Section Newsletters

Articles From Kevin S. Botha

Supreme Court reinstates Commission award of concurrent statutory permanent total disability & scheduled loss of arms By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, June 2009 The case of Beelman Trucking v. IWCC was appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, and on May 21, 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision authored by Justice Garman reversing the Appellate Court in part and found that the Petitioner was entitled to both 100 percent loss of use of each arm under §8(e)(10) as well as statutory PTD benefits pursuant to §8(e)(18) as a result of 100 percent loss of use of both legs. 
Undocumented worker is awarded permanent total disability benefits By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2009 In a landmark decision, Economy Packing Co v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Comm’n, the Appellate Court affirmed an order from the Circuit Court of Cook County which confirmed the decision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission that awarded the Petitioner permanent total disability benefits pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act.
Appellate court affirms the award of travel expenses to petitioner for travel to and from a treating physician By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, September 2008 In a recent Rule 23 decision, the appellate court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court that confirmed the decision of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission awarding travel expenses to Petitioner for travel to and from the Petitioner’s treating physician.
The Commission giveth and the Appellate Court taketh away By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, June 2008 In Beelman Trucking v. IWCC (2008 WL 901460), the appellate court reversed the Commission’s award of both §8(e)(10) and statutory PTD under §8(e)(18), holding that the Commission does not have the power to award benefits for specific losses of permanent partial disability as well as permanent total disability resulting from the same accident.
The elusiveness of the intoxication defense By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, June 2007 In a recent Rule 23 decision, the Appellate Court affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court that confirmed the decision the Worker’s Compensation Commission awarding benefits to claimant, where the defense was based on intoxication.
A rare reversal & remand of a manifest weight issue under the “Odd Lot” permanent disability theory By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, June 2007 The claimant in this case (Westin Hotel v. Industrial Commission, 310 Ill.Dec. 18, 865 N.E.2d 342) was 54 years old when the injury occurred.
Respondents must meet their obligations in vocational rehabilitation By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, March 2007 The Commission unanimously affirmed and adopted Arbitrator Tobin’s decision on review in Allen Lemme v. Monterey Coal Company, 06IWCC0967 (2006).
Petitioner’s non-compliance with vocational rehabilitation insufficient to deny compensation By Kevin S. Botha Workers’ Compensation Law, December 2006 In this Rule 23 decision, the Appellate Court addressed the issues of intervening accidents, vocational rehabilitation and Petitioners choice of physicians.

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