Page 63 - March 2018 FOP Newsletter

An article submitted by a Lodge 7 Magazine Sponsor
Disability rights of officers
Understand the process and avoid the pitfalls
An injury or unexpected illness that takes you out of commission is frustrating enough, but navi- gating the process of filing a disability claim
in a system that seems designed to trip you
up can make your bad luck feel even worse.
While I concentrate my practice on person-
al injury, medical malpractice and wrongful
death matters, I thought it would be helpful
to provide guidance for officers regarding disability benefits. The good news is that you
do have rights and, armed with information, you can successfully claim the benefits you are entitled to
under the law.
My first and most important piece of advice is that you should
seek counsel from a union official before filing an application for disability benefits with the pension board. The information you include on that initial form can often determine the outcome of the case, so it is important that you have an advocate on your side. If appropriate, your union will assign and pay for an attorney to represent you at the disability hearing.
Officers must first exhaust their 365 days of IOD/medical time before they may receive benefits, but about 10 months into that year is the best time to apply for disability. There are three catego- ries of disability benefits:
Duty disability benefits. These replace 75 percent of the com- pensation of active-duty officers who become disabled as a result of an injury incurred in the performance of an act of duty. An “act of duty” is specifically defined as an act of police duty that involves a special risk not ordinarily assumed by a citizen, or any act of her- oism taken to save the life or property of a person other than the officer.
Ordinary disability benefits. These replace 50 percent of an of- ficer’s compensation and provide coverage during times of serious illness, including a preexisting injury that is reinjured on the job.
Occupational disability benefits. Replacing 65 percent of an officer’s compensation, these benefits are sometimes called “heart disability,” and they are available to officers with at least 10 years of service who experience a heart attack or other disabling heart disease.
For officers with illness or non–duty-related injuries, medical records will serve as the primary source of evidence in the case. For officers injured on duty, however, the process is more com- plicated. At the time of injury, an officer’s sergeant will prepare an injured on duty (IOD) report that describes the nature of the injury and how it occurred. It is pivotal that your sergeant includes the specific act of duty that you were in the process of performing at the time of injury. Remember, this is your report — do not sign it if it is not an accurate representation of what took place. You may ask your sergeant to revise the report to make it more accu- rate before you sign. If you sign a flawed report and later regret it, there is a final opportunity for recourse by asking the Committee on Finance to amend it by filing a “to/from subject report.” If the original IOD report does not support your account of the injury, and particularly the Act of Duty claim, you will be hindered in your attempt to get disability.
Once you file the application for benefits with the pension board, you will be granted a hearing. At this time, you will pres- ent all pertinent evidence for the record. This will include medical records, police reports, the IOD report, cell phone, dashboard or
body-camera video, and testimony or records from fellow officers, supervisorsordoctors.Thepensionboardwillconsiderallthis
evidence and vote on your case.
If you have a strong case, the vote will likely go your
way and you can expect to see your first benefit check in about 10 weeks. But if the board votes no, you still have options. Officers who are denied benefits or feel that they
LEGAL
Commentary
TED McNABOLA
did not receive appropriate benefits may file an appeal to the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Officers only have 35 days to file an appeal. The judge will only consider the evidence presented at your pension board hearing, not any new evidence, and will rule on whether the pension board
acted appropriately in your case.
You put your life on the line each day to protect the citizens of
our City, and it is your right to receive compensation when disabil- ity keeps you from performing your job. As you can see, applying for these benefits is complex and requires careful planning and good counsel from your union representatives. But successfully navigating the process will help you get treated fairly. d
Ted McNabola represents victims of personal injury, medical mal- practice and wrongful death and has been named one of the Top 100 consumer attorneys in Illinois by Law and Politics Magazine.
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2018 63