There is a new Governor in town and he has come out of the gate with one of his first proposals and it is to change the Illinois Worker’s Compensation law.
This is not really surprising because he campaigned as a business friendly guy and his supporters hate the current Work Comp system.
There are no bills introduced with specific language describing the proposal in detail.
However, the outline of the Governor’s proposal involves requiring the major cause of the injury to be work related instead of an aggravation of a pre-existing condition, and making value of the case depend on a doctor’s rating.
The practical impact of these ideas is that it will reduce the number of injury cases that will be accepted and it will dramatically reduce the value of settlements.
These proposals will not effect work injuries that have already happened.
And just because the Governor makes these proposals does not mean it will become law.
The House and Senate must vote on these proposals and pass them into law.
The real question is whether the majority of Democrats in the Illinois Legislature will trade away the interests of injured workers for something they want, such as a tax increase?
The next 6 months or so will reveal whether there will be any Work Comp changes and to what extent.
I will keep you updated.
Questions about your work injury case? Feel free to contact Illinois Workers’ Compensation Attorney Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-872-4371.