Statement by John D. Cooney
President, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
May 5, 2015
Dependence on food stamps and reliance on public health care programs should not be the fate for Illinoisans injured at work. Insurance companies would have the public believe that the state’s workers’ compensation system is too generous toward the interests of injured workers, but in fact, as Illinois lawmakers heard today, it’s all that’s standing between those men and women – many of whom may no longer work due to their injuries – and a life of poverty.
Testimony before the House Committee of the Whole on Tuesday reaffirmed what Illinois trial lawyers have long noted: insurance companies have failed to pass along to Illinois employers the substantial savings associated with lower workers’ compensation costs, and those insurers are spreading misinformation in an attempt to further diminish worker benefits and pad their own profits.
Citizens from Illinois and other states such as Indiana and Oklahoma recounted for the committee the circumstances of their own workplace injuries – brain damage, a debilitating shoulder injury, a severed leg – and their resulting workers’ comp cases. Evident from their testimony is the fact that the Illinois system for compensating and rehabilitating those hurt in serious accidents or suffering from problems caused by repetitive motions and stresses is vastly superior to laws in certain other states that are deliberately designed to scuttle rights and protections for workers. Read More