Subject Index Workers Compensation

Illinois Supreme Court lacks appellate jurisdiction to review trial court’s resolution of an issue under Rule 304(a)

March
2022
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
On Dec. 16, 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court held that it lacked appellate jurisdiction to review a trial court order because the order was not final.

Work-related injuries require no additional evidence to qualify for workers’ compensation

December
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On Sept. 24, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court held that workers’ compensation claims require no additional evidence when the injury arises out of an employment-related risk, even when the injury stems from common bodily movements.

Workers’ Comp, Negligence, and COVID-19

By Hon. Russell W. Hartigan (ret.) & Sarah Norkus
December
2020
Article
, Page 28
Can one recover damages under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act for contracting COVID-19?

Falling Into a Pink Slip

By Daniel C. Katzman
September
2020
Article
, Page 38
The painful reality for at-will employees after a work injury.

Worker’s Compensation Commission updates the explanation of benefits requirements

May
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
The Workers’ Compensation Commission adopted an amendment to the Part titled Miscellaneous, implementing Public Act 100-1117.

Claimant not entitled to penalties for employer’s failure to authorize surgery

April
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On Feb. 4, 2020 the Second District Appellate Court held that sections 16 and 19(l) of the Workers’ Compensation Act do not provide statutory authority for the award of attorney fees and penalties against an employer who unreasonably delayed authorizing surgery for an employee injured on the job.

Workers’ compensation and payer’s explanation of benefits

April
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
An amendment adopted by the Workers’ Compensation Commission implementing Public Act 100-1117 creates requirements for the inclusion of information in a payer’s explanation of benefits.

Kneeling chef’s injury did not “arise out of” job when looking for carrots

August
2019
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
Claimant filed for workers’ compensation benefits for a knee injury he sustained when working as a sous-chef for his employer.

House proposes to cap attorney’s fees for worker’s compensation claims at 15% rather than 20% of recovery

August
2017
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
The Illinois House proposed a bill that would limit attorney's fees that are allowable in a worker's compensation case, but not across the board.

Department of Insurance to require full collateralization for some workers’ compensation policies

March
2017
Illinois Law Update
, Page 28
New regulations by the Illinois Department of Insurance require policyholders with a large deductible to fully collateralize their obligations under the agreement.

Outdated procedures for compliance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act repealed and replaced with new regulations

February
2017
Illinois Law Update
, Page 20
The Workers' Compensation Commission revised their regulations regarding the procedures by which interested persons may inspect or request copies of the Commission's public records to match corresponding changes in the FOIA legislation.

Recovery of attorney’s fees for obtaining recovery against third party in workers’ compensation action includes valuation of future medical payments

February
2017
Illinois Law Update
, Page 20
Plaintiff was seriously injured while working on a construction project for the defendant, Panduit Corporation.

Workers’ Compensation Commission implements new rules to utilize electronic filing database

February
2017
Illinois Law Update
, Page 20
The Workers' Compensation Commission rolled out several amendments to their regulations at the end of November, including the adoption of a new part to implement the use of an electronic database to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Commission.

Ruling under the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act affirmed where claimant’s expert testimony inadmissible under Frye standard

October
2016
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
The Fourth District Appellate Court affirmed an arbitration decision against the claimant who argued on appeal that the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission's review erred in...

Commission’s findings on workers’ compensation claim affirmed where employer merely invited appellate court to reweigh the evidentiary record

February
2016
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
The First District Appellate Court, Workers' Compensation Division, affirmed a workers' compensation claim in favor of the claimant after three years of appeals by the employer.

Exclusive remedy provisions bar action against an employer when mesothelioma manifests after time limits under Workers’ Compensation Act and Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act

January
2016
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
On November 4, 2015, the Illinois Supreme Court held that an employee cannot bring an action against an employer outside the Workers' Compensation Act, 820 ILCS 305/1, or the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act ("WODA"), 820 ILCS 310/1, when the employee's disease first manifests after the expiration of time limitations under those acts ("Acts").

Standardized electronic claims for worker’s compensation

December
2015
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
A new subpart was adopted under Title 50 to carry out section 8.2a of the Worker's Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/8.2a) and implement standardized electronic claims for payment of medical services by employers and insurers.

Electronic filing of workers’ compensation rate and manual documents

January
2015
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
As of October 31, 2014, the Department of Insurance now requires that companies file their workers' compensation documents and rate information electronically through the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing ("SERFF").

Injured workers may have more options for recovering damages

September
2014
Illinois Law Update
, Page 424
The Workers' Compensation Act is amended to alter the circumstances under which an injured employee may seek damages from a service organization associated with the employer, his insurer, or his broker.

The Benefits of Settling Workers’ Compensation and Employment Claims Together

By Mark Wilkinson & Susan Garver
July
2014
Article
, Page 340
Settling workers' compensation and employment-related claims together can benefit both employers and workers, but it takes careful planning to make it work.

The Mailbox Rule and Workers’ Comp: A Better Route for Circuit Court Review

By Brad A. Elward
December
2013
Article
, Page 632
The Illinois Supreme Court recently applied the mailbox rule to filings for circuit-court review of Workers' Compensation Commission rulings. Here's what it means.

Workers’ Comp and Temporary or ‘Borrowed’ Workers

By James P. Looby
August
2013
Article
, Page 426
With more employers turning to staffing agencies, determining who the real employer is and isn't - and thus whom the worker might be able to sue in civil court - is trickier than ever.

Court applies traveling employee exception to workers’ compensation claim

February
2013
Illinois Law Update
, Page 72
On December 6, 2012, the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, held that a contractor could reasonably foresee that an employee would stay at a motel close to a job site when their home was 200 miles away, and thus the employee's injury while traveling from the motel to the worksite arose in the course of his employment for workers' comp purposes.

Borrowing employer’s insurer not liable to Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund

December
2012
Illinois Law Update
, Page 632
On October 12, 2012, the first district appellate court held that a borrowing employer's workers' compensation insurer had no obligation to repay the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund ("Fund") for disbursements the Fund made to an injured employee when the lending employer's workers' compensation insurer became insolvent.

Definition of “service organization” includes safety inspectors

August
2012
Illinois Law Update
, Page 404
On May 18, 2012, the first district of the Illinois Appellate Court clarified the meaning of a "service organization" as defined in section 5(a) of the Workers' Compensation Act's ("Act") exclusive remedy provision (820 ILCS 305/5(a)).

No mailbox rule under § 19(f)(1) of the Workers’ Compensation Act

May
2012
Illinois Law Update
, Page 240
The mailbox rule does not apply when determining whether the 20-day requirement for commencing an action under section 19(f)(1) of the Workers' Compensation Act is met.

Employer may not offset workers’ compensation award with credit

April
2012
Illinois Law Update
, Page 184
An employer may not offset a benefits award with an excess credit under § 19(g) of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, according to a February 2, 2012 Illinois Appellate Court ruling.

Unregistered employee leasing company retains protection of exclusive remedy provision of Workers’ Compensation Act

January
2012
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
An injured employee cannot recover additional tort damages beyond the exclusive remedy of the Workers' Compensation Act merely because the defendant employee leasing company failed to comply with the registration requirement of the Employee Leasing Company Act, according to the fifth district appellate court.

Retaliatory-discharge claim against town not time-barred by Tort Immunity Act

October
2011
Illinois Law Update
, Page 496
On July 22, 2011, the 4th District Appellate Court reversed the lower court's decision granting the Town of Normal's motion to dismiss plaintiff Mary Collins' retaliatory-discharge claim. Since Collins' claim was brought under the Workers' Compensation Act, there is an exception to the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Tort Immunity Act), and her claim is not time-barred by the one-year statute of limitations in section 8-101(a).

The 2011 Rewrite of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act

By Richard D. Hannigan
August
2011
Article
, Page 400
Make no mistake, this is not the workers' comp act you knew two months ago. This article highlights key changes.

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