Illinois: “If you are a state employee and your feet hurt, you could be in line to receive medical care, including surgery, paid time off plus a tax-free disability settlement that might exceed your annual salary — all paid for by taxpayers. You also would keep your job.” Arbitration awards for trauma inflicted by “repetitive walking” and other seemingly common workplace stresses have caused enough concern that state attorney general Lisa Madigan has called for tightening up causation standards. [Belleville News-Democrat]
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What’s next? Repetitive sitting? Repetitive leaning on a shovel? Repetitive socializing during work hours?
When I did worker’s comp in Virginia, “repetitive” wasn’t “compensable”, i.e., something you could get paid for. So claimants just invented a sudden pop or sudden pull that they could then overlay on an otherwise-repetitive injury like sore back or shoulder. I always imagined the lawyer-client meeting went like this:
“I got hurt at work. I just used my back so much it started to hurt.’
“Well, you know, you can’t get paid for that. The law only allows payment if there’s a sudden injury. So let me ask you. Was there a sudden injury?”
“Oh, yeah. I guess there was.”