Workers’ Compensation Law

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

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2003 Articles

Appellate court does not have jurisdiction to hear direct appeal from Industrial Commission decision By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 In Pace Bus Company v. Industrial Commission, the appellate court, First Judicial District dismissed an appeal by the employer ruling that they lacked jurisdiction to hear an appeal directly from an Industrial Commission decision.
Case law update January 2003 In Hunter v. Southworth Products Corporation, 333 Ill. App. 3d 158 (Aug. 14, 2002), ExxonMobil purchased and installed a hydraulic lift table in its Jacksonville plant.
Commission News By Richard D. Hannigan December 2003 Updates from the Illinois Industrial Commission.
Concurrent employment By Bradford J. Peterson September 2003 In Flynn v. Industrial Commission, the claimant worked during the summer months as a truck driver for an asphalt company, but was injured while employed by Utica Township to clear snow during the winter.
Current case law June 2003 The recent case of Twice Over Clean, Inc. v. Industrial Commission (786 N.E.2d 1096 272 Ill.Dec. 262 Ill. App. 3 Dist. March 26, 2003) found that a heart attack was not compensable because of the principle cited in Sisbro, Inc. v. Industrial Commission, (No. 4-01-0007WC, decided February, 2002).
Editor’s notes By Richard D. Hannigan September 2003 Gerald F. Cooper has completed a successful term as Chairperson of the Workers' Compensation Law Council Section.
Editor’s notes By Paul Wiedner & Richard Hannigan June 2003 In February of 2003, Dennis Ruth was appointed chairman of the Illinois Industrial Commission by Governor Blagojevich.
Editor’s notes April 2003 Governor Blagojevich, on February 21, 2003, appointed Dennis Ruth as Chairman of the Industrial Commission.
From the Chair By Bruce L. Bonds December 2003 A message from Section Chair Bruce Bonds.
Governor Blagojevich proposes independent funding source for IIC June 2003 In his budget address on April 8, 2003, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich outlined his proposed budget for fiscal year 2004.
Handling Medicare issues in workers’ compensation claims By Bradford J. Peterson September 2003 For the last several years, a flurry of activity has arisen regarding the federal government's enforcement of the Medicare Secondary Payor Statute 42 USC §1395y(b) (hereinafter MSP).
Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the workers’ compensation exemption By Emily E. Borg September 2003 HIPAA is a federal mandate that was passed by Congress in 1996 in response to the health care industry's request for standardization, as a remedy for increasing frequent health care privacy breaches, and in an effort to halt the steady increases in health care costs.
Hearing loss—Who is liable? By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 In our April, 2002 newsletter, Steve Grady discussed Hamilton v. Industrial Commission, 326 Ill.App.3d 602; 761 N.E.2d 775; 260 Ill.Dec. 592. Since then, the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois accepted the case and has affirmed the appellate court.
Illinois Industrial Commission Web site June 2003 On Friday, February 21, 2003, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich reappointed Commissioner Jacqueline A. Kinnaman to her position as an employee representative on the Commission.
Injury at picnic voluntary/mandatory attendance By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 On September 18, 1998 the claimant was at a company picnic and was playing basketball on the company parking lot when he injured his right knee.
Insurance write-offs and the collateral source rule By Douglas Rallo April 2003 In contracts between health care providers and health insurance carriers, providers often agree to certain fee schedules by which they accept as full payment less than the amount billed to the patient.
Is a juror an employee of the county? By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 The appellate court of Illinois Third District answered that question in the negative.
Mechanical Devices v. Industrial Commission By James W. Stevenson, Jr. December 2003 A summary of the case of Mechanical Devices v. Industrial Commission.
Notes from the co-editors By Paul W. Wiedner & Richard D. Hannigan January 2003 As reported in the last newsletter, Commissioner Richard Madigan resigned effective July 8, 2002 from the Illinois Industrial Commission. Paul Rink accepted a temporary assignment as the public member. Mr. Rink's appointment expires December 31, 2002.
Parking lot injury/lot not “provided for” by employer By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 Whether an injury in a parking is compensable may depend upon whether the lot was "provided for" by the employer.
Petitioner elects his remedy By Michelle D. Porro September 2003 The appellate court recently released a unanimous decision in Payetta v. Industrial Commission, 274 Ill.Dec. 590 2nd District (June 17, 2003).
Reconciling the heart attack cases II By James W. Springer December 2003 This article updates all heart attack decisions by the Illinois appellate courts and Supreme Court since the author's 1997 article.
Res judicata/collateral estoppel/rule of the case By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 The claimant filed a 19(b), alleging that as a result of a fall on January 21, 1991 he injured his left knee, neck, and back.
Section 16 fees and costs By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 On February 5, 2003 the Appellate Court Second Division filed it's decision involving James Williams v. Industrial Commission.
Should you be taking those casino boat cases? By Kurt Niermann January 2003 The first district recently extended the jurisdictional reach of Illinois workers' compensation claims into a maritime setting in McCoy v. Industrial Commission, Ill.App. 1 Dist. Sep 26, 2002 (2002 WL 31128953).
Sisbro revisited By Richard D. Hannigan September 2003 What if everyone agreed that the employee had a pre-existing condition that had so far deteriorated that any activity could or might cause the employee to become disabled and require treatment?
Unexplained/idiopathic falls By Bradford J. Peterson September 2003 In Builders Square v. Industrial Commission, 791 N.E.2d 1308, 274 Ill.Dec. 897, decided by the Third District on June 24, 2003, the appellate court addressed the issue of proof necessary to support compensability of an unexplained fall
Where have our mentors gone? By Richard D. Hannigan April 2003 If we want, we can learn from everyone we come in contact with.
Who was the aggressor? By Michelle D. Porro September 2003 In Sandra Franklin v. Industrial Commission, the appellate court in a 3-2 decision reversed and remanded the case to the Industrial Commission with the instruction that the Industrial Commission determine which party was the aggressor.