Plaintiff, a former firefighter, was awarded a line-of-duty disability pension after the Bensenville Pension Fund determined that his employment was a cause or contributing cause of his debilitating cancer. However, the Board denied his application for health insurance premium benefits under section 10 of the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act and plaintiff appealed to the circuit court. The circuit court found in plaintiff’s favor and the Board appealed. On appeal, the Board argued that the plaintiff did not meet the statutory requirements of suffering a catastrophic injury that resulted in his response to what was reasonably believed to be an emergency. The appellate court disagreed and affirmed the trial court, finding that the defendant was required to pay for plaintiff’s health insurance premiums. (PUCINSKI and COGHLAN, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Disability Benefits