John E. Cunningham, IL WC veteran, passes away

Inman and Fitzgibbons and the Illinois Workers' Compensation community mourns the loss of Mr. John E. Cunningham Esq. who practiced before the Commission for over 40 years and was held in the highest esteem by his colleagues. John E. Cunningham Esq., age 85, Navy veteran of the Korean War, was born June 30, 1930, and passed …

Important Impairment Rating Reminder!

The 2011 Amendments to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act allow Arbitrators to use five factors to determine the level of a claimant’s permanent partial disability. One of these factors is the reported level of impairment pursuant to an AMA impairment rating. The Act specifies that “the most current edition” of the AMA’s “Guides to the …

Arising from a Squat ≠ Accident Arising out of Employment

Partner Steve Murdock recently prevailed in a Section 19(b)/8(a) Trial on the defense that an employee arising from a squatting position is not at a greater risk for injury than a member of the general public, particularly when the squatting position is for about 15 minutes and the employee is neither lifting or carrying anything as …

Maintenance Benefits: No Reward for Lackluster Job Search

In a recent Commission case, Roman Sobolyev v. Yellow Transportation, 15 I.W.C.C. 0623, the Commission rejected Petitioner’s claim for maintenance benefits and found that he performed an inadequate job search.  The Commission’s evaluation of Petitioner’s job search, or lack thereof, outlined the Commission’s expectations of what constituted a legitimate job search to justify awarding maintenance …

I&F HR Training Seminar Reminder!!

On March 31 and April 1, Steven Murdock will hit on some of the myths and pitfalls of employers and their claims administrators - including mistaken assumptions of law, and obligation oversights - and provide ways of avoiding them with the goal to help attendees discuss these beyond this presentation and prevent these in the future. REGISTRATION: Thurs, March …

1st District Actively Engineers Investigation of Wage Differential in the case of Injured Stationary Engineer

The calculation of wage differential benefits is not always simple arithmetic. A recently decided 1st District Appellate Court case is an instructive reminder of the process Illinois courts use in determining a wage differential benefits award and the Respondent's potential exposure in these types of cases. The fact pattern in Jackson Park Hospital v. The …

Cook County Circuit Court affirms two IWCC Decisions in favor of Employer

In a two-pack of cases that we previously reported on, I&F Partner Steven Murdock secured affirmation from the Cook County Circuit Court that the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Decisions finding that the claimant was not credible were not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence presented at trial.  (The arbitrator had also found the claimant not …

Continual Use of Stairway Found Compensable

The Second District Appellate Court recently affirmed the Commission’s holding that a community service officer’s accident while walking down a stairway at the police station arose out of and in the course of his employment. In Village of Villa Park v. Illinois Workers’ Comp. Comm’n, the claimant fell down stairs when his right knee buckled. …

Appellate Court provides new interpretation of Average Weekly Wage calculation

The Illinois Appellate Court recently held in ABF Freight System v. IWCC, 2015 IL App (1st) 141306WC, that the Commission was required to calculate AWW based solely on the wages from the position in which the claimant was working at the time of his accident. In this case, the claimant sustained an injury to his …