Indiana lawmakers Tuesday read through a new bill that would require the state Department of Education to provide adequate employer liability and workers compensation insurance coverage for students enrolled in a work-based learning course. H.B. 1094 would also designate certain career and technical education programs as youth apprenticeship programs, providing $500 grants to school corporations for each pupil enrolled in…
A federal district court has refused to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit filed against Amazon.com Inc. by a former employee who contends the company violated Illinois’ biometric law. William Naughton, who worked for two months in 2020 as a “picker” at an Amazon fulfillment center in Joliet, Illinois, charges the company violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by…
A man is suing FKG Oil Company after he allegedly slipped on a mat and suffered injuries. Jay Fleming filed a lawsuit on Dec. 15 in the Madison County Circuit Court against FKG Oil Company, Aramark Uniform and Career Apparel, LLC and Aramark Uniform Services (Midwest) LLC, alleging negligence. According to the lawsuit, Fleming was on the Highland premises owned,…
A dump truck driver claims another motorist attempted to pass him as he was making a left turn, causing the dump truck to flip on its side. Bruce Layher filed a lawsuit on Dec. 10 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Larry D. Nix, alleging personal injury and property damage. According to the lawsuit, Layher was driving a dump…
Closed drug formularies continue to attract attention in states’ workers compensation systems as a tool to manage the utilization of prescription drugs and provide evidence-based guidance to physicians prescribing drug treatments for injured workers. The Official Disability Guidelines Workers Compensation Drug Formulary, also known as the ODG Formulary, has been adopted by several states including Indiana, Kentucky and Montana. In…
A contractor working at a Caterpillar Inc. foundry in central Illinois fell to his death when he apparently stepped off a ladder at the plant, authorities said. The Peoria County coroner said Scott M. Adams, 50, of East Peoria, was pronounced dead about 11 a.m. Thursday after his fall at the foundry in Mapleton. Autopsy findings are pending, the (Peoria)…
A patient claims Anderson Hospital healthcare workers misdiagnosed a subarachnoid hemorrhage as a migraine. Sara Valle and Matthew Valle filed a lawsuit on Dec.1 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Mark A. Mason, M.D., Emily L. Hilton, PA-C., Anderson Hospital, Uptown Emergency Physicians, LLP, National Hospital Services Professional Corporation, doing business as Hospitalist and Emergency Services of Illinois, PC…
U.S. Seventh Circuit appellate judges who balked at a $29.6 million judgment against the government in a kidney damage case last year cast off their doubts and approved that amount on Dec. 17. They affirmed Chief District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel of East St. Louis, who found that the conduct of plaintiff Kevin Clanton did not contribute to his disease. They…
A construction worker injured in a building collapse was, in fact, an independent contractor, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded, rejecting an earlier finding that the worker was actually an employee of the company he sued. In December 2018, Richard Palmer was injured while doing carpentry work on top of a pole barn that partially collapsed. The building…
Employers may be warming up to the idea that fighting some workers’ compensation claims and medical treatments can be counterproductive, and new emphasis should be placed on keeping injured workers happy – and out of the courtroom. “The workers’ comp system should be self-executing and so many times, it’s not,” said Michele Adams, vice president of risk management for Walmart….
