more than two years ago but have not received a RAF benefit should fill out and submit the application form found on the RAF web page.
There are a number of factors that will be considered in determining eligibility for RAF payments. These factors include, but are not limited to, settlement, death, remarriage, maturation of children, reemployment, waiver, statute of limitations, and other legally relevant factors.
revised 12/3/08; posted 11/26/08
Acting Chairman Masters reminds parties that all existing arbitration trial policies remain in effect:
| 1. | Parties present and ready for trial shall be given priority over parties either not ready or those requesting pre-trials. |
| 2. | Parties will not be required by arbitrators to submit to pre-trials. |
| 3. | Parties who request a pre-trial will be given an opportunity for a pre-trial after trials have concluded. |
| 4. | All additional rules or requirements of arbitrators, as a condition to obtaining a trial, that are inconsistent with the mandate of Section 16 that procedures be simple and summary, shall be immediately discontinued. |
| 5. | All arbitrators will grant trials pursuant to Section 19(b) of the Act on any case where the petitioner is claiming past or current benefits remain unpaid, regardless of the petitioner's current work status. This includes past or future medical, TTD, and maintenance. For example, if a petitioner has returned to work but TTD or medical remains unpaid, he or she has a right to a trial pursuant to Section 19(b). |
| 6. | All arbitrators at all downstate venues will begin conducting trials on each and every trial date listed on their schedule if requested to do so by the parties. Furthermore, the parties will not be required to wait through each day of the call until they are reached and may return for trial on the date they have chosen. |
| 7. | In December 2004, the Commission changed the continuance cycle from three months to two months, pursuant to Section 7020.60(a) of the Commission rules. Click here to read the memo explaining the switch from three-month to two-month continuance cycles. |
revised 11/24/08; posted 2005
Governor Blagojevich has named Amy J. Masters as Acting Chairman of the IWCC, effective 11/21/08. Chairman Masters first joined the Commission in 2003. She has served as the Secretary of the Commission and Operations Manager for the past two years, and previously served as Chief of Staff and Judicial Manager. Before joining the Commission, she managed public relations for the Chicago Bar Association and the Laborers' International Union-Midwest Region. She holds a B.S. degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University.
The Workers' Compensation Advisory Board recommended the governor appoint Masters as Acting Chairman. Under the 2005 workers’ compensation legislative changes, the bipartisan board now makes recommendations on Commission appointments to the governor. The board is made up of six representatives from the business community and six representatives from the labor community.
Additionally, Bertha E. Parker will serve as Acting Secretary during the time Masters serves as Acting Chairman. Secretary Parker has worked at the Commission since 1978. She most recently managed the Arbitration Support Staff and will continue to oversee that area.
posted 11/21/08
Please remember that everyone entering our Chicago office in the Thompson Center must present a valid photo identification card.
The following IDs are acceptable:
A valid
driver’s license from any U.S. state;
A valid ID card from any U.S. state;
A valid U.S. passport;
Any valid military identification;
Any valid picture ID issued by a government entity within the U.S.;
A valid passport issued by another country;
A valid ID issued by a foreign consulate.
The following IDs are NOT acceptable:
An Illinois
Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card;
Any identification not issued by a government entity;
Any identification without a picture of the subject;
Non-government work identification cards;
Any ID that is expired.
Attorneys, please notify your clients that they must bring valid identification
cards.
posted 9/17/08
In 2009, the Insurance Compliance Division collected $1.3 million in fines from 107 employers found to be operating without workers' compensation insurance.
Since 2006, the Commission has collected nearly $5 million in fines from uninsured employers. All of that money will be used to pay benefits to the injured workers of uninsured employers. To date, the Commission has paid $1.4 million to 29 workers whose uninsured employers failed to pay them. Without the IWBF, these workers would have received nothing.
To help the Commission in quickly identifying eligible beneficiaries of the fund, we have developed a IWBF Request For Benefits and Affidavit form, which all individuals claiming eligibility for payments at the end of this fiscal year should fill out and send to:
ATTN:
Injured Workers' Benefit Fund Claim
Division of Insurance Compliance
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission
100 W. Randolph St. #8-200
Chicago, IL 60601
For more information, go to our Injured Workers' Benefit Fund web page.
revised 2/3/10; posted 6/20/08
We are always trying to improve our website. Here's a list of recent improvements.
| 1. | In 2004, the Commission created a group email news service. Over 1,200 people have signed up. If you would like to receive an email when news items are posted to the website, send your email address to the web manager. Type "IWCC email news" in the subject line. When we receive a request to be added to the list, we send back a confirmation. Some of these replies have come back as undeliverable. Some of the group emails have also been rejected. If you asked to be placed on the list and did not receive a confirmation or a subsequent group email, you may want to check your settings for your email. You may be rejecting our emails as spam. The emails will be sent from susan.piha@illinois.gov. |
| 2. | In 2004, we added the case information web page, which allows users to check the status of cases. Contact information for the attorneys is included, as are the status call dates, hearing location, and accident date. To protect employee and employer privacy, we do not include any personal information and we allow searches only by case number. In June 2008, we added the terms of the settlements and decisions issued for each case. In September, we added information about the part of body injured. In December, we added information about consolidated cases. This page is receiving 75,000 hits each month. We strongly encourage you to use this page: the online information is more readily available to you, and our Information staff will then be free to give time to callers with substantive questions. Because we update our database at night, the case screen is available Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We have added the link on the upper right-hand side of our home page, or you can click here. |
| 3. | Since 2005, users may search online for an employer's w.c. insurance carrier, thanks to information provided by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. There are links in the right- and left-hand columns on our home page, or you may click here. |
| 4. | Since 2005, Chicago trial dates are posted roughly one hour after a Chicago status call ends. The online list is the official list of Chicago trial dates that were assigned at the status call. The arbitrator no longer manually stamps documents at the call. If you wish to reschedule a trial, please contact the arbitrator to whom the case is assigned. Since this change took effect, Commission staff have been instructed to refer callers with questions about trial dates to the website. |
| 5. | You may now fill out and print the pdf forms using the Adobe Reader. |
Please let us know if you have any suggestions for the website. It exists to serve you, so tell us how it can be better.
revised 7/8/09; posted 2005
Which would you guess is higher: the rate of accidental injury at home or at work?
Believe it or not, home is much more dangerous. According to the National Safety Council, 9 out of 10 deaths and 2 out of 3 disabling injuries suffered by workers occurred while off the job.
Source: National Safety Council, Injury Facts, 2005-6 edition, pp. 52-54.
The overall rate of injury in Illinois in 2006 was 63% lower than in 1991. Experts believe that some of the decline is due to improved safety efforts. These programs are great investments, because everyone wins when accidents are prevented.
Frequency of Injury by Type per 100,000 Workers in Illinois |
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| POLICY YEAR |
MEDICAL ONLY |
TTD |
PPD |
PTD |
FATAL |
TOTAL INJURIES |
| 1991 |
6,335 |
1,493 |
1,038 |
4 |
4 |
8,874 |
| 1995 |
4,877 |
1,226 |
675 |
4 |
4 |
6,786 |
2000 |
3,869 |
842 |
689 |
7 |
5 |
5,412 |
2001 |
3,434 |
750 |
654 |
8 |
4 |
4,850 |
2002 |
3,173 |
699 |
636 |
6 |
2 |
4,517 |
2003 |
2,878 |
658 |
607 |
5 |
3 |
4,152 |
2004 |
2,779 |
652 |
594 |
5 |
4 |
4,034 |
2005 |
2,585 |
600 |
541 |
13 |
2 |
3,741 |
2006 |
2,450 |
571 |
528 |
16 |
2 |
3,568 |
Fatal injuries. The transportation and construction industries had the most fatalities; Hispanics, men, and self-employed workers are disproportionately likely to be killed.
Fatal Occupational Injuries in U.S. and Illinois |
||
| YEAR
|
U.S. |
ILLINOIS |
| 1992 |
6,217 |
260 |
| 1995 |
6,275 |
249 |
| 2000 |
5,920
|
206 |
| 2001 |
5,915 |
231 |
2002 |
5,534 |
190 |
2003 |
5,575 |
200 |
| 2004 |
5,764 |
208 |
| 2005 |
5,734 |
194 |
2006 |
5,840 |
207 |
2007 |
5,657 |
182 |
Nonfatal injuries. The overall incidence rate for nonfatal injuries and illnesses is 4.1 per 100 full-time workers, a decline from the prior year. The transportation and manufacturing industries had the most injuries. The most common event was contact with an object or equipment, followed by overexertion; the most common type of injury was a sprain or strain, and the back was the part of the body most injured. Hispanic workers had a disproportionately high number of injuries.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health, "Survey of Nonfatal Workplace Injuries and Illnesses: Illinois, 2007," September 2009. For more information on the BLS/IDPH studies, go to the IDPH website.
revised 2/5/10
As we all know, the Commission is a high-volume operation. Each arbitrator handles roughly 3,000 cases at any time, which makes it essential to make the best possible use of his or her time. also know that opposing parties on a case often do not meet until the day of trial. Valuable trial time is then spent on perfunctory matters, easily-resolved discrepancies, and hallway negotiations.
In response, several years ago the Commission started encouraging groups to hold a "Settlement Day" at the Commission. The idea is to bring the two sides together informally to discuss the case and narrow the issues in dispute.
In a typical Settlement Day, an employer, insurance company, or law firm will invite opposing counsel on 25-100 cases to come to the Commission to see if the issues in dispute can be resolved.
No hearing officers or Commission staff are present at Settlement Day conferences. If the parties reach agreement, an arbitrator is available to review the settlement contracts that day.
Thousands of cases have been resolved through this process, and the Commission encourages groups to try it for themselves.
If you find files that are ready to go and you invite the opposing counsel to a Settlement Day, "your success rate should be over 50%," says Keith Brown, senior claims manager at Wausau Insurance, which has set up over a dozen Settlement Days.
"You can close more cases in a Settlement Day than you would ordinarily close in a day or even a week," he continues. "Everyone's in a frame of mind to settle the claims out. It brings down both parties' caseloads and gets the files out of the system."
For more information, or to schedule a Settlement Day, please contact Nick Velazquez (312/814-6560).
revised 7/22/08
If you are involved in a case in which a court issues an order requiring the Commission to act, please send a copy of the order to Bessie Mims (312/814-6572), and ask the court to return the transcript to us. The courts do not always send us copies of their orders, and cases may fall into limbo if we are not informed. Thanks for your help in keeping the process running smoothly.
Two Appellate Court decisions instruct parties to keep close track of their workers' compensation cases and to follow due diligence in keeping the cases moving.
See Kavonius v. Industrial Commission, 713 NE2d 158, 238 Ill. Dec. 912 (2nd Dist., 1999) and Contreras v. Industrial Commission, 715 NE2d 701, 240 Ill. Dec. 14 (1st Dist., 1999).
In Kavonius, the respondent's appeal of a Commission decision was dismissed because the respondent did not pay for the probable cost of the record and appeal bond in a timely manner, even though a circuit court clerk allegedly returned the documents unfiled.
In Contreras, the respondent's appeal of an arbitrator's decision was dismissed because the court held the respondent did not exercise due diligence in obtaining an authenticated transcript in a timely manner, even though the Commission was late in producing the transcript.
The Appellate Court certified that both cases involve substantial legal questions, which opens the way for the Illinois Supreme Court to consider the cases.
The Commission has taken steps to monitor the production of transcripts more closely. These decisions indicate, however, that parties need to be vigilant about deadlines.
A list of Commission deadlines is available online. The list also appears in the back of the bound copy of the act, which is available at all Commission offices.
The federal Job Accommodation Network (800/526-7234) offers free information regarding workplace accommodations for disabled workers. This service may be particularly helpful to employers that are trying to bring injured workers back to light-duty work.
Given the functional requirements of a job and the individual's limitations, a consultant will provide advice on the appropriate workplace accommodations. Fortunately, most employees can be accommodated at a modest cost. Often, it is cheaper to pay for the accommodations than to continue to pay Temporary Total Disability benefits.