1-13-2021; IL Gen'l Assembly Extends Rebuttable Presumption for First Responders by John Campbell; Pre-Judgment Interest on PI Claims Passed by IL Gen'l Assembly to See If Gov Will Sign It and more

Synopsis: Our Illinois General Assembly extends rebuttable presumption of workplace exposure; from John P. Campbell, Jr., J.D.

Editor’s Comment: In our recent KCBA update, we noted our IL Governor briefly extended the Emergency Proclamation through January 10th and may do so again until the vaccine(s) stem the tide of Covid-19 infections. In similar fashion, we predicted our IL State Legislature would also extend the rebuttable presumption of work-related infection for First Responders and “essential workers” beyond the original December 31, 2020 deadline in the original Statute.

If we could only predict the outcome of this weekend’s NFL playoffs as accurately!!

The General Assembly passed HB4276 on January 13, 2021 which formally extends the legal presumption of workplace exposure in the Occupational Disease Act. This rebuttable presumption now applies to diagnoses occurring through June 30, 2021.

The relevant language modified is as follows:

(4) The rebuttable presumption created in this subsection applies to all cases tried after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly and in which the diagnosis of COVID-19 was made on or after March 9, 2020 and on or before June 30, 2021 (including the period between December 31, 2020 and the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly).

Please note any potential “gap” in the rebuttable presumption since December 31st has been bridged as well, so there will be no period where this rebuttable presumption does not apply since the March 9, 2020 effective date. We all  hope and pray that this extended timeframe for the rebuttable presumption will be the last one needed.  We say this not just as advocates for employers in this State, but with eager anticipation that vaccine distribution will put an end to all things Covid-19 very soon.

We continue to remind and encourage employers to remain vigilant in compliance with CDC and IDPH recommendations for PPE use and increased precautions to limit spread of Covid-19 in the workplace. These practices will help keep your employees safe and also afford employers the ability to rebut the presumption of workplace exposure.

This article was researched and written by John P. Campbell, Jr. Feel free to contact John about its content at JCampbell@keefe-law.com. Please also reply or otherwise contact the defense attorneys at KCBA for further guidance on building your defense to work-place Covid-19 claims.

Synopsis: ITLA Waits To The Last Hour/Minute To Unleash Pre-Judgment Interest on IL Businesses and Governments. Will Gov. Pritzker Sign?

Editor’s comment: The millionaire plaintiff personal injury lawyers that donate to and run the Illinois Trial Lawyers Ass’n waited and waited to keep this one out of the media for as long as they possibly could. Please remember the IL General Assembly has super-majorities for one party so the only thing that might impact anti-business and anti-government legislation is public opinion. The best path to stymie public opinion is to hold the bills you don’t want the public to read about until the very last minute of the last day.

I have handled personal injury litigation for claims from all over the United States and I assure my readers pre-judgment interest is basically an unearned bonus for Claimants and their wealthy lawyers. How would it work—well, there was a serious injury where Claimant filed suit and the matter went to hearing—the prep and trial probably took about three to four years. The jury came back with a verdict of $64M which remains the record in this State for construction injuries. With this new bill providing 9 per cent interest from the day the Defendants knew of the loss, it could have been five or six years from the date of injury to the date of the jury verdict. On a $64M verdict, 9% interest for 5 years is about $28.8M. So the defendants wouldn’t owe $64M, they would owe almost $93M for the same claim! Please also note this concept gives a Plaintiff with a solid claim every interest in not moving forward at no risk to themselves or their clients—it will be like sitting on an amazing investment that will only keep getting better and better.

Why did ITLA pick 9%--with respect to the members of the bar, I have literally no idea other than greed. Not kidding. No one is lending money at 9%; why should defendants have to pay box car numbers like this?

Is pre-judgment interest “fair”—not a bit. Some States have it but at dramatically lower values/rates. No one in a personal injury claim knows how the outcome will end up. Please also note this concept works wonderfully for a Claimant who loses their case before a jury but their lawyer goes before a friendly trial judge to get a new trial with a second bite at the apple—if they get a friendlier jury and a big verdict on the second bite, they can cash in on years of pre-judgment interest.

Please also remember interest is going to run and be payable on “pain and suffering.” I have no idea why someone would get interest on pain and suffering as if anyone knows what that is or how it is properly calculated. I feel juries come up with numbers for things like that by throwing darts at boards.

Similarly, interest is going to run on future damages like future medical bills and future lost wages!!! If a jury finds you have suffered future damages of either sort in a specific amount, you can tack 9% interest on it from the date the Defendant learned of the injury to the date of payment. I cannot imagine how that makes sense to anyone but a rabid Plaintiff attorney.

Be sure this concept, if the Gov signs it,  is going to increase the cost of insurance for businesses large and small. It is also going to hit local governments across the State where they have to deal with defense of personal injury claims—that is going to increase our taxes.

Please note this concept, if it becomes law is going to greatly encourage you and your business/government to seek out efficient and effective defense attorneys, like the team at KCB&A. Our focus is on closing files—if you want strong defense counsel that will work with you to get personal injury claims to appropriate reserves/values and close, send a reply.

We appreciate your thoughts and comments. Please post them on our award-winning blog.

Passages

We are chagrined to note former Almost-Certainly-Billionaire Michael Madigan is no longer Speaker of the Illinois House. It is interesting to note the rest of the media has rarely pointed out how “Iron Mike” has made zillions with his law firm that handles RE tax appeals for thousands of IL businesses. The odd math on that is one government agency—the County Assessor--over-charges for RE taxes and this State legislator then picks up the ball to cut the tax bite while taking hefty legal fees for himself. If you do the math from the Chicago Tribune on how much his law firm has been successful in cutting RE taxes and multiply by legal fees of 25% or 33.3%, former Speaker Madigan is wildly and legally wealthy. What I always thought was missing from this scenario is any legislative effort at any level to hold hearings and investigate and reform the RE tax system to get the taxes correct the first time and not require what I consider to be fake “appeals” of the never-ending poor math on RE tax assessment.

We are also advised Douglas McCarthy, one of nine Illinois workers' compensation commissioners, retired last week after two years on the job and many more years as an arbitrator and claimants' attorney, the IWCC announced. “Doug” McCarthy practiced work comp and disability law in Decatur from 1979 until 2012, when he was appointed workers' compensation Arbitrator by then-Gov. Pat Quinn. Gov. J.B. Pritzker elevated McCarthy to become a Commissioner in 2019. He also was member of a 2016 committee that provided a comprehensive review of the Rules of Practice Before the IL WC Commission, the first in 40 years. We wish him all the best.

Synopsis: Looking for New WC Defense Business in the Midst of the Great Pandemic!

Editor’s comment: As we start the New Year, the amazing defense team to KCB&A is looking for great clients who need defense help in the five States we handle—IL, IN, IA, WI and MI.

We are the only defense firm I know of that has adjunct Law Professors who taught workers’ comp law to lots of lawyers, risk managers and claims handlers and others.

We have strong recommendations for physicians/surgeons, nurse case management, surveillance operatives and others to fit the needs of your claims.

We are approved for defense work with all major WC insurance carriers.

We close defense files faster than any other firm I have ever seen—if you can tell us how to close files even faster, we will do it!

If you have interest in being represented by the top WC legal defense firm in the States listed above, send a reply or call Gene Keefe at 312 907 8226.