New Albany attorney Dave Scott wanted to prove a point when he strapped himself behind the wheel of a 1999 Ford Explorer that was pushed down an embankment, violently rolling over multiple times. Just to be safe, he later buckled into another Explorer that again was tipped over and sent careening roof over wheels, rolling three times. “The theory of…
Workers compensation insurers face significant challenges ensuring their comp claimants continue to receive the care and benefits they need in the aftermath of a disaster, particularly as their own employees struggle with the effects of natural catastrophes, experts say. The 2019 hurricane season officially began Saturday, but the United States has already experienced a number of natural catastrophes this year,…
Medical treatment for injured workers costs more and prices are growing faster in states that don’t have fee schedules, concludes a new study. The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute studied 30 states without fee schedules and found the prices paid in 2018 for professional services — to doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists — were 39 to 171 percent higher than the…
Two Chicago, Illinois, women have pleaded guilty for their roles in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) of $1.7 million by falsely billing for services on a 24-hour, seven-day-per-week basis for more than seven years, the U.S. Department of Justice reported. Ella Garner, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy…
A new Illinois law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker does not repeal or extend the limitation on when an employee can file a claim under the workers’ compensation system, it creates “unprecedented new rights,” a Chicago-based defense lawyer said. Senate Bill 1596, the Workers’ Compensation Repose Act, will allow those barred from making a claim under a 25-year statute of…
Lawyers who use police accident reports to find clients and drum up business can’t use state open records laws to force police departments to provide addresses and insurance policy numbers for people involved in traffic crashes, a Cook County judge has ruled. On April 29, Cook County Circuit Judge Franklin U. Valderrama ruled in favor of the Schaumburg Police Department…
A federal appeals court in Chicago could be tasked with taking another look at its previous decision undoing a jury verdict ordering one of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies to pay $3 million to the widow of a Chicago lawyer who committed suicide after taking the generic equivalent of a widely prescribed antidepressant drug. Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme…
Even though the Indiana Department of Transportation declined to install a traffic signal at a Tippecanoe County intersection where a deadly crash later occurred, the Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld summary judgment for the department, finding it was immune from liability under the Indiana Tort Claims Act. Rajna and Milan Jurich filed a negligence and wrongful death case against…
In what may ironically be good news, if you were hoping to go to Arbitration in the next week or two at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, you might not be. That’s because Governor Pritzker has essentially fired six Arbitrators who were appointed but not confirmed by previous Governor Rauner. Elections have consequences and the reality is that Republican Governors…
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a jury’s judgment for a woman whose vehicle rear-ended another, despite the appellate panel’s acknowledgement that the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury. While waiting to turn left as oncoming traffic cleared, Latoya Torrence was rear-ended by Courtney Gamble, leaving both women’s vehicles substantially damaged and Torrence injured. Torrence sued, alleging negligence…
