3-10-2011; Attorney Kim Presbrey of the Illinois Workers’ Comp Advisory Board lectures about WC reform

Long-time claimant attorney Kim Presbrey is a solid attorney and WC practitioner from the west suburbs of Chicago. As well as being a successful claimant attorney, he is also the head of a medical malpractice insurer.

At a Chicago Bar Association luncheon earlier today, Attorney Presbrey spoke about the current Illinois Senate Bill which is now slated for a possible vote on Thursday and the various issues being debated in Springfield which may significantly affect the workers’ compensation system in Illinois. It was his impression the reduction  of medical costs appears to be the number one goal for representatives of Illinois business to achieve, likely due to the fact that medical fees are by far the largest cost driving most work injury claims.

The other top changes pursued by business are the implementation of AMA guidelines for the rating of injuries, a heightened standard requiring an injury to be the  “primary cause” of a condition and greater weight being given to Utilization Review. On these issues though, he felt it was very unclear which if any of them might survive the ongoing political wrangling.

Interestingly, he noted a similar bill from January solicited only 18 likely  “yes” votes after an informal head-count and therefore, it was never presented for a formal vote. Accordingly, it appears there is not nearly sufficient support for us to expect passage this week.

That said, Mr. Presbrey was careful to point out that the more influential members of the House and Senate on each side of the aisle can mobilize their troops rather quickly. If folks like Mr. Madigan (D) get together with Mr. Brady (R) and they hammer out a compromise, they could  garner the support needed to push a Bill through.

At this time, predictions are futile. We will keep you posted on developments as we hear of them. This article was researched and written by John P. Campbell, Jr., J.D. Please do not hesitate to contact or reply to John at jcampbell@keefe-law.com.