A couple alleges their child suffered injuries during delivery after his heartrate continued to decelerate. P.J. Thompson, a minor, by and through his mother Carlie Willis and father Tyler Thompson, filed a complaint on Aug. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against United States of America and Southern Illinois Hospital Services. According to the…
A lawsuit involving a crash at the intersection of Route 143 and South Moreland Road is at trial in Madison County Associate Judge Thomas Chapman’s courtroom. The Trial began Oct. 1. The case had been previously assigned to Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder and was assigned to Chapman on Sept. 27. Plaintiff Patsy Troxell is represented at trial by Eric Evans…
Jimmy Sullivan prepared for his job as a bricklayer the same way every morning for years: injecting a shot of heroin before leaving his car. The first time he overdosed on the job, in 2013 at a Virginia construction site, a co-worker who is his cousin stealthily injected a dose of Narcan, an opioid antidote, into Sullivan’s leg. He woke…
A newspaper review has found that three northwestern Indiana counties have a higher percentage of fatal drunken-driving crashes than the rest of the state and the U.S. because of the region’s heavy traffic, weather and other factors. The (Northwest Indiana) Times reviewed federal road fatality data and found that between 2010 and 2014, drunken driving was linked to about 35…
A motorist is suing a car dealership after her Mustang convertible’s airbag failed to deploy during a collision in Florida. Janelle R. Benning filed a complaint on Sept. 13 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Ford Motor Company and Auffenberg Ford Inc., alleging they failed to inspect the vehicle to determine whether its airbag module had been properly…
A former welder blames a host of manufacturing companies for his lung cancer. Phillip Gibson and Sara Gibson filed a complaint on Sept. 5 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against tthe companies, including BP Products North America, DAP Products Inc. and URS Corporation. According to the complaint, Phillip Gibson was exposed to asbestos while working as a laborer and…
A woman is suing her former employer and insurer for allegedly terminating her for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Jennifer Harrison filed a complaint on Sept. 17 in the Madison County Circuit Court against The Garden Kingdom Inc. and Erie Insurance, alleging they violated the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. According to the complaint she was injured during the course of…
One of the most common challenges facing employers in Illinois workers’ compensation claims is preventing or minimizing exposure for disability benefits while an employee is recuperating from a work related injury. If the employee has a complete work restriction, temporary total disability (TTD) is owed under 820 ILCS 305/8(b). If the employee has light duty restrictions, the employer can avoid…
The introduction of legislation impacting first responders was named the top trend in workers compensation reforms countrywide by the National Council on Compensation Insurance despite the fact that only a handful of bills have passed to date. Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI tracked 814 state bills in 2018 and found that 103 of them dealt with first responders battling post-traumatic stress…
A passenger is suing a Mexican airlines in a case involving the crash of a jet bound for Chicago on July 31. Dorelia Rivera filed a complaint on Sept. 12 in Cook County Circuit Court against AeroMexico and AeroMexico Connect, alleging she was injured while on Flight 243 departing Durango, Mexico, for Chicago, because the pilots allegedly were negligent in…
