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Newspaper To Publish Private Medical Records of Injured Workers
January 24, 2012
The BND wins at court hearing and will be able to publish the private medical records of workers seeking workers' compensation benefits.
On Friday, January 20th, a judge in Cook County ruled that the Belleville News Democrat can obtain the private medical records of injured state employees pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. The ruling also allows the newspaper to publish these records. We can see no purpose in publishing this most private information outside of embarrassing regular working people. Unless, the real purpose is to intimidate injured workers and prevent them from filing workers’ compensation claims lest they wake one day to see their medical records on the front page of the newspaper.
This is just another example of the ongoing attack on the rights of public service employees. Like Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana, the rights of law enforcement officers, teachers, and other workers in Illinois are under fire. They perform dangerous and important work, but their right to organize, collectively bargain, receive a pension, and now collect benefits when injured on the job are threatened by direct attacks and subtle bullying. We stand behind these workers who unfortunately were injured at work and who now are being exploited.
James M. Ridge & Associates, P.C.
