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Sheppard v. Rebidas12/9/2004
UNPUBLISHED
Intervenor-appellant, Sentry Insurance Company (Sentry), as subrogee of Maytag Corporation (Maytag), appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County finding that it did not have a lien pursuant to section 5(b) of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (Act) (820 ILCS 305/5(b) (West 2002)) against the proceeds of a settlement between plaintiff, Bernard Sheppard (Sheppard), and defendant, Bozena Rebidas (Rebidas). We affirm the circuit court.
The facts of this case are as follows. In 2000 and 2001, Sheppard was involved in several work-related accidents while employed by Maytag. The first accident occurred on October 17, 2000, the second on December 21, 2000, and the third on June 26, 2002. With regard to each accident, Sheppard filed a separate claim for benefits under the Act with the Illinois Industrial Commission. In each instance, Sentry was Maytag's insurance carrier.
Sentry settled all three of Sheppard's workers' compensation claims. To settle Sheppard's claim for the October 17 accident, Sentry agreed to pay him a lump sum of $50,000. The settlement agreement was prepared by Sheppard's former attorney, Bradley Dworkin, and sent to a claims representative for Sentry, Kelly Kumm. Kumm signed the agreement on July 31, 2002. The agreement was later approved by the Illinois Industrial Commission on September 10, 2002. With regard to Sheppard's claim for the December 21 accident, Sentry agreed to pay only $1 as a lump-sum payment, and the settlement agreement specified that there had been no temporary disability, otherwise known as "lost time." Again, this agreement was prepared by Dworkin and sent to Kumm. It was signed by Kumm on October 8, 2002, and approved by the Illinois Industrial Commission on January 13, 2003. Finally, with regard to the June 26 accident, the parties again agreed that there had been no "lost time" and that Sentry would pay the lump sum of only $1. The agreement, prepared by Dworkin, was signed by Kumm on August 20, 2002, and approved by the Illinois Industrial Commission on January 10, 2003.
On June 20, 2002, before Sheppard and Sentry had settled the workers' compensation claims, Sheppard filed a personal injury suit against Bozena Rebidas, a third party involved in the December 21 accident, for the injuries he sustained in that accident. Sheppard initially obtained a default judgment in his suit against Rebidas and was awarded $560,000. While proceedings to vacate the default judgment were pending, Sentry filed a petition to intervene in the suit. In its petition, Sentry asserted that, as a result of the December 21 accident, it had paid Sheppard over $90,000, and, therefore, it retained a lien in that amount pursuant to section 5(b) of the Act (820 ILCS 305/5(b) (West 2002)) against any award or settlement between Rebidas and Sheppard in the suit. The court permitted Sentry's intervention. On July 2, 2003, Rebidas and Sheppard settled Sheppard's personal injury claim for $400,000.
Upon settlement of the action with Rebidas, Sheppard filed his petition to adjudicate the workers' compensation lien. In it, Sheppard moved the court to enter an order adjudicating Sentry's recoverable workers' compensation lien as $19,523.37. In support, Sheppard noted that the parties had settled the claim for the December 21 accident, agreeing that Sentry would pay a lump sum of $1 for permanent partial disability and that there was no payment for temporary total disability. Thus, Sheppard maintained, the only item properly included in the lien was the medical expenses that Sentry had paid pursuant to section 8 of the Act (820 ILCS 305/8 (West 2002)). Sheppard calculated the lien to be $19,523.37.
Sentry res
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