News

Despite Claimant’s Appeal Penalties Due on Undisputed Benefits

Melinda Jacobo vs. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission No. No. 3-10-0807 WC Melinda Jacobo appealed a Commission decision awarding her compensation and benefits but denying penalties.  Her employer did not.  The claim for penalties was based on her employer having stopped paying benefits after an IME.  The employer ultimately prevailed on that issue, the appellate court

Appellate Court Reverses Total Permanent Award

Professional Transportation, Inc. v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission No. No. 3-10-0783WC In a rare reversal, the Appellate Court struck down an ‘odd-lot’ permanent total disability award.  The petitioner, Barry Clarke, suffered a career-ending right knee injury which required several surgeries, including a total knee replacement.  He also developed a deep vein thrombosis after the total

Wiedner & McAuliffe Among Top Chicago Firms for Workers’ Comp Law in US

Wiedner & McAuliffe, Ltd. is pleased to announce that the firm’s Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers practice was ranked as a top-tier practice group in the Chicago metropolitan area in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® 2011-2012 Best Law Firms rankings. Now in its second year, the U.S. News – Best Lawyers Best Law Firms

Circuit Court Has Primary Jurisdiction in WC Coverage Questions

Hastings Mutual Insurance Company v Ultimate Backyard, LLC et al. No. Nos. 1-10-1751, 1-10-3001 (consolidated) The claimant, Javier Vasquez, was injured while working for Ultimate Backyard and filed a claim at the IWCC.  Ultimate’s carrier, Hastings Mutual, began to pay benefits under a reservation of rights but later withdrew its acceptance of the claim and

Understanding the Backlog: Why are WCMSA reviews taking so long?

Our Medicare department recently attended a conference for the National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals (NAMSAP).  At that conference, two representatives from CMS discussed issues with WCMSA submissions and explained why the review process is taking longer than ever. As you may know, when a WCMSA proposal is submitted, CMS prioritizes its review in the

Production Bonuses and Overtime Wages Included in Average Weekly Wage

Arcelor Mittal Steel vs. IWCC No. No. 1-10-2180WC The claimant, Robert Common, a union member, injured his right arm at work.  He testified that he worked a regular eight-hour shift Monday through Friday.  Each Thursday the next week’s schedule was posted: “2” on the schedule indicated that the individual would be assigned a 12-hour shift

TTD Awarded Despite Refusal to Accept Light Duty Work

Otto Baum Company, Inc. v. IWCC and Tim Hilton No. 4-10-0959WC Tim Hilton was injured while working for Otto Baum Company on August 6, 2008, after which he was taken off work.  After diagnostic workup, he was cleared for sedentary work.  Otto Baum offered a temporary position within his restrictions.  Hilton reported for work but

Personnel and Procedural Changes at IWCC

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has announced personnel and procedural changes impacting the practice statewide.  As to the former, Governor Quinn has made a number of Commission appointments that include the hiring of eight new arbitrators.  The following is the information released by the Commission. The calls of former arbitrators will be handled as follows:

CMS APPROVAL?

As a refresher to our July 2011 newsletter, there is no statutory or regulatory authority requiring CMS approval of a workers’ compensation Medicare set‑aside arrangement (WCMSA).  A series of CMS policy memos clearly implied a “requirement” over the past several years, but in May 2011 CMS issued another policy memo which confirmed: There are no

New CMS Memorandum Addresses Liability Medicare Set Aside Arrangements

On September 29, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued its newest memorandum.  The memorandum, a copy of which follows this Alert, provides insight into the issue of when a Liability Medicare-Set Aside proposal should be submitted to CMS.  While CMS has provided fairly clear work-level review thresholds in the workers’ compensation arena,