Employees will be filing workers comp claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remains unclear what proportion of the claims will be compensable, a panel of experts said. Rules regarding occupational disease claims vary by state and in many cases workers will not be able to prove they contracted the disease at work, they said. However, the scope and…
The family of a Walmart Inc. employee in Illinois who died after contracting COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has filed a lawsuit accusing the retail giant of failing to adequately screen and protect workers. The lawsuit filed in Illinois state court on Monday by the estate of Wando Evans says the Walmart store south of Chicago was…
A Walmart employee is suing the retailer after she allegedly slipped and fell on a puddle of water. Stephanie Mosley filed the suit March 25 in Madison County Circuit Court against Walmart. According to her complaint, Mosley claims she was working at the Walmart Supercenter on Feb. 14, 2020. She claims she was walking in an area of the supercenter…
Drivers will be banned from using handheld cellphones on Indiana roads starting in July under legislation Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed into law to combat distracted driving. Holcomb signed the measure on March 18, making Indiana the 22nd state to prohibit drivers from holding or using a handheld mobile device while operating a moving vehicle. People violating the law after…
U.S. medical professionals on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic are lobbying policymakers for protection from potential malpractice lawsuits as hospitals triage care and physicians take on roles outside their specialties. State chapters of the powerful American Medical Association and other groups representing health care providers have been pressing governors for legal cover for decisions made in crisis-stricken emergency rooms….
Federal and state agencies have seen a large influx of workplace safety complaints related to the COVID-19 outbreak, and experts urge employers to create exposure control plans in case an agency comes knocking. Unlike the flu and common cold, COVID-19 is considered a recordable illness by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “This is the busiest we’ve ever been,”…
A patient claims her common bile duct was “transected” during a robotic-assisted surgery. Heather Fleming filed suit March 5 in Madison County Circuit Court against Alton Multispecialists and Christian Hospital Northwest-Northeast. The plaintiff, from Jersey County in Illinois, claims she went to the hospital on June 10, 2018, suffering from severe abdominal plan. Doctors at the hospital allegedly recommended that…
The parents of a child allegedly injured in a gymnastics class have filed suit against the school district. Adam and Jean Sampson filed suit March 6 in Madison County Circuit Court against Collinsville Community School District 10 on behalf of their minor child, a student at Collinsville Middle School. The suit centers on an incident during a gymnastics class at…
The city of Columbus has succeeded in its efforts to win summary judgment on a woman’s personal injury claim, with the Indiana Court of Appeals reversing in the city’s favor and holding that the woman did not meet the notice requirements under the Indiana Tort Claims Act. The case of City of Columbus v. Debra A. Londeree and Dan Londeree,…
St. Clair County jurors awarded a motorist $29,137 in a suit involving a Fairview Heights collision. The jury reached a verdict in favor of plaintiff Sharonna Howell on March 10 in St. Clair County Associate Judge Kevin Hoerner’s courtroom. Howell was awarded $8,043 for past medical bills, $1,094 for lost wages, $10,000 for pain and suffering and $10,000 for loss…
