The Indiana Department of Insurance says lower workers’ compensation rates paid by businesses will take effect Jan. 1. The agency said Wednesday the recently approved reduction averages 7.6 percent and will save businesses about $63 million. The agency says Indiana workers’ compensation rates have been on a downward trend for several years because of fewer worker injuries. It says growing…
Women in the workplace encounter particular safety risks that need to be addressed, including workplace violence and ill-fitting personal protective equipment, according to safety experts. For example, women in industries such as health care and retail are significantly impacted by workplace violence, according to safety experts participating at the American Society of Safety Professionals’ Women’s Workplace Safety Summit in Rosemont,…
Indiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Stephen W. Robertson recently approved an average 7.6 percent reduction for Workers’ Compensation rates, effective Jan. 1, 2019. The approved rate decrease will result in savings of approximately $62.7 million dollars for Indiana businesses. “The significant savings will help support Indiana businesses as they grow their companies,” said Indiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Stephen W….
Organizations providing workers comp insurance and employee health insurance for more than 200 Illinois local governments have joined the mass of lawsuits against drug makers, distributors and others associated with the spread of so-called opioid painkillers. On Oct. 15, lawyers from the firm of Edelson P.C., of Chicago, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, on behalf of Intergovernmental Risk…
Reform measures and fee schedule changes are resulting in an overall trend of lower medical costs per claim in several states, according to several Workers Compensation Research Institute reports released Thursday. In its 19th year of studying medical costs, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institute released 16 reports, all including a state-by-state comparison of medical costs across 18 states. The reports show…
A report on Illinois’ legal landscape says the state’s lawsuit-friendly policies cost billions of dollars and more than 80,000 jobs every year. Critics say that’s an overstatement. A study conducted by the Illinois Civil Justice League into the cost of tort, or claims of loss or harm, lawsuits and their effect on Illinois’ economy estimates the costs from higher liability…
Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car. The first time he overdosed on the job, in 2013 at a Virginia construction site, a co-worker who is his cousin stealthily injected a dose of Narcan, an opioid antidote, into Sullivan’s leg. He woke…
A woman is suing her former employer and insurer for allegedly terminating her for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Jennifer Harrison filed a complaint on Sept. 17 in the Madison County Circuit Court against The Garden Kingdom Inc. and Erie Insurance, alleging they violated the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. According to the complaint she was injured during the course of…
One of the most common challenges facing employers in Illinois workers’ compensation claims is preventing or minimizing exposure for disability benefits while an employee is recuperating from a work related injury. If the employee has a complete work restriction, temporary total disability (TTD) is owed under 820 ILCS 305/8(b). If the employee has light duty restrictions, the employer can avoid…
The introduction of legislation impacting first responders was named the top trend in workers compensation reforms countrywide by the National Council on Compensation Insurance despite the fact that only a handful of bills have passed to date. Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI tracked 814 state bills in 2018 and found that 103 of them dealt with first responders battling post-traumatic stress…
