Court Says Widow Can Collect on Award of Benefits in Excess of Statutory Maximum

The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that a worker's widow was entitled to weekly benefit payments in excess of the statutory maximum rate, plus interest, all because of an uncorrected mistake in an arbitrator's award. Section 19(f) of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act provides a period of 15 days in which an arbitrator can recall a judgment to correct computational errors. The statute also establishes a 30-day window in which the parties to a judgment can appeal an arbitrator's decision to the Workers' Compensation Commission. After that, the arbitrator's dec...