A federal judge won’t let Sam’s Club take a lawsuit out of St. Clair County Circuit Court from a delivery driver who fell in the loading dock area of the chain’s O’Fallon store, as the judge didn’t buy Sam’s Club’s contention the driver’s lawyers had “fraudulently” added the store managers as defendants in an apparent tactic to keep the case…
Heat exposure, workplace violence and structural changes to coverage systems are key emerging issues shaping the workers compensation landscape in 2026, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. The report indicates that while familiar policy debates — including mental injury claims, presumption laws, cancer initiatives and worker classification — remain active, regulators and lawmakers…
After tripping and falling on a large mat in a hospital lobby, Caryl Rosen filed a lawsuit claiming the mat’s condition caused her injuries. The hospital preserved video from one camera that showed the fall and shared it with her attorney. However, two other cameras in the area were not saved, and Rosen argued that earlier footage or different angles…
More than 100 Indiana school districts are suing social media developers Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google for designing products that allegedly lead to addictive and harmful behavior by adolescents. The lawsuits are a part of a multidistrict litigation effort that includes more than 2,000 school districts nationwide and accuses the companies of developing social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and…
A state appeals panel has agreed a new trial is not in order for the estate of a woman whose family said asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s talc products caused her fatal ovarian cancer. Colleen Cadigan, as executor of the estate of Betty Driscoll, filed a 16-count lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court in 2018 against Johnson & Johnson,…
Hospitals and other medical providers cannot be held liable for complications that developed while treating a patient for COVID-19 during the pandemic emergency, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In an unanimous opinion written by Justice Christopher Goff, the court held that a trial judge properly dismissed claims brought by the estate of Elmer Waggoner and determined that providers who…
An Illinois appellate court on Thursday revived a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of a municipal water worker who drowned after being sent alone into an underground vault, ruling the claims are not barred by workers compensation exclusivity at the pleading stage. In Heiden v. Village of Westmont, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Third District reversed a…
Prairie Farms would need to pay $241 million to the family of a Missouri courier who allegedly died from carbon dioxide exposure while delivering crates of strawberries packed in dry ice, under a Madison County jury verdict. The jury rendered the verdict in Madison County Circuit Court on Feb. 27 in the case brought against Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. and…
A federal judge has unplugged a class action regarding lithium-ion batteries used in consumer power tools, which allegedly overheated and caught fire. Anthony Desparrois sued Lowe’s Home Centers and Chervon North America, which makes SKIL-brand tools, over allegedly dangerous lawn tools. Desparrois filed the complaint in St. Clair County Circuit Court before Chervon removed it to federal court. In a…
As older workers remain in or reenter the labor force, the workers compensation industry is zeroing in on an area where claims tend to be more severe, medically complex and costly. “Our workers compensation data clearly show that the percentage of the workforce that is older is growing,” said Rich Ives, Hartford, Connecticut-based senior vice president of business insurance claim…
