In Barickello v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Illinois Appellate Court did not rule on the merits of the worker’s claim or the employer’s defenses. Instead, it dismissed the employer’s appeal because the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it.  The worker injured his back on the job and later settled his workers’ compensation case. Years after the settlement, he…
An Illinois appellate court recently confirmed that an injured worker can lose temporary total disability (TTD) benefits if they are medically able to return to work within restrictions and refuse a valid light-duty job. The case involved an insulator who injured his lower back at work and later underwent spinal fusion surgery. After surgery, his doctor cleared him to return…
A recent Illinois appellate decision looks closely at when an assault on a traveling employee is covered under workers’ compensation. Although the ruling is nonprecedential, it provides a clear roadmap for how courts analyze street risks, the “aggressor” defense, and causation in cases involving third-party attacks. The Incident Jose Avila worked as a delivery driver for Amazon. On August 1,…
The makers of certain lithium ion power banks have been hit with a class action lawsuit, asserting they are selling dangerous products which can spontaneously ignite or explode, allegedly even under normal use and conditions. The lawsuit was filed against defendants INIU International Corp. and Shenzhen Topstar Industry Corp. on Feb. 3 in Southern Illinois District federal court. INIU is…
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson will get a chance to appeal a Lake County judge’s decision clearing the way for the families of victims of the 2022 Highland Park parade massacre to sue the company over the mass murders, after the Illinois Supreme Court indicated a state appeals court was wrong to deny out of hand the company’s appeal petition, seeking…
A measure that would strengthen enforcement of workers compensation insurance requirements for licensure was filed Thursday in the Illinois House. H.B. 5228 would amend state workers comp law to subject corporations, limited-liability companies and partnerships to civil penalties if they don’t maintain required workers compensation coverage as a condition of licensure by a state agency. Under the bill, entities could…
A unanimous Illinois Supreme Court opinion denied a new medical malpractice trial, which had been sought in part on the grounds a juror hesitated and sighed before assenting to the verdict. The underlying legal dispute pits Robert Schilling against Dr. Kreg Love and his employer, Quincy Medical Group. Schilling’s two-count malpractice claim alleged Love repeatedly diagnosed cellulitis in January 2017,…
Businesses in Illinois hit by blizzards of potentially ruinous lawsuits over alleged harm caused by emissions from their factories or other facilities can’t demand insurers defend them and cover their losses, even when those emissions are expressly permitted by the government and are not legally considered “pollution,” the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled. On Jan. 23, Illinois’ highest state court…
A federal appeals panel has restarted part of a lawsuit from the family of a woman seeking to force lawn equipment maker Toro to pay for the loss of her lower leg in a riding lawnmower accident, which she has argued wouldn’t have happened if Toro had designed the mower with more braking fail safes. In the ruling, the appeals…
“Fast-emerging” large workers compensation claims, or those reaching $1 million or an applicable threshold in incurred losses within roughly two years of injury, now make up a majority of all large claims, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance. “Fast-emerging” claims accounted for 59% of claims exceeding $1 million in 2023, up from 27% in 2003, according to figures…
