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Several states have taken steps toward letting injured workers choose their own doctors, a trend experts say can affect costs and outcomes as a key element of medical control shifts away from employers and insurers. H.B. 1069, introduced Dec. 5 in Indiana, would amend state law to require employers after June 30, 2026, to pay for an “attending physician” selected…

Illinois lawmakers have introduced legislation that would expand workers compensation presumptions to cover hospital security guards who develop certain illnesses or medical conditions linked to their jobs. H.B. 4226, introduced Thursday, would amend the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act to add hospital security guards to the list of public-facing safety workers eligible for rebuttable presumptions of compensability. The bill builds on…

Indiana lawmakers are considering legislation that would give injured workers the right to choose their treating physician in workers compensation and occupational disease claims. H.B. 1069, introduced Friday, would amend Indiana law to require employers to pay for an “attending physician” selected by the employee after June 30, 2026, regardless of when the underlying injury or occupational disease occurred. Under…

Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers compensation litigation over the virus continues to move through jurisdictions. Courts are actively revisiting questions of causation, rebuttals of statutory presumptions — many of which have expired — long-COVID determinations, disability and the broader boundaries of occupational disease law. Decisions issued in 2024 and 2025 continue to reshape the system,…

A bipartisan bill newly introduced in Congress aims to “modernize” the federal workers compensation system by allowing physician assistants and nurse practitioners to diagnose, certify and oversee treatment for federal employees injured on the job. The proposal, titled the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act and introduced Tuesday on the Senate floor, would amend the Federal…

An Illinois Appellate Court upheld a lower court's decision, rejecting a Berwyn police officer's challenge to the commencement date and amount of his disability benefits. The officer, Michael Vokac, was injured in March 2020 and had been receiving benefits under the Public Employee Disability Act, but disputed when his pension benefits should have started and how much they should be.…