Case name: McKenzie v. Read
Excavating, 12 ILWCLB 10 (Ill.Ind.Comm.2004).
Ruling: The Commission held that
a claimant, who was diagnosed with work-related quadriparesis, was entitled to
permanent total disability benefits under WCA Section 8(f), a
handicap-accessible van, and additional compensation and attorney's fees under
Sections 19(k) and 16 based on the employer's failure to provide the claimant
with the van. The amount of penalties and attorneys fees will not be assessed by
the Commission until after the employer purchases the van.
What it means: An employer's
refusal to purchase a prescribed handicap-accessible motor vehicle for a
quadriplegic without reasonable basis constitutes grounds for penalties and
attorney's fees under WCA Sections 19(k) and 16.
Summary: The claimant, a heavy
equipment operator, was dismounting from a scraper when he fell to the ground
and landed on his back. He suffered a spinal cord injury and underwent several
surgeries. His treating neurosurgeon diagnosed the claimant's condition as
quadriparesis and prescribed a handicap-accessible conversion van with
wheelchair lift and hand operations. The results of a driver evaluation and
reactions test showed the claimant was a candidate for driving. The claimant
secured an estimate of the cost of a 2002 Ford conversion van with the
appropriate adaptive equipment at $49,350. Based on the opinions of the
claimant's doctors and therapists, the Commission found the claimant permanently
totally disabled under Section 8(f) and entitled to a handicap-accessible van.
Furthermore, the Commission found that the employer's conduct in not providing
the claimant with handicap accessible van was unreasonable and vexatious.
The Commission explained that the evidence overwhelmingly
showed the need for a handicap-accessible van. It was "particularly
unreasonable" for the employer to presume that the claimant's family could
continue to bear the burden of transporting the claimant. However, the
Commission held in abeyance the penalty and attorney's fee awards, reasoning
that the amounts under Sections 19(k) and 16 depend on the cost of the van and
shall be assess by the Commission after the employer purchases a van.
