Pedersen v. Village of Hoffman Estates

Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Disability Benefits
Citation
Case Number: 
2014 IL App (1st) 123402
Decision Date: 
Monday, March 31, 2014
District: 
1st Dist.
Division/County: 
Cook Co., 6th Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Justice: 
REYES
(Court opinion corrected 4/7/14.) Plaintiff suffered hearing loss injury in line of duty as firefighter; Village denied his request for continuing health coverage benefits under Section 10 of Public Safety Employee Benefits Act. As the Act does not provide guidance on proper procedure for seeking Section 10 benefits, a home rule unit may employ administrative procedure for assessing claims without acting in a manner inconsistent with requirements of the Act. Plaintiff suffered catastrophic injury in line of duty, shortly after fire on tollway had been extinguished and while fire truck was positioned to protect workers from traffic, when coworker accidentally activated siren. Thus, injury occurred within scope of response reasonably believed to be an emergency under the Act, and he is entitled to Section 10 benefits. (ROCHFORD and LAMPKIN, concurring.)