Businesses are urging U.S. lawmakers to shield companies from what they fear could be a flood of lawsuits by workers and consumers blaming employers for exposing them to the new coronavirus. But so far, court records show few such cases have been filed and some legal experts say the threat of liability is exaggerated because of the difficulty of proving…
Some employees diagnosed with COVID-19 will automatically qualify for worker’s comp, regardless of how they contracted the virus. UPDATE: On April 23, a judge in Sangamon County, Illinois issued a Temporary Restraining Order blocking the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Emergency Rule from going into effect. On April 27, the Commission filed notice that it will formally withdraw the emergency rule that…
The Illinois attorney general’s office has filed a lawsuit against a developer and two contractors for the release of contaminants during the implosion of a smokestack at a defunct Chicago power station. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges Hilco Redevelopment Partners and its general contractors, MCM Management and Controlled Demolition Inc. violated Illinois law and Pollution Control…
Precedent gave Indianapolis Power and Light a reversal in lawsuit brought by a man who was electrocuted by the utility’s uninsulated power lines. Joshua Gammon was injured when he was installing aluminum trim around the roof of a commercial building in Indianapolis. He was climbing an aluminum ladder holding a piece of trim when he was electrocuted and fell about…
A woman who suffered a brain injury after a horse-riding accident did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the trial court was wrong in ruling for the renter of a horse-training arena. While riding her horse in a training area at Serenity Farms in Lowell, Indiana, Kathleen Burdick was seriously injured by another horse that was known to…
A Madison County couple is seeking $40 million from the U.S. government over claims a doctor failed to diagnose cancer in a timely manner. Lonnie Weatherspoon claims the doctor, whom the suit states worked for a facility where the U.S. was the employer of physicians, should have diagnosed the cancer based on “known risk factors.” The suit was filed April…
A Madison County woman has sued a local dentist over a failed tooth extraction. In the lawsuit, Michelle Carmichael claims the dentist, Richard Boatman Jr., started to pull one of her teeth on April 11, 2018, but then stopped before completing the procedure. The tooth was loosened but not extracted, the suit alleges. Boatman allegedly failed to advise her of…
The Chicago Transit Authority will pay a $3 million settlement to a man whose leg had to be amputated after he was hit by a turning bus. The Chicago Sun-Times reports a Cook County judge approved the settlement Wednesday between the CTA and 80-year-old Raymond Baroud of Chicago, who was struck by the bus on the city’s west side in…
The National Council for Compensation Insurance on Friday launched an online tool designed to help states and employers calculate the impact COVID-19 could have on workers compensation. The tool allows users to adjust variables such as job classifications and infection rates to model the potential impact on expected losses for a jurisdiction and workforce, according to Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI….
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission on Monday repealed a controversial emergency rule stating that if front-line workers are infected with COVID-19, it would be presumed to be a result of their work duties. A Sangamon County judge last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking the new rule, which would have granted benefits to workers deemed essential who contracted the…
