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Articles on Workers Compensation

Interview With Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Chair Michael Brennan By Richard D. Hannigan Workers’ Compensation Law, April 2022 An interview with the chair of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.
Settling Workers’ Compensation Cases With Medicare Set-Asides and the Responsibility for Ongoing Reporting By Joseph K. Guyette Workers’ Compensation Law, April 2022 Settling a workers’ compensation case that includes a Medicare set-aside is a complicated process, often including lengthy contracts. 
What Is Needed to Prove Odd-Lot Permanent Total Disability By Brad L. Badgley Workers’ Compensation Law, April 2022 If an employee’s disability is limited and it is not obvious that the employee is unemployable, the employee may nevertheless demonstrate an entitlement to permanent total disability by proving that he or she fits within the odd-lot category.
Can a General Contractor Defend a Third Party Claim Using the Immunity Afforded an Employer Under Section 5(a) the WCA? By Richard D. Hannigan Workers’ Compensation Law, February 2022 The Illinois Supreme Court has further defined whether a general contractor who pays the premium and deductible of a workers’ compensation insurance policy on behalf of the subcontractor has the same immunity under the Workers’ Compensation Act as the subcontracting employer.
Disputed Trip and Fall on Loose Carpet Strip Trips Up Employer Despite Conflicting Evidence on Premises Defect/Arising Out Of, Injurious Practice, and Employability/Odd Lot Theory By Rick Turner Workers’ Compensation Law, February 2022 In its decision in Mt. Vernon School District No.80 v. IWCC, the appellate court reminded us that “arising out of” in the context of a fall on the employer’s premises is usually a question of fact and the standard of review is manifest weight, as is the question of whether the Commission appropriately found a claimant permanently totally disabled on an “odd lot” theory.
Employer’s Arguments Regarding Notice, Accident, and Causation Fail in Employee’s Repetitive Trauma Claim: Euclid Beverage Ltd. v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n By Candice E. Drew Workers’ Compensation Law, February 2022 A summary and analysis of Euclid Beverage Ltd. v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, in which the claimant alleged that repetitive pushing, pulling, and lifting caused his current condition of ill-being in his left shoulder.
Procedural Fumble Allows for Punt on Important Issue: Clifton Armstead v. National Freight, Inc. By Brittany N. Meeker Workers’ Compensation Law, February 2022 The recent Illinois Supreme Court opinion of Clifton Armstead v. National Freight, Inc. further muddies the waters on whether an employee who enters a settlement agreement under a workers’ compensation claim claiming only one type of injury can later come back and assert a third-party claim for a separate injury from the same occurrence.
The Respondent Has Paid Only Part of or None of the Award or Settlement Contract. What Are the Petitioner’s Options? By Richard D Hannigan Workers’ Compensation Law, February 2022 In Camilla Morse v. Casey’s General Store, the appellate court looks at the petitioner's options when the respondent has paid part or none of the award settlement contract.
The Unwritten Rule of Manifest Weight Cases: Is the Decision Well Supported in Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of Illinois v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n By Howard H. Ankin Workers’ Compensation Law, February 2022 In Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of Illinois v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, a case involving the manifest weight of the evidence and repetitive trauma in spinal injury claims.
Appellate Court Affirms IWCC Permanency Award but Remands for Vocational Rehabilitation Assessment: What Now? By Suzanne Nyhan Workers’ Compensation Law, November 2021 A summary and analysis of CDW Corporation v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n.
A Bench Perspective By Justice William E. Holdridge, Ashley Kidd, Hailey Rehberg Witt, & Steven Winger Workers’ Compensation Law, November 2021 Frequently asked questions about the Workers' Compensation Commission. 
Experts Duel Over Annual Tear in Lumbar Spine as Commission’s Reliance on One Expert Passes Manifest Weight Standard By Derek Dominguez Workers’ Compensation Law, November 2021 In Cassens Transport v. Illinois Worker’s Compensation Comm'n and Raymond Simental, the appellate court found that the Commission’s reliance on a particular expert for its causation finding was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.
International Shoe and Retaliatory Discharge Actions in Illinois: Lusk v. Unckrich Corp., 2021 IL App (5th) 200368 By Tiana Muntner Workers’ Compensation Law, November 2021 Lusk v. Unckrich Corp. sets precedent for analyzing a challenge to personal jurisdiction with an out-of-state defendant employer in the context of retaliatory discharge claims. 
Arising Out of ‘Walk This Way’: Purdy Brothers Trucking, LLC v. IWCC By Jim Babcock Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2021 A summary and analysis of Purdy Brothers Trucking, LLC v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Comm'n.
Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund—Who, What, When, Why, and How? By Matthew J. Rokusek Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2021 An overview of the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund.
The View From the Dais/Bench/Desk/Table By Gerald Napleton & Dennis O’Brien Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2021 Arbitrators and judges often face similar problems, though the methods of resolution are not always the same.
When It Pays to Retire: City Water, Light & Power v. IWCC By Gregory Booth Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2021 A summary and analysis of City Water, Light & Power v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm'n.
Bowen v. IWCC: On the Importance of Language Setting Aside or Confirming a Commission Decision to Avoid Jurisdiction Dismissal By Paul E.H. Rademacher & Joshua A. Humbrecht Workers’ Compensation Law, July 2021 A summary and analysis of Joseph E. Bowen v. IWCC.
PPD v. Wage Differential: When Is an Award Under §8(d)(2) Instead of §8(d)(1) Against the Manifest Weight of the Evidence By Brent R. Eames Workers’ Compensation Law, July 2021 When it comes to assessing permanency, the Illinois Supreme Court has expressed a preference for wage differential awards over scheduled awards.
Claimant’s Burden of Proof in Premise Fall Claims By Herb Franks Workers’ Compensation Law, May 2021 In Vaughan v. IWCC, the appellate court affirmed the denial of a worker’s claim for benefits resulting from a fall in the employer’s parking lot, finding that the claimant failed to satisfy her burden of proving that the injury arose out of employment.
Does Section 21 of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act Exempt the Proceeds of a Workers’ Compensation Settlement? By Deborah Benzing Workers’ Compensation Law, May 2021 The Illinois Supreme Court recently held that under section 21 of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, the proceeds of a workers’ compensation settlement are still exempt from the claims of medical-care providers who treated the illness or injury associated with that settlement.
‘Last Act Necessary’ to Make a Contract of Employment: Timeline of Random Events or Something More? By Markham Jeep Workers’ Compensation Law, May 2021 A summary and analysis of Aureus Medical Group v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
The Manifest Weight Standard on Review: PSSI, Inc. v. IWCC, et al., 2021 IL App (2d) 200463WC-U By Jack Linn Workers’ Compensation Law, May 2021 A summary and analysis of PSSI, Inc. v. IWCC, et al.
Mind the Gap: Maroney’s Rule 23 Caution on Causal Connection By Robert Finley Workers’ Compensation Law, May 2021 In Kevin Maroney v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the appellate court issued and order filed under Supreme Court Rule 23, which provides for precedent in limited circumstances under Rule 23(e)(1).
Appellate Court Affirms Reasoning by Commission That Numerous Doctors With Multiple Medical Opinions Does Not Meet Burden of Proof Required to Compel Payment of Benefits By Timothy O’Gorman Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2021 The appellate court in Agbezouhlon v. IWCC modified in part and affirmed in part a decision of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, which found that claimant was injured on January 29, 2008, and reached maximum medical improvement on June 19, 2008.
1 comment (Most recent April 8, 2021)
Can a Treating Physician Opine That a Claimant Could Not Be Competitively Employed? By Richard D. Hannigan Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2021 Monterey Mushrooms Inc v. IWCC deals with the qualifications of a treating physician to testify regarding vocational issues.
A Contractual Obligation to Pay Workers’ Compensation Benefits Allows a General Contractor to Exercise the Exclusive Remedy Provision By Timothy O’Gorman Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2021 In Munoz v. Bulley & Andrews, the appellate court clarified when a general contractor may exercise the exclusive remedy provision even when the employee of a subcontractor is injured.
The Manifest Weight Standard on Review: American Coal v. IWCC By Jack Linn Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2021 A summary of American Coal v. IWCC, wherein the arbitrator denied benefits because the petitioner could not prove that he suffered from coal workers’ pneumoconiosis.
A Refresher Course in Repetitive Trauma Cases By Richard D. Hannigan Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2021 Greater Peoria Mass Transit District v. IWCC provides us with a blueprint for how to defend and/or prosecute a repetitive trauma claim.
Where a Claimant Who Was the Owner of a Subcontractor Company Excludes Himself From Company’s Workers’ Compensation Coverage, Appellate Court Finds He Is an Employee of the General Contractor and Is Covered Under the Act By Kenneth Lubinski Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2021 In Molasky v. IWCC, the appellate court reversed the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission's finding that there was no employer-employee relationship between the claimant and the general contractor.

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