As the number of new asbestos lawsuits declined nationally, activity in Illinois’ three hotbeds for asbestos litigation showed few signs of ebbing in 2017, even though the distribution of filing activity has shifted slightly. Recently, Washington, D.C.-based consulting group KCIC released an analysis of U.S. asbestos exposure case filings, showing in 2017 total new asbestos exposure-related lawsuits dropped another 7.5…
Ten U.S. senators are asking Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and other companies developing self-driving cars whether they are using or planning to use contracts with consumers that would limit their ability to sue in the case of a crash. The letter headed by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., comes as concerns are growing on Capitol Hill about autonomous vehicles…
The next civil trial of a Munster cardiologist accused of performing unnecessary surgeries is scheduled to begin April 9. Dr. Arvind Gandhi stands accused by hundreds of patients of implanting unnecessary heart devices. The first such trial ended earlier this month in Gandhi’s favor. The plaintiff for the next trial, Gloria Sargent, went to see Gandhi in June 2006 for…
With issues like the opioid crisis and inflating drug costs at the forefront of discussion in workers’ compensation, several states, including Indiana and Pennsylvania, are currently considering legislation to establish workers’ compensation drug formularies. Some debate has arisen as to whether these drug formularies are effective and appropriate in the care of injured workers. To address these questions, let’s take…
Gov. Eric Holcomb this week signed two bills into law: one that creates a workers' compensation drug formulary aimed at curtailing the opioid crisis, and another that penalizes employers for late payments of benefits. SB 290, which passed the Indiana General Assembly March 7, requires employers to pay benefits within 30 days of being awarded and imposes fines when benefits are not paid…
Walgreens Co. has agreed to pay $5.5 million after allegedly overcharging for prescription drugs covered by Massachusetts’ workers compensation insurance system. The settlement, filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston on Thursday, resolves allegations that between 2008 and 2017, Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens violated state consumer protection laws by overcharging for worker injury-related prescriptions under the Massachusetts workers comp system at…
An Escondido corporation is alleged to have misrepresented facts to two insurance companies. Zurich American Insurance Co. and Zurich American Insurance Co. of Illinois filed a complaint on March 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Solvis Staffing Services Inc. and Does 1 through 50 citing rescission, unjust enrichment and other counts. According to…
A man claims two East Alton attorneys with the Galanti Law Office failed to provide witness testimonies during his worker’s compensation hearing, resulting in a ruling in favor of his employer. Edward Holmes filed a complaint on March 14 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Giambattista Patti and David Galanti, alleging they failed to represent him as a reasonable…
An installer of “slide-out” box units on recreational vehicles who was partially paralyzed after one of the units fell from an RV and onto his back cannot sue under the Indiana Product Liability Act, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday. The appellate court affirmed an Elkhart Superior Court ruling in Matthew Davis v. Lippert Components Manufacturing, Inc., 20A03-1710-CT-2435. The…
An Illinois bill that would create a state-sponsored insurance company to provide workers compensation was placed on the calendar for a second reading last Thursday. H.B. 4595, introduced by state Rep. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, would create the Illinois Employers Mutual Insurance Co. as a nonprofit that issues insurance for workers comp and occupational disease, according to the bill’s latest text….
