Legislation signed into law in August by Gov. Ryan amends the Workers' Compensation Act by providing that a minimum civil penalty of $10,000 will be assessed against any employer, service or adjustment company, or insurance carrier that fails to comply with the self-insurance provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act.
On July 19, 2001, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's interpretation of the Workers' Compensation Act provision on wage computation. 820 ILCS 305/10.
On August 4, 2000, the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, affirmed the arbitrator's decision to award the claimant workers' compensation benefits after determining that the claimant's injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment.
On May 18, 2000, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the appellate court and held that section 5(b) of the Workers' Compensation Act permitted an attorney to recover his attorney fees only as delineated in the Act and not in conjunction with a private fee arrangement.
The authors note that several Illinois courts have distributed awards for strictly personal damage (i.e., pain and suffering) disproportionately to the injured spouse on divorce even when the cause of action arose during marriage.
The Illinois Supreme Court struck a blow for workers' comp claimants in McMahan v Industrial Commission. This article describes the ruling and its impact.
On October 29, 1998, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the appellate court's holding on setoffs applicable to two insurance policies for underinsured motorist coverage.