The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago reversed a district court decision granting summary judgment where the court found that the expert testimony for the plaintiff was unreliable. Donald Schultz was a painter for American Motors Corp. from 1981 until 1989. Benzene was a substance in the paint…
Philip Crosby worked for Cooper B-Line Inc., a manufacturer of electrical components and tools. A portion of Crosby’s middle finger was severed while he was working on the job on July 28, 2010. Crosby filed a claim in the Illinois Industrial Commission under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act. He asked for his…
James Miglore, age 58, was an electrician working at the construction site of a new Hoffman Estates park district ice arena. The construction area was located at 1685 W. Higgins Road in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The defendant, Harbour Contractors, was the construction manager for the project. Midwest Masonry was the masonry…
In a wrongful discharge case brought by Larry Holland, there was evidence against his former employer, Schwan’s Home Service, that included the claim file of Schwan’s insurance carrier. The claim adjuster’s file contained notes from Joan Kantor, a specialty risk services third-party administrator for Hartford Insurance Co. The notes contained…
Clarence Goranowski filed a lawsuit against Metra under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) alleging that he was injured while reinstalling the door on the railcar’s bathroom without assistance. In his suit, he also stated that the railroad was negligent in choosing not to provide a reasonably safe work environment…
Michael Williamson was driving a gasoline tanker truck when he died on April 23, 2003, after a truck driven by Arthur Asher crossed into oncoming traffic on an Illinois highway. The two vehicles collided, and both men died as a result of the crash. The truck company that owned the Williamson truck…
Atlantic Casualty Insurance Co. insured Paszko Masonry as it worked on the construction of an apartment building in Downers Grove, Ill., along with three other companies, Prince Contractors Inc., Chicago Masonry Construction and 4929 Forest LLC.. Robert Rybaltowski was an employee of the waterproofing company, Raincoat Solutions, which had submitted…
Humberto Menendez was working for Steine Cold Storage, Inc., which was a subcontractor for the installation of thermo units at a Wal-Mart store under construction in Indiana. Steine rented a boom lift from NES Rentals. NES Rentals delivered the lift to the construction site on Aug. 23, 2006. The Steine foreman on…
The Illinois Supreme Court has taken a case for consideration dealing with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission as to an employee’s commute from a motel to a job site. The issue in the case is whether the employee is covered for his injuries by the Workers’ Compensation Act when he was…
A flatbed tractor-trailer driver was assigned to load and deliver 7,000-pound concrete barriers. The barriers were being loaded into rows onto the driver’s trailer. The truck driver was standing next to his trailer strapping down the first row of barriers when a crane operator was loading the second row. As the crane…