Report: Workers’ Comp in Illinois Often Just Needs Doctor’s Note

A newspaper has found that state, municipal or private workers in Illinois have gotten thousands of tax-free dollars in workers’ compensation with largely nothing more than a doctor’s note.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports such cases, many involving wrist or elbow issues, often are resolved without the claimant needing surgery, treatment or even a lawyer.

An Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission database shows that 95 percent of 3,500 private and public workers outside of Chicago who did not hire attorneys got settlements last year without the usually lengthy administrative process.

The database did not include awards by any of the 15 Chicago-based arbitrators.

The commission’s chairman says uncontested claims no longer will be approved before they’re assigned a case number and logged in the agency’s database to allow public review.

Information from: Belleville News-Democrat