The city of Belleville, Illinois, has reportedly spent a significant amount of money on workers’ comp settlements for their employees. Many of the injured employees went back to their jobs the next day after the incident.

The 2017 Illinois Policy Institute reportedly found that state and local government in Illinois spend $1 billion a year on workers’ compensation insurance and provisional income for injured workers. Local governments pay $727 million of that total each year.

Belleville has spent over $2.5 million on comp settlements since 2013, according to records of Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission contracts. So far this year the city has spent $420,000 on claims. The costliest year yet for the city was 2016, when they spent $662,000 settling comp claims. Claims vary in cost and even workers who report mild injuries and may even return to work the next day are receiving significant settlements. A worker who “landed awkwardly existing a firetruck” received a settlement of $39,750 and returned to work the next day. More than a third of workers who received a comp settlement between 2013 and 2018 went back to work the next day, accounting for $360,000 in settlements.

A human resources official for the city said that payouts less than $250,000 are paid directly by the city. Insurance coverage kicks in if a settlement is over that amount.

Workers who suffered serious injuries like “trying to remove a door at a fire” were more likely to receive six-figure settlements, but modest claims like “hauling hose line” or “testing heavy equipment” also got payouts of at least $100,000. Five workers who reportedly suffered from repetitive trauma received between $19,300 and $33,000.

The report from the Policy Institute realizes that workers’ compensation payments are necessary and a good thing, but states that Illinois comp law has not evolved with the times and recommends changes to the state’s workers’ comp system to keep costs in check. Things like limiting maximum-wage replacement to 100 percent of the state’s average weekly wage and tying medical fee schedules to the Medicare reimbursement rate might bring costs down.

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