On April 13, 2020, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission adopted new Rules in Sections 9030.70(1) and (2) of the Rules of Practice before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to address workers infected with Covid-19. These rules created a rebuttable presumption that employees who contracted the COVID-19 illness did so in the course and scope of…
The IL IWCC just issued the following update: Beginning Monday March 23, 2020, the Commission will move forward with the below Emergency Motion Call for EMERGENCY motions, ONLY. An “Emergency Arbitrator” will be available at the locations and on the dates and times set in the below schedule (this will be updated on a weekly…
In what is likely to be the first of several actions, President Trump signed into law HR 6201 “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The first thing to note is that this bill only applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees. The bill impacts a number of employer related programs:…
The spread of COVID-19 has obviously raised significant issues for employers throughout the world. Employers face uncertainty around what they can and should do to promote the health and well-being of their workforce while navigating federal, state, and local regulations and while considering rapidly changing government warnings and restrictions. Although the current circumstances will likely…
These are obviously challenging times for employers across the country. Although there is much about this emerging pandemic that will call for navigating uncharted waters, the analysis of potential workers’ compensation exposure need not be one of those issues. In Illinois, for example, The “Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act” (820 ILCS 310/) is one statute…
Inman & Fitzgibbons secured a “no liability” Arbitration Decision following a recent trial involving an employee who fell to the floor when a chair she went to sit on rolled out from under her. The employee was sitting onto the chair at a work station as she was picking up a telephone to take a…
In a recent Illinois case handled by I&F, the arbitrator held that Petitioner lacked credibility and denied all benefits. Petitioner, a maintenance worker, had filed an original Application alleging a specific trauma shoulder injury from suddenly reaching and pulling in July 2014. The event was not reported for a week, and the initial medical treatment (a hospitalization…
Attorney Allison Mecher will answer your questions about how and when to use Impairment Ratings in Illinois WC cases in a March 5, 2020 online seminar with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Register here.
In this case, Petitioner was injured in an accepted, but unfiled, accident in 2016 when he slipped on ice and fell while walking on the roof of Respondent’s building. Petitioner underwent appropriate medical treatment and was released to return to full duty work. The last medical or indemnity benefit paid on this case was February…
