(Court opinion corrected 5/9/19.) Police Pension Fund Board awarded police officer a nonduty pension benefit and denied his request for line of duty disability pension benefits. VA medical reports indicated that Claimant was rated 80% military service connected disability that included a 50% disability for PTSD; he had been twice deployed to Iraq and engaged in active combat in Marine reserves. Board properly determined that Claimant's testimony lacked credibility. Although Claimant's PTSD diagnosis may be related in part to his police work, his disabling stress was not necessarily triggered or resulted from performance of a specific and identifiable act of police duty involving special risk. Board's decision was not against manifest weight of evidence. (HOWSE and ELLIS, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Disability Benefits