A 29-year-old man in Illinois faces several charges, including driving under the influence, after he allegedly crashed a vehicle early Monday morning and abandoned the scene, leaving his girlfriend “semi-unconscious” in the front passenger seat, police said Wednesday. Emil Nichitoi, according to the Des Plaines Police Department, was allegedly driving the vehicle around 2:20 a.m. when he crashed into a…
Nearly two-thirds of the injuries and illnesses that occurred among Illinois miners from 2001 to 2013 were not reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, a recent study shows. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago cross-referenced MSHA Part 50 reports of injuries and illnesses to corresponding cases with the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission. The WCC database showed…
An arbitrator has ordered the village of Niles to pay over $30,000 to settle a worker’s compensation claim for a police officer whose patrol car was rear-ended in 2016. Niles police Officer Rodney Whiteman sustained injuries when his squad car was struck, said Daniel Egan, an attorney with the Chicago-based law firm Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie and Lowry, which represented the…
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…
