In this case, a police officer was driving a squad car in response to a call for emergency assistance.  He suffered an injury in a vehicle collision.  The officer filed a workers’ compensation claim for that injury.  Our office represented the officer’s employer, a suburban municipality.  A settlement of the workers’ compensation case was reached with the employer reserving its lien rights to reimbursement if a recovery was made in any third party claim.

Although the police officer declined to sue the other driver, we believed that the collision was caused by the other driver’s negligence.  Under Section 5(b) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, an employer may file suit against a third party who is liable for a work-related injury within the last three months before the statutory period for such filing would otherwise expire.

Robert Newman of our firm did file a suit on behalf of the employer against the other driver and established his negligence during the course of the litigation. A settlement was obtained which reimbursed the employer all monies expended in the Workers’ Compensation case including medical bills, lost time costs and the permanent disability settlement.

For questions about Section 5(b) and recovery pursuant to a Workers’ Compensation lien or subrogation interest, you may contact Robert T. Newman of the firm at 312/627-0631 or rnewman@msulaw.com.