Woman's Lawsuit Says She Was Fired Over Comp Claim

Monday, August 12, 2019 | 0

A former employee of an Illinois automobile dealership has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired after she considered filing a workers' compensation claim for carpel tunnel syndrome.

Chelsea Marinacci contends she was fired after telling her superiors at Tri Ford in Highland, Illinois, about her diagnosis and that she may have to file for benefits, according to an Illinois news report. She said in the suit that she was surprised by the dealership's “reprehensible” behavior.

"Instead of trying to resolve, investigate or administer the workers' compensation claim they were just advised of, Tri Ford, within less than a week, advised plaintiff that she was terminated," the complaint states. “No reason was given at the time of termination, and no papers related to said termination were provided to the plaintiff."

Marinacci seeks more than $50,000 in compensatory damages and more than nine times that in punitive damages. She is represented by attorney Thomas Maag of the Maag Law Firm in Wood River.