Illinois' Department of Central Management Services claims it will be forced to pay one of its officers more than $130,000 after he was struck by an ATV driver who was riding illegally on a historic site.
The department filed a lawsuit June 11 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Eric Robinson and Megan Wieseman.
The department claims Robinson was driving a four-wheel Yamaha ATV owned by Wieseman north on Rattlesnake Mound Trail in Canteen on June 15, 2008, when Department of Natural Resources officer William Wichern noticed someone operating a vehicle on the historic site.
Wichern approached Robinson, who then struck him, according to the complaint.
Because of the incident, the Illinois Depratment of Natural Resources has been forced to pay Wichern workers' compensation benefits of at least $137,500, the suit states.
The Department of Central Management Services blames Robinson for causing it workers' compensation payments, saying Robinson drove on a walking path inside Cahokia Mounds historic site; drove in a reckless, erratic and dangerous manner; failed to avoid striking Wichern when asked to stop his operation of the ATV; and drove on a historic site.
Because of Wieseman's relationship with Robinson, she should have known he had several arrests for driving on a suspended license and, therefore, had a proclivity for reckless driving, the complaint says. Accordingly, she should never have allowed Robinson to operate the ATV, according to the complaint.
In its two-count complaint, the Department of Central Management Services is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs.
Deborah Sterling-Scott, assistant attorney general, will be representing it.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-294.
Illinois sues ATV driver over DNR worker's injuries at Cahokia Mounds
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY