Salmon v. City of Pekin

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Congratulations to the IML/CCMSI and John Fassola for their successful defense of a claim before Arbitrator Douglas McCarthy in Salmon v. City of Pekin. The claimant was a police officer who felt a pop in his hip while leaning into a squad car to retrieve equipment. Although the incident was promptly reported, claimant subsequently provided inconsistent histories to his medical providers. We were able to obtain a solid expert opinion that claimant had pre-existing hip pathology, and that his condition was related to a pre-existing labral tear as opposed to any acute pathology. We were also able to obtain significant...

13 September

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Rapp v. Ford Motor Company

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in Significant Wins

Congratulations to Ford Motor Company and Kirk Kuhns for obtaining a favorable decision from Arbitrator Soto in Rapp v. Ford Motor Company. The case was a repetitive trauma/accident claim by an assembling worker alleging a shoulder injury that was denied and fully disputed. Petitioner alleged her injury was due to a tool gun over torqueing, being heavier than usual, kicking back toward her or the cumulative nature of utilizing the tool gun during her employment. Respondent provided witnesses to directly dispute and contradict Petitioner’s testimony. Respondent’s Section 12 examining doctor provided an opinion that Petitioner’s shoulder condition was not causally...

13 September

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Rill v. Rolling Meadows

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in Significant Wins

Congratulations to IRMA and John Fassola for their successful defense of a claim on behalf before Arbitrator Molly Mason in Rill v. Rolling Meadows. The claimant was a firefighter/paramedic who fell while walking down stairs at the firehouse and suffered a fractured ankle. We successfully argued that claimant’s injury was not related to any “increased risk” associated with his employment. He was not responding to a call at the time he fell, and was not carrying any equipment. We also disputed claimant’s contention that the stairs were slippery due to being recently stripped and re-waxed. We introduced photographs showing non-defective...

13 September

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Ohlrich v. City of Palatine

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in Significant Wins

Congratulations to the City of Palatine and John Fassola for their successful defense of a “rebuttable presumption” cardiac claim in the case of Ohlrich v. City of Palatine. The claimant was a firefighter/paramedic who was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and underwent a quadruple bypass, precluding his ability to return to work as a firefighter. Under the law, the claimant’s condition was presumed to be related to his employment as a firefighter, and we were required to disprove the contention with credible evidence. In addition, claimant had been granted a duty disability pension, which claimant’s counsel argued was further evidence...