Section Newsletters

Articles From Brad E. Bleakney, B

Attorney fees on MSA funds confirmed in N.J. By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, November 2011 The New Jersey Superior Court recently considered whether Medicare regulations and CMS allowed an attorney to recover attorney fees for creating a settlement obtained on behalf of a client in a civil suit from the Medicare set aside funds itself.
Involuntary merger of 8(e) specific loss into 8(d)1 wage differential award By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, November 2011 Even where there is competent medical evidence presented of a full duty return to work accompanied by a medical opinion stating that the condition of ill being was in fact permanent and causally related to the first date of accident, it may not be enough to sustain a separate award for specific loss under 8(e) where there is a finding of subsequent, intervening accidents to the same part of the body that subsequently resulted in a wage a reduction.
Peter Corti reports on certification/specialization of workers’ compensation attorneys By Peter Corti & Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, December 2010 The Workers' Compensation Section's notes on the status of the issue of certification of a workers’ compensation attorney verses a designation by the ISBA that an attorney “specializes” in workers’ compensation.
2008 Illinois Workers’ Compensation Annual Report By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2009 On June 30, 2009, the Commission released its Annual Report of Operations for 2008.
Good Samaritan: Hip check to vending machine awarded By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2009 The Appellate Court in Circuit City v. Illinois Workers Compensation Commission reviewed the hip check case and reinstated the Commission award but not as a “personal comfort” case but rather affirmed the award as a “Good Samaritan” case, in that he was coming to the aid of a female coworker.
Workers’ Compensation liens and employer’s uninsured motorist coverage By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2009 The Illinois Supreme Court rarely decides a workers’ compensation lien case, so attorneys should take the time to study these recent 5(b) lien decisions involving uninsured motorist coverage.  
Illinois Workers Compensation Annual Report 2007 By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, December 2008 On October 2, 2008, the Commission released its Annual Report of Operations.
Mandatory overtime and average weekly wage By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, December 2008 The 18-year battle over including or excluding overtime hours in the calculation of average weekly wage continues to rage.
Exclusive remedy update By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2007 We are all familiar or should be familiar with the exclusive remedy provisions of the Act. Section 5(a) of the Workers Compensation Act specifically provides that payment under the Act shall be the exclusive remedy for an injured employee:
GHERE no more? Certified Testing v. Ind. Comm’n, _ _ N.E.2d _ _ , 2006 WL 3060086 (Ill.App. 4th Dist.) By Brad E. Bleakney Workers’ Compensation Law, December 2006 If there is no discovery in Workers’ Compensation (except the subpoena), do you wonder why then the defense attorney always makes a demand for medical records supporting the claim when forwarding their appearance? The answer is the Section 12 objection, recently known as the Ghere objection.

Spot an error in your article? Contact Celeste Niemann at cniemann@isba.org. For information on obtaining a copy of an article, visit the ISBA Newsletters page.

Select a Different Author