Capital member Geoff Bryce was recently quoted in “Forging a Contract for a COVID-Exit World” for Construction Executive magazine. The article notes that due to the pandemic and continued rising costs of materials, contractors are increasingly turning to construction law firms to navigate contract language and delayed projects. The nation’s […]

Capital member Rich Lenkov wrote an article for Business Insurance on COVID-19 presumptions and the future of other infectious diseases in workers’ compensation. “Tips for Rebutting COVID-19 Presumptions” notes that many states that have enacted presumption statutes, but have not provided guidance on overcoming the presumption. Rich examines Illinois’ presumption—signed […]

By: Geoff Bryce On May 28, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law Senate Bill 72 which provides for pre-judgment interest to plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in Illinois. The new law provides: Interest at the rate of 6% accrues on all damages including pain and suffering (but […]

CLM Magazine recently ran income member Jeff Kehl’s news alert on Branscomb v. Walmart in CLM National: May 2021. The monthly feature highlights six state-based briefs that cover important court decisions, trends or legislation. Jeff’s alert, “Managers Not Liable in Slip, Trips & Falls,” focuses on the Indiana Supreme Court’s […]

By: Kirsten Kaiser Kus The Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board’s accident tracking system, CAUSE, will be inoperable beginning at noon on 4/29/21 for one week. The WCB’s new electronic file management system is scheduled to launch on 5/5/21. Current data will be frozen and transferred to the new system, but certain forms […]

By: Jeff Kehl The Indiana Supreme Court recently ruled that store managers cannot be held liable for negligent hiring and retaining store employees or for the existence of allegedly hazardous store conditions. The Branscomb v. Walmart, 20S-CQ-515 (April 7, 2021) opinion ends a growing trend of naming store managers as […]

Every day, companies face an abundance of premises liability claims such as comparative negligence, open and obvious hazards, natural accumulation, spoliation of evidence and many more. Capital member Storrs Downey and income member Jeff Kehl recently co-authored an updated comprehensive overview of Illinois & Indiana premises liability that all employers […]

Chicago income member Jeff Kehl recently published an article for CLM Magazine titled, “Discovering New Protections.” Jeff breaks down Burdess v. Cottrell, Inc., a case of first impression Jeff successfully argued before the Illinois Appellate Court. The case examined whether a workers’ compensation lienholder is subject to written discovery from […]

By: Kirsten Kaiser Kus A new Indiana bill would allow employees to choose their own physician to treat any workplace injury or occupational disease. HB1339 allows employees to choose their attending physician regardless of their date of injury and would further require employers or their insurers to reimburse the chosen health care […]

By: Rich Lenkov & Michael Milstein As we anticipated, both houses of the Illinois General Assembly have unanimously passed HB4276, extending the COVID-19 rebuttal presumption to 6/30/21. The bill amends both the Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act and Public Employee Disability Act and applies to employees who contracted the virus between 3/9/20 and 6/30/21. […]