In a case out of Illinois it was ultimately determined that an employer unjustly denied their employee’s claim on the (false) basis that the employee had not reported their injury quickly enough, and should be penalized as a result.

Tommy Oliver worked as a construction worker for Rausch Construction when he was injured on July 19, 2011. He had been jerked backwards by the tools he was using and hit his elbow against a wall. He noticed some bruising that night but dismissed it as a minor injury. Over the next few days he noticed more swelling and pain. He went to the doctor who told him he had a full thickness tear involving his triceps. He filed for workers’ comp on July 28^th of that year, and then on October 3^rd filed for penalties saying that his employer had not paid for his bills or temporary total disability while he was out of work. His employer said they needed to see his medical records before they could determine whether his claim was valid or not, and his supervisor had told him he could not file his report after the fact.

A year later Oliver’s claim was up in a hearing and he was awarded 12 and a half weeks of TTD benefits at $1,087.2 a week, medical expenses totaling $20,510.27, and permanent partial disability benefits for the 20% loss of the use of his right arm at $695.78 a week for 50.6 weeks. The arbiter also awarded him penalties and attorney fees because it was found that the employer was “unreasonable and vexatious” in failing to pay for his TTD and medical bills in a timely manner. The employer did not dispute that they were responsible for payments to him, but they said he failed to report the accident in a timely manner and were still investigating before they could start paying him. He had reported the incident six days after the accident.

The employer went to the Illinois Workers’ Comp Commission to review this decision, and the commission said that they should not pay the penalties or attorney fees, which all together totaled about $28,000. They said the employer’s behavior in determining the validity of the claim was not unreasonable and reversed the penalties and attorney fees he would have received, but still allowed the claimant to receive compensation for bills, TTD and PPD benefits that the arbiter had decided upon.

The case made its way through the courts and went to judicial review where the circuit court reversed the Commission’s decision. They said that in Illinois a worker has 45 days to report their injury, and since Mr. Oliver reported his injury well within that time frame his employer was unreasonable in delaying his benefits without the proper investigation. Mr. Oliver would receive workers’ comp benefits and penalties from his employer.