A study of workplace injuries in 27 states, including Missouri and Illinois, shows rural workers injured on the job received prescriptions for opioid pain relievers 68% percent of the time, while their urban counterparts got them 44% of the time. The study was conducted by the Workers Compensation Research Institute, an independent group that does research for insurance companies, employers…
A complaint accuses a Chicago nursing home over the choking death of a female patient with dementia. Patricia Wesley, as independent administrator of the estate of Alberta Townsend, filed a complaint on March 22 in Cook County Circuit Court against The Villa at Windsor Park, Villa Financial Services LLC, and others. According to the complaint, Townsend was a resident at…
After House and Senate Democrats sent SB 1596 to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce is petitioning the governor to veto the Workers’ Compensation reform bill. The chamber’s recent letter to Pritzker outlines a handful of potential adverse effects on small businesses and invokes Pritzker’s campaign promise to involve employers in any reform process. “We urge you…
A 17-year-old who was found to be more than 50 percent at fault for the injuries he sustained from running in front of a moving train was unable to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that he had no warning the locomotive was coming down the tracks. Ja’Lin Williams and two of his friends took off running from Whihala…
Fourteen Illinois State Police officers or their vehicles have been struck in roadside crashes this year. That’s double last year’s total of eight. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Police on Monday urged motorists to observe the “Mover Over Law ” when approaching vehicles on the side of the road. The law requires motorists approaching vehicles along the roadside…
Though e-cigarettes are being marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco smoking, design flaws in the products can cause severe injuries or even kill their users, an attorney representing several plaintiffs in personal-injury cases said. E-cigarettes and vaping devices often contain substandard lithium-ion batteries rejected by major battery manufacturers, attorney Chris Stoy, a partner in the Fort Worth law firm…
Several House Republicans have voiced their opposition to a recently passed bill that amends the state’s Worker’s Compensation Act. Senate Bill 1596 passed the House on March 14 after receiving 70 Yes votes and 40 No votes. The bill had previously passed in the Senate on March 6 with 41 Yes votes and 16 No votes. It was sponsored in…
A circuit court referred a case for consideration to the Illinois Supreme Court to decide if a workers compensation settlement can be exempt in a bankruptcy proceeding. In Re Elena Hernandez, three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago certified the question on Monday of whether the Illinois Workers Compensation Act can exempt the proceeds of…
The Indiana Court of Appeals granted summary judgment in favor of the city of Indianapolis and Indy Parks and Recreation department after determining that the city was not liable for injuries sustained by a mountain biker as he was riding on a city-owned trail. In July 2011, Richard Kaler and his girlfriend were riding a mountain bike trail at Town…
Mediation programs in two states are bringing together opioid-addicted workers and workers compensation insurers to create plans to get these workers off drugs. In February, the New Hampshire Department of Labor launched the Opioid Pilot Mediation Program, which will provide an opportunity for insurers and opioid-dependent workers whose cases have been settled in the workers comp system to come together…
