Workers on construction sites across Indiana can be found nailing plywall from atop scaffolds, scaling roofs or painting newly built homes. But what isn’t evident is whether those workers are part of a shady trend construction industry experts say is a serious concern — payroll tax fraud. Certain contractors in the construction industry will misclassify workers, falsely listing them as…
Advocates for nursing home residents say they worry a new Indiana law expanding COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers will effectively block many lawsuits over neglect and substandard treatment that weren’t caused by the pandemic. The new law applies retroactively to when Indiana’s first COVID-19 infections were reported in March 2020. The law was sought by the nursing home…
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed two lower court decisions and held that an insurer is obligated to defend a tanning salon that is being sued by a customer charging violation of the state’s biometric law. The state’s high court unanimously agreed with earlier rulings by a trial court and an appeals court that West Bend, Wisconsin-based West Bend…
A man is suing a Madison County healthcare facility after his mother fell out of a wheelchair, suffered injuries to her head and face and died about a week later. Dennis W. Davis, special administrator of the Estate of Glenda S. Davis, deceased, filed a complaint May 5 in the Madison County Circuit Court against University Care Center LLC, alleging…
A jury has awarded nearly $96,000 in damages to a northwest Indiana girl who was injured in 2018 while playing in a bounce house at a local YMCA. After a four-day trial in the civil case against Valparaiso Family YMCA, the Porter County jury on May 6 awarded the girl $95,833 in compensatory damages. The Valparaiso girl was 2 years…
Employees with mental distress cost employers nearly $5,000 per person a year in work days lost, as well as increased turnover and health care costs, according to research from the National Safety Council and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Employers with workers who are experiencing mental health issues spend more than $5,500 on average in…
Advocates for nursing home residents say they worry a new Indiana law expanding COVID-19 liability protections for healthcare providers will effectively block many lawsuits over neglect and substandard treatment that weren’t caused by the pandemic. The new law applies retroactively to when Indiana’s first COVID-19 infections were reported in March 2020. The law was sought by the nursing home industry,…
A suit alleges a Swansea nursing facility and St. Mary’s Hospital provided negligent medical care, causing the death of a patient. Justin Roberson, as administrator of the Estate of Michael Steward Jr., deceased, filed a complaint April 12 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Swansea Rehabilitation & Health Center and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital, alleging wrongful death….
A barge company argues that an employee’s concealed pre-existing condition is to blame when he allegedly slipped on ice, fell into the Mississippi River during a snowstorm and became trapped under the barge by the current. Defendant SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting LLC answered the complaint on April 29 through attorney Neal Settergren of Goldstein and Price LLC in St….
The demand for COVID-19 shots has stalled in the U.S., prompting some employers to implement mandates to get their staff fully vaccinated. However, experts warn that under such mandates, injuries or illnesses reported by employees from the vaccine can lead to workers compensation claims and recordable incidents on Occupational Safety and Health Administration logs. After first leaving the decision up…
