Illinois Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission held that the claimant sustained permanent partial disability due to burns and was entitled to benefits under Section 8(d)2 for loss of use of 15 percent of the person as a whole.

Case name: Pena v. Wells Mfg., Co., 19 ILWCLB 152 (Ill.W.C.Comm.2011).

Summary: Pena was working for the defendant Jan 25., 2008, when he was splashed with molten metal and his clothes ignited.He testified that he continues to experience great discomfort as a result of his burns. Medical records indicated that Pena's treating doctor ordered various non-narcotic medications for the purpose of reducing Pena's pain. Without medication, his pain was constant and not tolerable. He testified that the bunred area was extremely hypersensitive to heat and cold. The burn extended from the midline in front, right, to the midline in back, including the right arm pit and the underside of the right arm to the elbow. He was restricted from working in a high temperature environment. Pena was also instructed to avoid working in an evironment where caustic or other irritating substances might come in contact with his skin. Pena's doctor described the burns as primarily second degree, with some third degree covering 18 to 22 percent of the body.

Pena testified regarding the development of vesicular lesions, sloughnig of skin, and blisters when he sweats. Based on this evidence, the arbitrator found Pena entitled to a permanency award for 15 percent loss of the person as a whole. The arbitrator noted that Pena's employment opportunities were significantly limited and he has been unable tos ecure work since the defendant laid him off nearly 18 months ago.

Upon review the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commisison affirmed and adopted the decision of the arbitrator.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission awarded the claimant permanent disability benefits for 50% loss of use of the righthand as a result of a work injury.

Case name: Imbordino v. Schaumburg, Village of, 19 ILWCLB 151 (Ill.W.C.Comm.2011).

Summary: Imbordino, a maintenance employee for the defendant-village, was repairing buckled concrete with a mud jacker when a rock became lodged in the nozzle of the hose. After he laid the hose on the ground, the rock shot out of the hose and struck his left ankle, knocking him off his feet. He landed on his right arm. X-rays of his right arm showed a distal radial fracture. A cast was applied to the right wrist and forearm. He underwent surgery, which involved an open reduction with internal fixation with multiple screws and a four-inch plate. He took medication for several weeks due to severe pain, and then began physical therapy. He was eventually released to full duty. The arbitrator found Imbordino sustained a five percent loss of use of the left hand and 50 percent loss of use of the right hand as a result of the June 256, 2009 work injury.

In determining the permanency award, the arbitrator noted that Imbordino suffered a two-piece inter-articular distal radial fracture which required internal fixation. During the course of postoperative care and while working modified duty, Imbordino developed numbness and tingling, more prominent on the right than the left, necessitating a splint and injection to the right wrist. The EMG/NCV study confirmed the presence of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Furthermore, the arbitrator found Imbordino credible in describing his arduous employment tasks and the loss of strength, weakness, and numbness in his hands daily since resuming full-duty work. The arbitrator noted Imbordino's daily use of over-the-counter pain medication to alleviate these complaints. Also, the medical records and postoperative x-rays supported the disability assessment.

Upon review, the Illinois Workers' Compensaiton Commission modified the arbitrator's decision by vacating the award of five percent loss of use oft he left hand.

An Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission majority vacated the arbitrator's finding that the claimant's right carpal tunnel syndrome was causally related to a a work accident and, accordingly, vacated a permanency award of 7.5 percent loss of use of the right hand. The Commission also reduced the permanency award for the claimant's back injury from 6 percent to 4 percent loss of use of the person as a whole, and vacated the award of penatlies and attorney's fees.

Case name: King-Alexander v. WA Howe Development Center, 19 ILWCLB 146 (Ill.W.C.Comm.2011)

Summary: Alexander, a mental health technician, alleged injuries while restraining an agitated patient Sept. 28, 2008. The arbitrator awarded 6 percent loss of use of the person as a whole, 5 percent loss of use of the right arn, and 7.5 percent loss of use of the right hand. The arbitrator also awarded $2,439.16 in Section 19(k) penalties and $487.83 in Section 16 attorney's fees. However, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission modified the decision by finding that Alexander's right carpal tunnel syndrome was not causally related to the work accident, and vacating the arbitrator's permanency award of 7.5 percent loss of use of the right. The commission also modified the arbitrattor's permanency award for Alexander's back injury from 6% to 4% oss of use of the person as a whole. Lastly, the Commission vacates the award of Section 19(k) penalties and Section 16 attorney's fees.

In finding Alexander's right carpal tunnel condition causally related to the accident, the arbitrator relied upon a chain of events analysis over the causal connection opinion of the defendant's Section 12 examiner. The arbitrator found that the examiner did not review the medical records and that the defendant engaged in doctor shopping when it obtained the examiner's opinion one year after the accident. However, the Commission viewed the evidence differently and found that Alexander's right carpal tunnel syndrome was not causally related to the work accident. Signficantly, Alexander did not complain about her right hand until two months after the accident. Also, Alexander contended that her job was repetitive in nature, but she alleged that a specific event, not repetitive trauma, cased her conditions. In addition, she did not submit a medical opinion establishing a causal connection between her right carpal tunnel syndrome and the work accident. Furthermore, the defendant's examiner's report reflected that he did review the medical records in conjunction with his examination.

In contrast to the arbitrator's opinion, the Commission did not believe the defendant was engaging in doctor shopping when it retained the examiner. By statute, the defendant was entitled to a Section 12 examination. The examiner noted that carpal tunnel syndrome can be associated with diabetes. The Commission conclused that the bilateral nature of Alexander's carpal tunnel syndrome, along with her conceded diagnosis of diabetes, further supported the finding that her right carpal tunnel syndrome was not due to the work accident.

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ehld that although the claimant established that her fall at work arose out of her employment in the defendant's bakery,she failed to prove that her current condition of ill-being was causally related to the work accident.

Case name: Dugger v. Peter's Market Inc., 19 ILWCLC 145 (Ill.W.C.Comm.2011)

Summary: While worknig the defendant's bakery department in February 2010, Dugger slipped and fell on some plastic wrap while carrying a plate of strawberries. There was a video camera in the bakery that filmed the entire incident. Before the accident occurred, Dugger dropped the plastic on the floor and made no attempt to pick it up. She continued performing her regular duties. About 20 minutes later, Dugger was carrying a tray of strawberries along the back of the bakery counter when she stepped on the plastic, she slipped foward before landing on her buttock and rolling onto her back and left arm. The arbitrator found Dugger sustained an accidental injury that arose out of and in the course of her employment.

Although there was some speculation by the defendant that Dugger staged her fall, the defendant presented no credible evidence to support this finding. Also, the arbitrator rejected the defendant's argument that Dugger was not at any greater risk than the general public when she fell. Dugger was at a greater risk than the general public in that she fell on plastic wrap in an area where she was repeatedly walking from one end of the counter to the other in order to assist customers. In addition, this area was not open to the general public. The presence of such an item on the floor was incidental to Dugger's employment and was not something to which the general public would be exposed. As such, the arbitrator found Dugger had proven by preponderance of the credible evidence that she sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of her employment.

However, the arbitrator went on to find that Dugger's symptoms of myelopathy and need for surgery were not related to this accident. Medical records indicated that Dugger had consistent complaints of numbness and pain in her hands for years before the wrok accident. The records also showed prior episodes of falling and other myelopathic symptoms. The arbitrator adopted the opinions of the defendant's examining doctor, which were based on an accurate history of Dugger's past and present complaints, the credible medical records, and his viewing of the video surveillance showing the mechanism of Dugger's fall. Furthermore, the arbitrator found Dugger was less than truthful regarding her myelopathic complaints prior to the accident the mechanism of her fall.

Upon review, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission affirmed and adopted the decision of the arbitrator.