The Illinois Supreme Court recently held that exclusionary auto insurance policies, such as one an elderly driver might have as an owner who does not drive his own vehicle, are against public policy. (American Access Casualty Company v. Anna Reyes, 2013 IL 115601). This is an interesting and noteworthy opinion because it is rare that the court will invalidate a contractual obligation based upon public policy. The facts and injury in Reyes are indeed extreme: defendant Anna Reyes was driving the car that was involved in an accident that killed a four-year old boy. Though Ms. Reyes was the named […]
The Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District recently held that the “parking lot” exception may apply in cases where a temporary employee is injured in an assigned parking spot on her way to work. (Suter v. Ill. Workers Compensation Comm’n, 2013 IL App (4th) 130049WC). In this case, the petitioner, Mary Suter, sustained an arm fracture when she slipped and fell on ice as she exited her parked car on her way to work. Ms. Suter was a temporary employee, working for the Manpower agency, and assigned to the Illinois Department of Insurance. She was instructed to park in […]
Imagine the following: you are in your car, sitting in stopped traffic, cars lined up ahead of you so far that the stoplight ahead looks like a tiny light on a Christmas tree. Suddenly, before you can even process what is happening, there is a loud crash and your entire car jolts forward, whipping your head and neck along with it. As you massage the area where your seatbelt fortunately kept you from flying through the windshield, your first thought might be to get out and survey the damage. Or perhaps you have passengers, and your thoughts go to their […]
