NEW! Bartlow v. Costigan, 5-11-0519, (08/21/2012): The Illinois Employee Classification Act, when construed as limiting the Department of Labor's role to investigating possible employer violations, passes constitutional muster, ruled the Appellate Court of Illinois, 5th District. Olson v. Williams All Seasons Company, 2-11-0818, (08/09/2012): The Illinois Appellate Court has revived a firefighter's claim against a property owner for negligently maintaining the warehouse where he fell while responding to an alarm.

Axe v. Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., 5-11-0277, (06/27/2012): A retired railroad engineer who suffered from problems with his knees for years and was diagnosed with severe arthritis in both knees in 2006 should have known at that time that he had a possible claim for damages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, and his actual claim, which came four years later, was properly dismissed as untimely filed.

Santiago v. E.W. Bliss Company, 111792, (08/09/2012): A products liability action by a factory worker whose hand was crushed by a punch press should be allowed to pursue his claim, even though he used a fictitious name to obtain his employment and to initiate the lawsuit, ruled the Illinois Supreme Court.

Rodriguez v. Beef/Pasta, 1-11-3155, (08/14/2012): Workers' compensation exclusivity barred the widow of a murdered restaurant worker from suing her late husband's employer for its alleged negligence in hiring and retaining the colleague who killed him, ruled the Appellate Court of Illinois, 1st District, 2nd Division.

In re Marriage of Berberet, 4-11-0749, (08/10/2012): A husband's use of money from a workers' compensation settlement obtained during the course of his marriage was not a dissipation of a martial asset, ruled the Appellate Court of Illinois, 4th District.

Prodanic v. Grossinger City Autocorp, Inc., 1-11-0993, (07/19/2012): An Illinois man killed by a moving garage door was a borrowed employee of the car dealership where his fatal accident took place, which means his widow cannot bring a tort claim against the business.

Edmonds v. Illinois Workers' Compensation, 110118WC, (04/30/2012): A decision by the U.S. Department of Labor to deny a retired coal miner's Black Lung Benefits Act claim did not prevent the miner from obtaining benefits through the Illinois Workers' Occupational Diseases Act.

Mockbee et al. v. Humphrey Manlift Company, Inc., 1-09-3189, (05/18/2012): Safety inspectors who failed to note the need for a guardrail around a floor opening at an Illinois plant were not liable to a factory worker rendered paraplegic after falling though the opening, ruled the Illinois Court of Appeals, District 1, 6th Division

Hooker v. Retirement Board of Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, 1-11-1625, (05/09/2012): Benefits payable to the widows of firefighters receiving duty death annuity benefits must be calculated according to a 2004 change to the state Pension Code, ruled the Appellate Court of Illinois, 1st District, 3rd Division.