Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District
June 28, 2024
This case involved plaintiff Michele M. Blasz’s (“Blasz”) appeal for duty disability benefits, which the Pension Board denied. Blasz had been a police officer and was injured in a 2008 car accident while driving back to the station after a narcotics operation. She later developed neck issues and had surgery in 2020.
Blasz argued that the disability stemmed from the car accident, which occurred while she was performing her duty as a police officer. However, the Board found that her disability was not caused by the 2008 accident. They noted the presence of multiple sclerosis, which was diagnosed shortly after the accident and found to be unrelated, as well as a significant gap in her medical records (2009-2019) that complicated the causal link between the accident and her eventual disability.
On appeal, the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the Board’s decision, agreeing that the evidence did not clearly support that the accident was the cause of Blasz’s disability. The court highlighted the Board’s reliance on medical opinions, particularly from Dr. Levin, who found that her condition did not necessitate further medical care related to the accident. The Board further found that the Plaintiff failed to establish that the injury resulted form an “act of police duty.” According to the Board the accident did not extend beyond what ordinary citizens perform in the ordinary walks of life. According to the Board, the plaintiff was not protecting the public, responding to a disturbance, engaging in patrol duties, or addressing public safety hazards when she was rear-ended. As a result, Blasz was granted ordinary disability benefits rather than the higher-duty disability benefits.
In sum, the court ruled that the Board’s decision was not against the manifest weight of the evidence and affirmed the denial of Blasz’s claim for duty disability benefits.