Workers’ Compensation Law

Claimant appealed from an order of the circuit court confirming the decision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission on all issues except for section 19(k) penalties and section 16 attorney fees. The employer cross-appealed, arguing that the commission’s awards of penalties and attorneys fees, permanent and total disability benefits, temporary total disability benefits and maintenance, and medical expenses were against the manifest weight of the evidence. The appellate court affirmed the decision of the circuit court in setting aside the commission’s award of section 19(k) penalties and section 16 attorneys fees, affirmed the circuit court’s order confirming the commission’s award of section 19(l) penalties and affirmed all other aspects of the circuit court’s confirming decision. (HOLDRIDGE, ROCHFORD, MULLEN, and CAVANAGH, concurring)

Plaintiff filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of decedent, who died while working for the defendant village. The trial court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss based on the exclusivity provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act and plaintiff appealed. The appellate court reversed and remanded, finding that the allegations contained within the complaint contained sufficient inferences of intentional conduct that the defendant knew would lead to injury, placing the lawsuit outside of the exclusivity provisions of the Act. The appellate court also rejected defendant’s argument that it was immune under the Tort Immunity Act. (BERTANI, concurring and HETTEL, dissenting)

Employer appealed from an order of the circuit court confirming the decision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission that awarded claimant benefits under section 8(d)(2) of the Workers’ Compensation Act and that denied the employer credit for payments previously made under a different subsection. On appeal, the employer argued that the concurrent awards were erroneous as a matter of law and that the Commission’s denial of a credit for previously paid benefits constituted legal error. The appellate court affirmed the portion of the order confirming the Commission’s award and reversed the portion that denied credit to the employer for prior payments. (ROCHFORD and CAVANAGH, concurring and MULLEN and HOLDRIDGE, specially concurring)