Workers’ Compensation Law

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law

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2022 Articles

50th Anniversary of the Report of the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation Commemorated at ABA TIPS Mid-Winter Workers’ Compensation Conference By James M. Gallen August 2022 This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation Laws.
Can a General Contractor Defend a Third Party Claim Using the Immunity Afforded an Employer Under Section 5(a) the WCA? By Richard D. Hannigan February 2022 The Illinois Supreme Court has further defined whether a general contractor who pays the premium and deductible of a workers’ compensation insurance policy on behalf of the subcontractor has the same immunity under the Workers’ Compensation Act as the subcontracting employer.
Collateral Estoppel, Consolidation of Cases, and the Importance of Explaining Changes on an MRI By Alexis Ferracuti November 2022 Collateral estoppel is a principle most of us have not considered in our normal workers’ compensation practice since law school, but recently an appellate court decision answered the question of collateral estoppel in a consolidated workers’ compensation claim.
Cummings v. IWCC and Sua Sponte Exclusion of Evidence By Jim Babcock November 2022 Cummings v. IWCC arose out of a denial of benefits in an occupational exposure claim.
Disputed Trip and Fall on Loose Carpet Strip Trips Up Employer Despite Conflicting Evidence on Premises Defect/Arising Out Of, Injurious Practice, and Employability/Odd Lot Theory By Rick Turner February 2022 In its decision in Mt. Vernon School District No.80 v. IWCC, the appellate court reminded us that “arising out of” in the context of a fall on the employer’s premises is usually a question of fact and the standard of review is manifest weight, as is the question of whether the Commission appropriately found a claimant permanently totally disabled on an “odd lot” theory.
Editor’s Note By Cameron B. Clark November 2022 An introduction to the issue fromt the editor.
Editor’s Notes By Candice E. Drew August 2022 An introduction to the issue from the editor.
Editor’s Notes By Richard D. Hannigan April 2022 An introduction to the issue from the editor.
Editor’s Notes By Richard D. Hannigan February 2022 An introduction to the issue from the editor.
Employer’s Arguments Regarding Notice, Accident, and Causation Fail in Employee’s Repetitive Trauma Claim: Euclid Beverage Ltd. v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n By Candice E. Drew February 2022 A summary and analysis of Euclid Beverage Ltd. v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, in which the claimant alleged that repetitive pushing, pulling, and lifting caused his current condition of ill-being in his left shoulder.
Firefighter Proves Entitlement to Benefits Under the Occupational Disease Act By Anita M. DeCarlo November 2022 In City of Springfield v. IWCC, a firefighter sought benefits under the Occupational Disease Act for kidney cancer.
Greater Peoria Mass Transit District d/b/a Citylink v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n: An Analysis By Deborah Benzing April 2022 In Greater Peoria Mass Transit District d/b/a Citylink v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, the sole issue presented in the appellate court appeal was whether the Commission properly determined that claimant’s condition of ill-being was causally related to a 2019 work accident.
Interview With Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Chair Michael Brennan By Richard D. Hannigan April 2022 An interview with the chair of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.
McDonald’s v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n: Appellate Court Upholds Penalties Against Respondent for Disputing a Triable Issue of Fact By Timothy J. O’Gorman August 2022 In McDonald’s v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, the appellate court affirmed the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission's finding in favor of the petitioner on issues of accident, notice, causation, reasonableness and necessity of medical bills, and the award of penalties against the respondent.
No Hoots Given for Employee Who Fell in the Parking Lot After Traveling to Another Worksite While Her Own Site Was Under Construction By Derek Dominguez November 2022 In Brooke Hoots v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm'n & Dollar General, an arbitrator determined that the injuries sustained by a petitioner who fell in a parking lot that was adjacent to her workplace were not compensable because they did not arise out of and in the course of her employment.
Not All Risks Are Equal or Compensable By Victor Cerda August 2022 A summary and analysis of Rodney Buckley v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm'n.
Procedural Fumble Allows for Punt on Important Issue: Clifton Armstead v. National Freight, Inc. By Brittany N. Meeker February 2022 The recent Illinois Supreme Court opinion of Clifton Armstead v. National Freight, Inc. further muddies the waters on whether an employee who enters a settlement agreement under a workers’ compensation claim claiming only one type of injury can later come back and assert a third-party claim for a separate injury from the same occurrence.
The Respondent Has Paid Only Part of or None of the Award or Settlement Contract. What Are the Petitioner’s Options? By Richard D Hannigan February 2022 In Camilla Morse v. Casey’s General Store, the appellate court looks at the petitioner's options when the respondent has paid part or none of the award settlement contract.
Settling Workers’ Compensation Cases With Medicare Set-Asides and the Responsibility for Ongoing Reporting By Joseph K. Guyette April 2022 Settling a workers’ compensation case that includes a Medicare set-aside is a complicated process, often including lengthy contracts. 
To Be or Not to Be an Employee? By Robert J. Finley November 2022 In Tile Roofs, Inc. v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, et al., the appellate court decided the determinative factors of an employee-employer relationship under a manifest weight of the evidence standard.
An Untimely Diagnosis But With ‘Timely Disablement’: The American Coal Company v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, 2022 IL App (5th) 210200WC-U By Gregory H. Booth August 2022 In American Coal Company v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm'n, the appellate court issued an order under Supreme Court Rule 23(b), which provides for precedent in limited circumstances under Rule 23(e)(1).
The Unwritten Rule of Manifest Weight Cases: Is the Decision Well Supported in Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of Illinois v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n By Howard H. Ankin February 2022 In Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of Illinois v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, a case involving the manifest weight of the evidence and repetitive trauma in spinal injury claims.
What Is Needed to Prove Odd-Lot Permanent Total Disability By Brad L. Badgley April 2022 If an employee’s disability is limited and it is not obvious that the employee is unemployable, the employee may nevertheless demonstrate an entitlement to permanent total disability by proving that he or she fits within the odd-lot category.