Arbitrator’s Decision in High-Exposure Stroke Claim

Congratulations to the Illinois Public Risk Fund and John Fassola for their win on behalf of the City of Kankakee in a case involving a catastrophic injury to a firefighter.  The claimant had been cleaning and polishing vehicles on the apparatus floor when he was discovered non-responsive.  It was determined he had suffered a carotid artery dissection leading to a stroke.  Petitioner alleged that his activities in polishing the vehicles, requiring bending and reaching, were a cause of the dissection.  However, we successfully argued that there was no evidence of what specific activities the claimant had been performing.  Therefore, we were able to undermine a medical opinion relying on the extent of his physical activities to establish causation.  The Arbitrator agreed with our argument that causation had not been established.  The claimant was ultimately unable to return to his occupation and remains largely non-verbal as a result of the stroke, meaning the claim, if successful, had a seven-figure exposure.