Rill v. Rolling Meadows

Congratulations to IRMA and John Fassola for their successful defense of a claim on behalf before Arbitrator Molly Mason in Rill v. Rolling Meadows.  The claimant was a firefighter/paramedic who fell while walking down stairs at the firehouse and suffered a fractured ankle.  We successfully argued that claimant’s injury was not related to any “increased risk” associated with his employment.  He was not responding to a call at the time he fell, and was not carrying any equipment.  We also disputed claimant’s contention that the stairs were slippery due to being recently stripped and re-waxed.  We introduced photographs showing non-defective stairs with appropriate skid-protection strips, as well as documentation proving that Petitioner had worked prior shifts without noticing anything unusual about the stairs.  The Arbitrator agreed that the claimant failed to demonstrate an increased risk and found that Petitioner failed to prove a compensable work-related accident.