A woman is suing a tree trimming service, alleging she was struck by a wood chipper that was attached to the company’s truck. Bailey Watson filed a complaint March 17 in the Madison County Circuit Court against James Hodge doing business as Riverbend Tree Service, alleging vicarious liability. Watson claims in her complaint that on Aug. 22, 2020, Hodge was…
Donna Godair of Granite City can’t sue Metro East Sanitary District over injuries from a fall near the Nameoki ditch behind her home, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on March 17. They affirmed Madison County Circuit Judge Sarah Smith, who granted summary judgment to the sanitary district. “Anywhere there is a moving body of water and steep edges, the risk…
Prescriptions for opioids and compounds continue to decline in workers compensation, but dermatologicals — particularly physician-dispensed drugs — continue to be a cost driver, according to the Workers Compensation Research Institute. Preliminary data from 28 states showed that the payment share of dermatologicals increased from 11% in 2015 to 21% in the first quarter of 2020, while opioids’ payment share…
State regulators have fined Northern Indiana Public Service Co. more than $1 million — the largest in Indiana history — for pipeline safety violations the utility has faced twice in the previous four years. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission ordered the natural gas supplier to pay $1.138 million in civil penalties for violations related to the company’s failure to locate…
An Illinois-based container shipping company faces proposed penalties of $156,038 after an employee suffered a leg amputation and crushed pelvis when he fell off and was then run over by a powered heavy-lift vehicle used to move and stack steel containers at the firm’s Chicago facility. The 30-year-old recent hire suffered the injuries after being allowed to ride unsecured on…
An Illinois appellate court has ruled a woman struck by a foul ball at Wrigley Field can move ahead with a lawsuit she filed against Major League Baseball. In upholding a lower court ruling, the appellate court said the plaintiff was not limited to arbitrating her case with Major League Baseball. It noted the arbitration provision was hidden in fine…
Health care workers’ exposure to COVID-19 most often comes from community spread, not their occupational activities, according to a study conducted by Emory University released Thursday. Researchers from Emory in Atlanta, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Rush University in Chicago and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed the antibodies of more than 24,000…
A woman claims a physician failed to diagnose and treat her bone fracture, allegedly causing her to suffer extensive injuries. Jerilee Morris-Garrison filed a complaint Feb. 23 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Nidal Shawahin, M.D., Fariview Heights Medical Group SC, BJC Medical Group Internal Medicine at Belleville and BJC Medical Group of Illinois, alleging negligence. Morris-Garrison alleges…
The owners of a Boxer Pit Bull breed dog are being sued after a child allegedly suffered an unprovoked attack by the animal a the defendants’ Dupo home. T.C., a minor by and through his father and next friend Keith Campbell, Jr., filed a complaint Feb. 24 in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit for St. Clair County against Cedrik Mendez and…
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories now account for more than a third of all drugs dispensed to injured workers, and just two NSAIDs account for two-thirds of prescription payments in that drug category, according to a report released Wednesday by the California Workers Compensation Institute. Oakland, California-based CWCI analyzed changes in the distribution of workers comp prescriptions and prescription payments in the state…
