In a significant legal battle, a firefighter’s appeal for duty disability benefits has been denied by the Appellate Court of Illinois. The case, filed by Maiesha Rose against the Retirement Board of the Firemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, was heard in Cook County on August 20, 2024.
Maiesha Rose initiated her complaint after the Retirement Board denied her claim for duty disability benefits following an incident during a retraining exercise on February 18, 2021. Rose alleged that she sustained multiple injuries when she fell while performing a forcible entry drill with a Halligan bar at the Chicago Fire Department (CFD). According to Rose, this fall resulted in a concussion, post-concussion syndrome, rotator cuff tendinitis, and other debilitating conditions that impeded her ability to perform her duties.
The court documents reveal that Rose had been employed by CFD since August 2006. During the retraining exercise in question, she reportedly lost consciousness briefly after hitting her head and shoulder on the concrete floor. Despite undergoing surgery to repair a full-thickness tear in her right rotator cuff on September 14, 2021, and subsequent treatments including physical therapy and steroid injections, Rose continued to experience significant pain and limited mobility.
Rose’s medical records were scrutinized during the proceedings. Reports from Dr. Adam Yanke of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center supported her claim that her injuries were work-related. However, Dr. Michael I. Peters from Northwestern Medical Group provided conflicting testimony. He argued that Rose’s shoulder condition was due to chronic degeneration rather than an acute injury from the fall.
The Board also presented evidence suggesting that Rose had pre-existing shoulder issues dating back to November 29, 2006. This historical context complicated her claim as it suggested that her current disability might be linked to long-term degenerative changes rather than solely to the February 2021 incident.
During the hearing before the Board on June 15, 2022, various testimonies were considered. Darryl Johnson and Stephen Scott from CFD recounted witnessing Rose’s fall but did not corroborate any immediate severe shoulder injury symptoms reported by Rose post-incident.
Ultimately, Justice Cobbs delivered the judgment affirming the Board’s decision to deny duty disability benefits. The court found substantial evidence supporting the conclusion that Rose’s shoulder surgery was necessitated by pre-existing degenerative conditions rather than being directly caused by her fall during duty-related activities.
Rose’s appeal further argued that her prior shoulder injury from November 2006 should have been considered as contributing to her current condition; however, this argument was dismissed as it had not been adequately raised or evidenced before the Board initially.
The plaintiff sought reversal of this decision along with compensation for lost wages due to inability to perform firefighting duties but was unsuccessful in proving that her injuries were directly caused by duty-related incidents as required under section 6-151 of the Illinois Pension Code.
This article was first published in Cook County Record.
