Workers’ Compensation Law

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,)

Claimant alleged she suffered work-related injury in 1999 due to "anxiety/mental illness caused by conflicts", and was terminated several months later. In 2003, she filed second claim, alleging she suffered back injury in 2000 while preparing to travel home from IME for her 1999 claim. Court properly set aside Commission's decision finding back injury compensable, as no employer-employee relationship existed at time of 2000 incident. Employer has a statutory right to have employee requesting workers compensation benefits undergo an IME, but attendance at the IME is not a condition of employment. (McCULLOUGH, HOFFMAN, HOLDRIDGE, and STEWART, concurring.)

(Court opinion corrected 8/27/10.) Claimant was injured while training at police academy to become a police officer for City of Chicago. Under Workers' Compensation Act, the term "employee" excludes any duly appointed member of a police department in any city of greater than 200,000 population. Trainee was not a "duly appointed member" of City's police department, and therefore is not precluded from receiving benefits under the Act. Legislature intended statutory exclusion in the Act to apply to persons who have been formally admitted to the responsibilities and privileges of the Chicago police department. Although evidence indicated that police recruits were treated like sworn police officers as to their eligibility for benefits under Police Pension Fund, recruits and sworn officers are not on equal footing at the department; recruits do not have full police powers until police academy training is completed and they are sworn in, and recruits are not exposed to the same risks as sworn officers on duty. (McCULLOUGH and DONOVAN, concurring; ROBERT E. GORDON, specially concurring.)

Workers Compensation Act does not authorize an employer to demand income tax records from an employee receiving PTD benefits or require an employee to produce such records; Act does not provide for a formal pretrial discovery process. Employer did not seek Section 12 medical exam, to evaluate any possible change in disability status, and employer did not present witnesses to testify about employee's capacity to work. (McCULLOUGH, HOFFMAN, HUDSON, and HOLDRIDGE, concurring.)

Physician was found in direct civil contempt by circuit court for disobeying subpoena issued by Workers' Compensation Commission for records of employee claimant. No basis in law for court to order plaintiff employer to pay 15 cents per page, or any amount, for the photocopied medical records, as subpoena issued by Commission requires that physician bring records to hearing, and does not require copying and mailing of records. Court properly denied plaintiff employer's request for costs, attorney's fees, and fine, as no evidence of contumacious behavior toward circuit court. Refusal to honor subpoena issued by Commission is not contumacious behavior toward circuit court. (STEIGMANN, concurring; MYERSCOUGH, dissenting.)