A state appeals panel upheld a Cook County jury’s decision to award $6 million to the family of a woman who died of respiratory failure and blamed the doctor who prescribed opiates, alleging she should’ve known the patient was already abusing such drugs. Jose Ramirez, the independent administrator of the estate of the late Ebeilda Ramirez, sued Dr. Holly Carobene…
An Illinois appellate court said an injured worker’s subjective complaint of pain was sufficient evidence to support a determination that her repetitive trauma claim was compensable. Dora Potts claimed a repetitive trauma injury to her left shoulder over the 14 years she worked as a dental hygienist for Tazewell County. A doctor in April 2019 diagnosed her with acute pain…
Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill to create rules for employers whose workers are exposed to extreme temperatures. S.B. 2501, introduced Friday, calls on the state’s director of labor by Jan. 1, 2026, to adopt rules to establish “excessive heat and excessive cold standards” for when temperatures fall below 40 degrees or above 90 degrees. The bill provides guidelines on…
In a compelling legal battle, a parent has filed a lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company, alleging that their cow’s milk-based infant formula caused severe health issues in their premature child. On February 4, 2025, Nidaal Askar lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Abbott Laboratories. The lawsuit claims that the…
Madison County Circuit Judge Sarah Smith properly preserved a trial that a witness nearly spoiled and her jury properly awarded Kevin Mogensen $3.31 million for lung damage, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on Feb. 4. They found Smith didn’t abuse her discretion when she struck the pleadings of SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting and proceeded only on damages. They found…
R & J Transport Inc. faces a serious legal challenge as it is accused of negligence leading to severe injuries. On January 2, 2025, David Lidster filed a complaint against R & J Transport Inc. in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. The case was subsequently moved to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois…
The University of Delaware seeks relief from a subpoena that Chad Finley of Tor Hoerman’s firm in Edwardsville served for Paraquat plaintiff David Heistand of Maryland. University counsel Casey Grabenstein of Chicago moved to quash it at U.S. district court on Jan. 22, claiming it’s procedurally defective and substantively overbroad. “UD may not even have the human or financial resources…
Mental health professionals at Choate Center in Anna diagnosed Leslie Potter’s strokes as schizophrenia and damaged him with treatments, according to his mother Michelle Potter of Texas and grandmother Elaine Dohman of Illinois. Their counsel Randolph Kretchmar of Chicago alleged due process violations in a complaint at U.S. district court on Jan. 30. According to the lawsuit, Leslie resided with…
Illinois lawmakers are considering bills that would nix the state’s workers compensation fee schedule in 2026 and replace it with another, and add guidelines in workers comp code on attorney’s fee for arbitrated claims. H.B. 2840, introduced Wednesday, would make existing medical fee schedules inoperative after Aug. 31, 2026, and calls on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to establish a…
Illinois’ altered workers’ comp law doesn’t block asbestos plaintiffs and others who discover diseases allegedly caused by workplace exposures to toxic substances from suing their former employers, even if the alleged disease-causing exposure happened many decades in the past, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled. On Jan. 24, the Illinois Supreme Court sided with the family of a man who…
