New
MS-DRG hospital inpatient fee schedule is online
The
new hospital inpatient fee schedule is now online. Medicare
changed its inpatient coding from the DRG (Diagnosis Related Group) to
the MS-DRG (Medical Severity-Diagnosis Related Group) system, and the
Commission has adapted to the change.
As provided in our rules, as of June 30, 2009, the inpatient
fee schedule is in accordance with the MS-DRG codes. To allow some transition
time, the Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Advisory Board and the
Commission ask providers and payers to cooperate and follow a July 31,
2009 effective date.
For prior dates of treatment, the inpatient fee schedule
uses DRGs. Providers and payers should work to translate these bills using
the CMS crosswalk, Grouper Version 24.0.
revised
7/1/09; posted 6/19/09
Insurance
agent convicted on wc fraud
Reuben
Collier, Jr., of Collier Insurance Agency in Waukegan, has pled guilty
to three felony charges of theft, forgery, and workers’ compensation
fraud. He collected money from 22 north suburban businesses for workers’
compensation insurance, issued false certificates of insurance, never
secured coverage, and pocketed the $400,000. For more information, click
here.
To date,
the Illinois Department of Insurance Fraud Unit has referred cases that
led to seven convictions of claimants, and now one conviction against
an insurance agent. New indictments continue to come in. Congratulations
to the IDOI.
To report
a possible case of fraud, contact Francis
"Buzz" Walsh in the Workers' Compensation Investigative
Unit at the Illinois Department of Insurance (francis.walsh@illinois.gov;
toll-free 877/923-8648; 320 W. Washington, Springfield, IL 62786).
posted
6/26/09
Commission
closed July 3
The
Commission will be closed on Friday, July 3, in honor of Independence
Day.
posted
6/26/09
Is
your client entitled to RAF benefits?
Each
spring, the Commission sends letters to all petitioners we could identify
who appear to be eligible as of the upcoming July 15 for cost-of-living
benefits from the Rate Adjustment Fund. This year, we sent letters to
the petitioners as well as the petitioner and respondent attorneys on
each case, but, as in prior years, we received responses on only about
half of the cases.
Petitioners who are either permanently and totally disabled (PTD) or the
survivors of fatally-injured workers may be eligible for cost-of-living
benefits beginning on the second July 15th after a final decision. For
more information, please click here.
We are now sending follow-up letters, but we need your help. Attorneys,
if your client has moved and you have a current address, please get in
touch with him or her. Please help us spread the word.
posted 6/19/09
File
Room will close July 6-7 from 12-5 pm
To reorganize
the case files on the shelves, the File Room will be closed from 12-5
pm on July 6 and 7. These days were chosen because there are no status
calls. Please plan accordingly.
posted 6/19/09
Springfield
office has moved;
Hearing sites have changed
On June
1, 2009, the Springfield office moved to the Springfield Regional Office
Building, 4500 S. Sixth St. Frontage Road, Springfield, IL 62703-5118.
Telephone numbers stay the same.
Please
note that the arbitrators who work out of the Springfield office--Arbitrators
White, Neal and Mathis--now have a new address, too. Please send
mail to the new address.
In June
- August, Springfield arbitration status calls will be held at the Illinois
Department of Transportation auditorium at 2300 S. Dirksen Parkway. Please
be aware you will need to sign in and show a photo ID. Take the
escalator to the basement auditorium.
In June,
Springfield arbitration trials will be held in the IDOT Traffic Safety
Annex Building, 3215 Executive Park Dr. This building is located south
of the main IDOT building on Dirksen Parkway, first left turn. Enter the
building on the west side. Sign in with the security guard and show a
photo ID. Take the elevator to the 4th floor. Go down the long hallway
to the first door on the left. There will be a sign posted on an easel
outside the door.
Springfield
oral arguments will be held at the new Springfield office. A security
guard at the front of the building will direct parties to the hearing
space.
revised
6/24/09; posted 5/21/09
Change
in processing arbitration decisions
changes Case Information screen
In our
ongoing efforts to remove cases from the call as quickly as possible,
we have made a change in the way arbitration decisions are processed.
If you are waiting for an arbitration decision and check the Case Information
web page, you may want to be aware of this.
If you see “DECSION PNDG” in the "status" field,
and you see some information, such as arbitrator name or document date,
but no document terms, that means the decision is about to be mailed out
(Decision Pending).
During the mailing process, the case will be taken off the call, and some
information will be automatically loaded into the computer, which reduces
the input required of the typist. The decision terms will be filled in
after the decision is mailed and the file reaches the Data Entry operator,
and subsequently posted online.
posted
6/15/09
Employer
closed down for failure to obtain WC insurance
For the
first time, an Illinois business has been shut down for failure to obtain
workers’ compensation insurance. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation
Commission and the City of Evanston shut down All Good Dogs Pet Care,
also known as The Hungry Pup, an Evanston storefront at
941 Chicago Avenue, with dog-walkers in six suburbs.
Four
individuals have filed workers’ compensation claims against the
company. Two individuals have been found eligible for workers’ compensation,
but the employer has not paid any benefits.
“We
gave the employer every opportunity to comply with the law,” said
Jan Eisbart, manager of the IWCC Insurance Compliance Division. “All
they had to do was get insurance and they have not complied. They did
not respond to our letters or even appear at the hearing. They forced
our hand.”
Eisbart
takes this occasion to remind all employers of their obligation to purchase
workers’ compensation insurance. Employers may be fined up to $500
for each day without insurance, with a minimum fine of $10,000. Corporate
officers may be held personally liable and/or sent to prison.
In 2005,
the legislature strengthened the law by giving the Commission the authority
to issue a work-stop order on an employer that has been found to knowingly
fail to carry insurance.
Anyone
may check an employer’s insurance
coverage on the IWCC website, email
the Commission, or call toll-free 866/352-3033.
PS:
The owner did purchase insurance and reopened the business.
revised
6/19/09; posted 6/3/09
Illinois Attorney General
files objection to Chrysler sale
Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed an objection in federal bankruptcy
court to the terms of Chrysler's pending sale to Fiat, on behalf of the
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission and the Illinois Self-Insurers
Advisory Board. Chrysler is self-insured for workers' compensation in
Illinois.
Under
the current terms of the sale, neither Chrysler nor Fiat would be responsible
for the payment of workers' compensation benefits, leaving the Illinois
Self-Insurers Security Fund to pay should the security posted by Chrysler
be insufficient.
Attorneys
General in Michigan and Ohio have also filed objections. The IWCC has
been monitoring the Chrysler situation, conferring with workers' compensation
administrators in several other states.
"The
Commission and Board do not oppose the proposed sale of Debtors' assets
to the potential buyer," the objection states. "However, the
Commission and Board oppose any sale that does not provide full compensation
for the Debtors' injured Illinois workers." To read the objection,
click here.
posted
5/21/09
PPD maximum rate corrected
Due to
a clerical error, the maximum PPD rate for 7/1/08 - 6/30/09 that was posted
in January 2009 was wrong. Please note the correct rate is $664.72. We
apologize for the inconvenience.
posted
3/11/09
Fee
schedule publicity:
Help us spread the word
In March,
the IWCC collaborated with the Chicago Dental Society
and the Illinois State Dental Society to inform
dentists of the wc medical fee schedule. Because dentists may not deal
with workers' compensation injuries often, some are only learning of the
fee schedule now.
We are
always looking for opportunities to communicate with interested parties.
If you aware of people or areas in need of information about the fee schedule,
please let us know.
We welcome your suggestions for continued outreach.
posted
3/11/09
Mt.
Vernon arbitration hearing site moved
Effective
April 2009, the Mt. Vernon arbitration hearing site will move to the Holiday
Inn, 222 Potomac Boulevard. This is a permanent change. To accommodate
the new location, Arbitrator Teague's calendar
had to change. New hearing dates are November 5 & 6, and December
9 & 10.
posted
3/3/09
New
fee schedules posted
The
new fee schedules, effective February 1, 2009, have been posted on our
fee schedule
web page.
The
Commission created new fee schedules for the following areas:
1) ambulatory
surgical treatment centers;
2) hospital outpatient radiology, pathology and laboratory, physical medicine
and rehabilitation services, and surgical services; and
3) rehabilitation hospitals.
Note
that there are now one set of rules for treatment
before 2/1/09 and another set of rules
for treatment on or after 2/1/09. Similarly, there are Instructions
and Guidelines for treatment before 2/1/09 and Instructions
and Guidelines for treatment on or after 2/1/09.
The IWCC
will convert the hospital inpatient fee schedule from the DRG coding system
to the MS-DRG coding system no later than June 30, 2009. We will announce
when that work is complete. If you'd like to be added to the email news
list, to be apprised of developments, click
here.
Note:
On 1/1/09, the cost-of-living increase took effect. The 2/1/09 rules
created the three new fee schedules listed above and did not affect the
fees in other portions of the fee schedule.
revised
2/23/09; posted 2/2/09
Please
help us remove settled cases from the call
Because
it is important to all of us that the IWCC database is as accurate as
possible, we are asking for your help in removing settled cases from the
call. Simply informing the arbitrator a case is settled is not sufficient.
If your case was settled but still appears on the call after three months,
please email or mail a
copy of the contract to James Gentry, Central Files Supervisor, in our
Chicago office.
In those rare instances where you cannot locate the contract, please complete
the "Order Removing Settled Case from the Call" (IC34s)
form, and obtain the arbitrator's approval. You do not have to complete
this form if you provide a copy of the contract.
posted
12/19/08
Notice:
Beneficiaries of PTD and fatal workers' compensation benefits
also eligible for cost-of-living adjustments
The Illinois
Workers' Compensation Commission is searching for lost beneficiaries to
its Rate Adjustment Fund (RAF).
In the
1970s, the legislature created the Rate Adjustment Fund to pay cost-of-living
adjustments to individuals who have been found to be either permanently
and totally disabled (PTD) or the survivors of fatally-injured workers.
The IWCC collects assessments from employers, and then pays cost-of-living
adjustments to beneficiaries.
Individuals
who currently receive a workers’ compensation check for PTD or fatality
from an employer or insurance company are also eligible to receive a separate
check from the State of Illinois for this cost-of-living adjustment.
IWCC
staff notified the Auditor General and Comptroller’s Office that the IWCC
may not be paying cost-of-living adjustments to all eligible beneficiaries.
The situation appears to have existed throughout the past 30 years.
Most
of the situation appears to have occurred in the late 1980s and early
1990s, when the fund experienced chronic funding shortages. The legislature
increased the employer assessment several times and authorized loans from
other state funds, but during that time people may not have been paid
a cost-of-living adjustment. Throughout the years, some people did not
respond to RAF notices, or failed to inform the IWCC of address changes,
which contributed to the challenge of locating potentially eligible recipients.
As directed
by the Governor’s Office, the IWCC obtained outside legal counsel and
conducted a joint investigation with the Office of Internal Audit. In
response, the IWCC has implemented the following controls:
| • |
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: arbitration policies are still in effect
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
Amy
J. Masters named Acting Chairman;
Bertha E. Parker named Acting Secretary
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
Photo
IDs needed to enter Thompson Center
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
Change
of address form issued
The Commission
has created a form with which attorneys may notify the IWCC of a change
of address. If you do change your address, please submit one IC26
form for each case and be sure to include your attorney code number.
posted
9/15/08
Injured Workers' Benefit
Fund collects record amount of fines
In FY08,
the Insurance Compliance Division collected a record number of fines:
66 employers with nearly 900 workers were found to be operating without
insurance and paid $1.8 million in fines. Since January 1, 2006, the Commission
has collected over $3 million in fines. All of that money will be used
to pay benefits to victims of uninsured employers. To understand the eligibility
requirements, go to our Injured
Workers' Benefit Fund web page.
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
revised
7/17/08; posted 6/20/08
New
decision forms issued
The
Commission has changed our decision forms to help us to quickly identify
cases likely to be eligible for Injured Workers' Benefit Fund payments
as well as cases where either Second Injury Fund or Rate Adjustment Fund
benefits are due. The new decision forms, posted on our forms
web page, have a box for arbitrators to mark whether benefits are
owed from any of the three Commission-paid funds.
We have
also changed the interest rate paragraph to reflect the fact that the
interest rate is written on the cover page (the "Notice of Decision
of Arbitrator") and does not need to be written again on the decision
itself.
Finally,
on the fatality decision forms, we added drop-down boxes to allow parties
to select the appropriate benefit level.
The
new forms are mandatory for all cases tried after July 1. The new forms
are available in the fill-in-the-blank versions of Word. If you create
your own forms, please make these adjustments.
Note:
The Word forms may be modified to suit your printer specifications and
the particulars of your case. Go to Tools/Unprotect Document; type in
the password (iwcc (lower case)) and you can change the entire document.
If you are having problems, check the settings on File/Page Setup. If
the box is checked for a custom paper size, unclick it. You want a letter-size
document with a 1" top margin and .5" other margins.
revised
1/27/09; posted 6/20/08
New
features added to IWCC website
We are
continually trying to improve our website. Here's a list of recent
improvements.
| 1. |
The
Commission has 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. |
Users may now
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. |
| 3. |
The case
information web page 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. |
| 4. |
Chicago
trial dates are now 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 in February 2005, 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 12/19/08; posted 2005
Mail
call!
Each year, the Commission
receives hundreds of thousands of pieces of mail. We have only two Mailroom
employees to open, date-stamp, sort, and deliver them. Please help us
with this task by taking the following steps:
When filing a new
claim, you must send three copies of the IC1 claim form. If you enclose
a fourth copy and a self-addressed, stamped envelope, we will automatically
send you a date-stamped copy. (You don't need to send a letter.)
Please put the SASE in front of the documents.
Please submit only
one copy of the Attorney Representation Agreement for each case. If you
provide the Proof of Service on a separate page, you need provide only
one copy, as well.
If you are sending
a lot of papers, please send them flat, not folded, in one large manila
envelope. Clip documents for each case separately. Make sure all the documents
face the same way. And don't fold each page separately! These steps will
save a lot of time in opening and unfolding the mail.
If you intend to send
a document to a specific person, write his or her name on the envelope.
Or write the section--Information, Docket, etc.
Mail accident reports
to 701 S. 2nd St., Springfield, IL 62701. Please don't ask us to return
date-stamped copies of accident
reports. If you submit a lot of reports, please send them through
a paperless method. (About half of accident reports now come in electronically.)
That will save us a great deal of data entry work as well as mail processing
time. For details, please contact Bennie
Horton, Jr. (312/814-6518).
Remember, the quicker
our Mailroom staff can process the incoming mail, the quicker they can
take care of the outgoing mail, which may contain something you need.
Your cooperation will help us serve you better.
Think "Safety First" at work and at home
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 two-thirds of disabling injuries suffered
by workers occurred while off the job.
Source: National
Safety Council, Injury Facts, 2005-6 edition, pp. 52-54.
Injury report
The overall rate of
injury in Illinois in 2005 was 58% 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
|
| 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 |
Source: National Council on Compensation Insurance, Annual Statistical
Bulletin, 1993-2008 editions, Exhibit XII, "First Report"
data. Fatal and PPD data are derived from a small number of cases
and should be viewed with caution. TTD = Temporary Total Disability; PPD
= Permanent Partial Disability; PTD = Permanent Total Disability. This
is the most recent data published.
Fatal
injuries. Transportation incidents continue to be the most
common fatal events; 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 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Illinois Department of Public
Health, "Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries," various years.
Some figures were revised after the initial publication of data. Note
that the figure for the U.S. for 2001 excludes the 2,886 fatalities related
to the 9/11/01 attack. Because BLS counts a death in the state where
it occurred, the Illinois figure for 2001 was not affected by the attack.
Nonfatal
injuries. The overall incidence rate for
nonfatal injuries and illnesses is 4.3 per 100 full-time workers.
Men represented two-thirds of the nonfatal cases. The most common event
is contact with an object or equipment, followed by overexertion; the
most common type of injury is a sprain or strain, and the trunk is the
part of the body most injured.
Source:
Illinois Department of Public Health, "Survey of Nonfatal Workplace Injuries
and Illnesses: Illinois, 2006," March 2009. For more information on the
BLS/IDPH studies, go to the IDPH
website.
revised
6/18/09
Commission encourages more Settlement Days
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.
We 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 Rebecca
Marble (312/814-6560).
revised
7/22/08
Send court orders to Commission
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.
Remember IWCC deadlines
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.
Need help bringing a worker back to light duty?
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.
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