I'm a Chicago police officer injured on duty. Who can I sue?

Why isn't a Chicago officer covered by workers' comp?

The Act's definition of employee leaves out any duly appointed member of a police department in a city of more than 500,000 people (820 ILCS 305/1(b)(1)). In Illinois that means Chicago.

What do I get instead?

Medical care paid by the City, under an ordinance the Pension Code authorizes (40 ILCS 5/22-306). And if the injury keeps you from working, a duty disability benefit from the pension fund. It is 75% of salary for an injury in the performance of an act of duty. It drops to 50% where a pre-existing condition caused the disability or the disability is less than half of total. It runs until age 63 or mandatory retirement, whichever is later (40 ILCS 5/5-154).

None of that pays for pain. None of it comes from the person who hurt you.

Can I sue the City or another officer?

Not for negligence or any other common-law injury claim. Once a city enacts the medical-care ordinance, an officer has no common-law right to damages from that city for a line-of-duty injury (40 ILCS 5/22-307). Chicago has the ordinance. An appellate court has applied the bar to suits against fellow officers as well, including claims of willful and wanton conduct (Lohman v. Bemis, 289 Ill. App. 3d 139 (Ill. App. Ct. 1997)).

Then who can I sue?

Anyone else whose carelessness hurt you.

The driver. That lawsuit has to be filed within two years of the crash (735 ILCS 5/13-202).

The bar. If the driver was drunk, the licensed business that served him can be liable, and that lawsuit has to be filed within one year (235 ILCS 5/6-21(a)). Receipts and video don't last. Move on this one first.

A manufacturer. Defective equipment is a products liability claim. Start from the two-year personal injury deadline (735 ILCS 5/13-202), and have a lawyer check the separate cutoffs that apply to product claims.

Another government body. If another town's squad car or a park district truck hit you, the deadline is one year (745 ILCS 10/8-101(a)).

Does the fireman's rule stop me?

Not for those claims. The rule says a landowner or occupier owes a firefighter no duty to prevent the fire that brought him there. The Illinois Supreme Court refused to extend it past landowners and occupiers, and it allowed a firefighter to bring a products liability claim for an injury suffered while fighting a fire (Court v. Grzelinski, 72 Ill. 2d 141 (1978)).

If you were hurt by a condition on someone's property while answering a call, have a trial lawyer look at how the rule has been applied to officers.

What about my own insurance?

Pull your personal auto policy and look for underinsured motorist coverage. A driver carrying minimum limits won't cover a serious injury. Whether your policy follows you into a department vehicle depends on its wording, so put the policy in front of a lawyer.

I work for a suburban department or a sheriff. Is it different?

Partly. Officers outside Chicago, and deputy sheriffs, are employees under the Workers' Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/1(b)(1)). You have a comp claim, and you can't sue your own department (820 ILCS 305/5(a)). The claims against everyone else are the same (820 ILCS 305/5(b)).

What should I do now?

• Report the injury through the department the same day and keep your copy.
• Get the crash report number and the name of the other driver's insurer.
• Ask in writing that body camera and in-car video be preserved.
• If alcohol was involved, note where the arrest report says the driver had been drinking.
• Don't give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance company.
• Put the one-year dates on a calendar today.

Working with GB Law

GB Law starts with the facts and tells you which claims you have. Where a claim belongs with a trial firm or another attorney we work with, we make the introduction and you know who is handling what. Discipline and injury claims are different work, and you should know which lawyer has which.

Questions people ask

Will the City take part of my recovery?

The Pension Code lets the City recover the medical expenses it paid from the person or company that caused the injury (40 ILCS 5/22-306). How that claim and your duty disability benefit are handled when your own case resolves is something to settle with your trial lawyer before you sign a release.

The person who hurt me was a suspect. Can I sue him?

Yes. An intentional injury is a battery, and the deadline is two years (735 ILCS 5/13-202). Whether he can pay a judgment is the real question.

Is a heart attack on duty covered?

For the pension benefit, yes. A heart attack suffered while performing your duties is treated as an injury in the performance of an act of duty (40 ILCS 5/5-154(d)).

How long do I have?

One year for the bar and for any local government. Two years for the driver, a manufacturer, or a suspect. The statutes are cited above.