Workers’ Compensation Law

Claimant, an employee of Cook County, filed claims for injuries to right knee occurring in three separate incidents. Commission did not err in finding that Claimant's condition of ill-being resulting from that accident had to be evaluated as of time of arbitration hearing. Workers Compensation Act clearly contemplates a single determination as to permanency of a claimant’s condition as a result of an employment accident. As Claimant suffered multiple injuries to the same body part as a result of successive accidents and those claims were tried together, Commission properly evaluated the totality of the evidence as related to Claimant’s overall condition of ill-being at the time of hearing and entered a single award encompassing full extent of disability. (McCULLOUGH, HUDSON, and HOLDRIDGE, concurring; STEWART, specially concurring.)

Claimant, who was vice-president of sales and marketing, suffered two work-related accidents. Commission erred in allowing IME physician's evidence deposition and report over Claimant's Section 12 objection to untimely disclosure. When Section 12 objection is made, the proponent of medical testimony has burden to prove compliance with Section 12, including showing of good cause for failure to meet time deadlines for disclosure and for taking of evidence deposition. (McCULLOUGH, HUDSON, and HOFFMAN, concurring; HOLDRIDGE, specially concurring.)

(Court opinion corrected 3/11/11.) Accounting clerk employee fractured both wrists when she stumbled and fell on a six-inch dip in an inclined commercial driveway while walking to bank to deposit checks in employer's account. Claimant established that her job duties exposed her to a risk greater than that faced by the general public, as dip in driveway was a street hazard and a job risk to claimant, who was required to use the public way to make bank deposits two or three times per week. Thus, injuries sustained arose out of and in course of her employment, entitling her to worker's compensation benefits. (McCULLOUGH, HUDSON, and STEWART, concurring; HOLDRIDGE, specially concurring.)

Court improperly restricted employer's recovery on a workers' compensation lien against proceeds of settlement obtained by its former employee. Order limited employer's recovery to amount paid by Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund, but barred recovery of amount paid by its workers' compensation carrier before carrier went into liquidation. Entire lien should have been enforced; whether employee was paid workers' compensation benefits by Fund or insurance carrier, employer has statutory right to reimbursement as provided in Section 5(b) of Workers' Compensation Act. (GALLAGHER and LAVIN, concurring.)

Forklift driver was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy, which two examining physicians attributed to a preexisting degenerative condition, but one treating physician opined could have been aggravated or accelerated by his job duties. Commission's finding that condition was job-related was based on credibility and weight determinations, including as to testimony of employee, and was not against manifest weight of evidence. Proper to include overtime earnings in calculation of average weekly wage for TTP and PPD, as employee testified that overtime was mandatory. Collateral source rule is not applicable to the right to recover medical expenses under the pre-amendment version of Section 8(a) of Workers Compensation Act, and employer's obligation under Section 8(a) is limited to the amount actually paid to medical providers for treatment of work-related injury. (McCULLOUGH, HUDSON, and HOLDRIDGE, concurring; STEWART, concurring in part and dissenting in part.)

Circuit court confirmed Workers' Compensation Commission, which awarded claimant flight attendant wage differential benefits per section 8(d)(1) of Workers Compensation Act for a certain amount per week for a stated number of weeks, and another amount per week "continuing for the duration of the disability". Economic disability is not encompassed within the word "disability" as used in Section 8(d)(1). Commission properly refused to allow employer's expert economist to give opinions on claimant's age at time of her expected exit from the workforce as speculative and irrelevant to determination of wage differential beneifts. (HOFFMAN, HUDSON, HOLDRIDGE and STEWART, concurring.)

Construction employee, while en route home from job site, went to the bank to withdraw money for personal reasons. As his deviation from the least circuitous route home was insubstantial, at the time of his acccident he had already made the bank withdrawal and was again en route home, and thus had re-entered the course of his employment at time of injury in car accident. Thus, the injuries employee sustained were arising out of and in the course of his employment. (McCULLOUGH, HUDSON, HOLDRIDGE, and STEWART, concurring.)

Employee filed workers compensation claim for injury she allegedly received in accident while employed. Although arbitrator found that injury was work-related and awarded TTD, the Commission found that employee failed to prove that her right shoulder condition was causally connected to the accident. Court erred in finding that that Commission had authority to remand case to arbitrator for further proceedings as to causal connection, as employee never sought judicial review of Commission's determination, and it thus became the law of the case. (McCULLOUGH, HUDSON, HOLDRIDGE, and STEWART, concurring,)