NEW! Village of Villa Park v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, 10-MR-000027, (12/31/2013): The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that a police officer who fell while descending a flight of stairs at work was entitled to compensation for his back injury since his employment had placed him at an increased risk of falling, based on the number of times per day he was required to go up and down the stairs.

NEW! Gomez v. Bovis Lend Lease, 09 L 003250, (12/24/2013): A subcontractor on the 102-story Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago was not liable for contribution to the contractor or construction manager on the project for a worker's fall through the 86th floor, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled.

NEW! Dalton v. OWCP, 13-1243, (12/20/2013): The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals clarified that miners can use circumstantial evidence to prove when the onset of their totally-disabling pneumoconiosis began in a precedential decision that substantially increased the value of a claim under the Black Lung Benefits Act.

NEW! Hooker v. The Retirement Board of the Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, 114811, (12/19/2013): A divided Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the widows of Chicago firefighters who died prior to 2004 cannot benefit from a legislative change in the method for calculating pensions that went into effect that year and that would have increased the compensation owed to them.

NEW! Venture-Newberg Perini Stone & Webster v. Illinois Worker's Compensation Commission, 115728, (12/19/2103): A divided Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a pipefitter who suffered severe injuries in a car wreck while traveling to his second day of work on a temporary assignment at a power plant more than 200 miles from his home was not a "traveling employee" at the time of his accident.

NEW! Edwards v. The Addison Fire Protection District Firefighters' Pension Fund, 12-MR-162, (12/09/2013): The Illinois Appellate Court upheld the denial of disability retirement benefits to a paramedic who was allergic to latex.

Baston v. The Oak Tree, 1-12-3071, (12/02/2013): The Illinois Appellate Court upheld a $200,000 jury verdict in favor of an injured restaurant worker on her retaliatory discharge claim.

Mansfield v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, 11-MR-1459, (11/21/2013): A claimant who taught piano lessons in her spare time should not have had her business income included in the calculation of her average weekly wage, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled. 

Zamora v. Montiel et al., 02-13-0579, (11/18/2013): The Illinois Appellate Court is standing by its decision to dismiss an injured worker's negligence suit based on its belated filing and on the exclusive remedy provided by the state workers' compensation system.

Illinois State Treasurer v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, 1-12-0549WC, (11/18/2013): The Illinois State Treasurer, as custodian of the state's Injured Workers' Benefit Fund, is not exempt from the statutory requirement that a party seeking review of a decision by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission post an appeal bond, the state Appellate Court ruled.