Tracking more than 500 pieces of comp-related legislation so far in 2020, the National Council for Compensation Insurance on Wednesday reported that this year’s “legislative trends and hot topics look very similar to 2019,” with workers compensation for first responders, medical marijuana and independent contractors remaining key issues. Bills affecting workers compensation for first responders are making headway among lawmakers,…
A woman’s bad-faith claim against her friend’s insurance company has been reinstated by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which determined that the trial court erred in concluding that an insurer does not owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing to an insured who is not the policyholder. After being involved in a car accident in which she was…
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals has permitted a man to prosecute his complaint against an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department employee who crashed into his vehicle. The appellate majority concluded the extreme remedy of dismissal for failure to prosecute was not warranted in the case. While driving onto Interstate 65 in 2016, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department employee Brandon Cooper collided…
A collision between a motorcycle and truck in Highland left a motorcyclist lying in the intersection of Kennedy Avenue and Duluth Street with severe injuries Thursday night, police said. At 6:34 p.m. Highland police, Highland firefighters and EMS responded to the intersection, according to the Highland Police Department. When they arrived, officers saw the driver of the BMW motorcycle in…
The driver of an emergency patrol vehicle is suing two drivers for allegedly causing a multi-vehicle collision on I-55. Robert Francis filed the complaint on Jan. 23 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Willie J. Tumbs and Aimee Ray Dearsley. According to the complaint, Francis claims that on April 20, 2019 he was operating a State of Illinois Emergency…
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill that would cap reimbursement for ambulatory outpatient surgical centers treating injured workers. Bipartisan bill H.B. 1332, introduced by Republican Rep. Matthew Lehman, passed with a 91-1 vote on Monday. The bill stipulates that reimbursement for ambulatory outpatient surgical center services covered under workers compensation may not exceed 225% of the Medicare reimbursement…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul today convened the first meeting of a task force that will facilitate collaboration between the Attorney General’s office, county prosecutors and state agencies in order to better protect workers’ rights and law-abiding businesses in Illinois. The Worker Protection Unit Task Force was created under Senate Bill (SB) 161, which was initiated by Attorney General Raoul and…
A railway worker has accused his employer, Alton and Southern Railroad, of negligence following an accident at a rail yard. Dwayne Buchannon, who was employed by the Alton and Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of Union Pacific, filed suit Jan. 7 under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) in St. Clair County Circuit Court, claiming he suffered serious injuries when struck…
A St. Clair County jury awarded a motorist $3,000 after the plaintiff had requested $6 million in a trial involving a Fairview Heights collision. St. Clair County Circuit Judge Heinz Rudolf presided over the two day trial, which ended Jan. 22 when jurors entered a verdict in favor of plaintiff Elizabeth Waugh. She was awarded $3,000. Waugh had been represented…
The Illinois Workers Compensation Act does not allow medical providers to go after a workers compensation settlement received just after a bankruptcy filing. In Re Hernandez, the Illinois Supreme Court held on Friday that the proceeds of a workers comp settlement are exempt from claims made by medical providers who treated the injury or illness associated with that claim. Between…
