Blotevogel
A St. Clair County woman says she was fired from her job at a healthcare company for filing a workers' compensation claim after being hurt on the job.
Kimberly Ward filed a lawsuit June 8 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Addus Healthcare Inc.
Ward says she was working for Addus Healthcare in April 2007 and was picking up a patient at a hospital. It was then, Ward claims, that her foot was run over by a wheelchair, causing her to twist abruptly and hurt her back. Ward says she continued to work the day it happened but went to see a doctor soon after. Ward says the physician recommended she take time off work to help heal her lower back pain and eliminate the numbness in her arm and leg.
Ward contends she told her supervisor immediately following the injury and notified her employer in May 2007 of her intent to file a workers' compensation claim. A month later, Ward says she was fired but says she was told she could have her job back if she dropped her claims against Addus Healthcare.
Addus Healthcare is accused of violating Illinois' Workers' Compensation Act. Ward asks for more than $50,000 in damages plus court fees.
She is represented by attorneys Michael T. Blotevogel and Charles W. Armbruster III of Alton.
St. Clair Count Circuit Court Case No. 12-L-313