The law went into effect immediately.

The new law was passed in response to a recent appellate court decision. In Brenda Mockbee v. Humphrey Manlift Co. Inc., the First District Appellate Court ruled that a worker who was left paraplegic after a work accident could not file a lawsuit against safety consultants who were hired by her employer, Quaker Oats.

The new law allows injured workers like Mockbee to file a civil lawsuit against a negligent third-party maintenance company hired by an employer. Independent maintenance organizations that provide independent services to an employer are thus subject to liability in court, while a service company that is wholly owned by the employer or wholly owned by the employer’s broker or insurer are still protected from civil lawsuits under the exclusive remedy provisions.

The new law “reaffirmed 45 years of legal precedent,” according to Stephen D. Phillips, president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. The law does not increase workers’ compensation benefits paid by the employer.

Bob Briskman is a workers compensation lawyer in Chicago and work injury attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

The statement said that the Chamber’s report misrepresents facts and is part of a campaign to “dismantle” the workers’ compensation system.

The report criticized specific judges for court decisions that resulted in higher payments to injured workers. The Chamber alleged that these decisions hurt the state’s economy and limited some of the benefits expected by recent reform of the workers’ compensation system. The Chamber also blamed Illinois’ high workers’ compensation insurance premium on the judicial decisions cited in the report.

The AFL-CIO and ITLA pointed out that the cases the Chamber criticized predate the current reforms, and that the reforms have reduced insurance rates by more than $315 million per year, or 14.1 percent. Their statement also suggested that if employers are not saving on insurance, then the insurance companies must be keeping the profits.

The statement also said that the Chamber’s report amounted to “cherry picking,” as the cases criticized in the report represent less than one percent of workers’ comp cases disposed of by the Appellate and Supreme courts.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago workers compensation attorney and work injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.