Illinois lawmakers are considering an emergency temporary regulation that would limit how cumulative trauma workers compensation claims would affect insurance rates and includes language that holds previous employers liable. Introduced Friday, S.B. 1305 states that “(a)ny accidental injury, which results from repetitive or cumulative trauma and occurs within six months after the employee begins his or her employment shall not…
In January, the Workers Compensation Research Institute reported that comp claims with long COVID had higher-than-average medical payments and indemnity payments and longer durations of temporary disability than regular COVID-19 claims. “In particular, we found a nearly 10-fold difference in the average medical payment per claim,” WCRI researcher Bogdan Savych wrote in the report, which analyzed infections between March 2…
A St. Clair County jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Taco Bell in a suit alleging a woman was injured when she slipped and fell on compacted snow and ice outside the O’Fallon restaurant. Jurors reached their verdict on Jan. 24 following a trial in Circuit Judge Heinz Rudolf’s courtroom. Taco Bell was represented by Nicole Winters of…
Hartmann Turf and Tractor is being sued after a customer allegedly suffered severe hand injuries after a brushcutter attachment malfunctioned. Plaintiff Kris Rowe filed a lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against defendants Hartmann Farm Supply of Millstadt, Inc. doing business as Hartmann Turf and Tractor and Echo, Inc., citing negligence. According to the lawsuit, on Aug. 24,…
A district court should not have excluded an expert’s testimony, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in reinstating a case in which a forklift operator’s leg was amputated as a result of an accident. Adelaida Anderson was working as a forklift operator at a FedEx warehouse in Effingham, Illinois, in July 2017, when she hit a bump and fell out…
Illinois lawmakers on Monday introduced workers compensation bills that would affect compensability on cumulative trauma and work travel. H.B. 1543 would determine that an injury arose out of and in the course of employment only if the accident “significantly caused or contributed to both the resulting condition and disability.” The bill doesn’t define “significantly caused,” so it’s not clear how…
Nearly a dozen states as of late January had introduced legislation to expand or enhance workers compensation benefits for employees who suffer mental injuries by presuming they are suffered in the course of work. “The trend will continue,” said Brian Allen, Salt Lake City-based vice president of government affairs, pharmacy solutions, for Mitchell International Inc., a subsidiary of Enlyte Group….
Injuries to body parts that are caused by repetitive motion, frequent exposure to sounds, chemicals or even vibrations are among the most perplexing in the workers compensation sector. Claims arising from cumulative trauma injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and hearing loss, will likely rise given the aging workforce and an overall trend toward litigation, comp experts say. How…
A man has filed a negligence lawsuit against a Belleville property owner, alleging he fell when the outdoor stairs collapsed. Plaintiff Nigel Benton filed a lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Keaton Investment, LLC, citing negligence. According to the lawsuit, on July 19, 2022, Benton was on the premises of a rental property owned by the defendant….
