Keefe: Employer Must Pay 25% Legal Fee Despite Worker's $64M Recovery

In Bayer v. Panduit, the Illinois Supreme Court considered a claim where the worker was severely injured. In his third-party action against the construction companies who caused the accident, he recovered an Illinois-record $64 million verdict for such injuries. At the time of the jury verdict, the gross work comp lien was about $5.2 million. When/if that verdict would have been paid by the defendants, the employer would receive the $5.2 million lien less a 25% statutory attorney fee owed to the claimant’s attorneys, along with deduction of a pro rata share of court costs....