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Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car. The first time he overdosed on the job, in 2013 at a Virginia construction site, a co-worker who is his cousin stealthily injected a dose of Narcan, an opioid antidote, into Sullivan's leg. He woke…

A woman is suing her former employer and insurer for allegedly terminating her for filing a workers' compensation claim. Jennifer Harrison filed a complaint on Sept. 17 in the Madison County Circuit Court against The Garden Kingdom Inc. and Erie Insurance, alleging they violated the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. According to the complaint she was injured during the course of…

One of the most common challenges facing employers in Illinois workers’ compensation claims is preventing or minimizing exposure for disability benefits while an employee is recuperating from a work related injury. If the employee has a complete work restriction, temporary total disability (TTD) is owed under 820 ILCS 305/8(b). If the employee has light duty restrictions, the employer can avoid…

The introduction of legislation impacting first responders was named the top trend in workers compensation reforms countrywide by the National Council on Compensation Insurance despite the fact that only a handful of bills have passed to date. Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI tracked 814 state bills in 2018 and found that 103 of them dealt with first responders battling post-traumatic stress…