Rotberg v. Industrial Commission

838 N.E.2d 55, 361 Ill. App. 3d 673, 297 Ill. Dec. 568, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 1011
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 5, 2005
Docket1-04-3013 WC
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 838 N.E.2d 55 (Rotberg v. Industrial Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rotberg v. Industrial Commission, 838 N.E.2d 55, 361 Ill. App. 3d 673, 297 Ill. Dec. 568, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 1011 (Ill. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

JUSTICE HOFFMAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

The claimant, Irwin Rotberg, appeals from an order of the circuit court confirming a decision of the Industrial Commission (Commission)1 denying him benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 1998)), for injuries he allegedly sustained on May 24, 1999, while in the employ of the Chicago Board of Education (Board). For the reasons that follow, we reverse and remand the matter to the Commission with directions.

The following relevant facts were established by the evidence presented at the arbitration hearing.

In May 1999, the claimant was employed by the Chicago Board of Education as a third-grade teacher at Gillespie Elementary School (Gillespie School). On May 21, 1999, between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m., a fight broke out between two of the claimant’s students as he was taking the class for a toilet recess. According to the claimant’s testimony, he tried to intervene in the fight. He stated that he placed his hands on the wrist of Jason Sears, the aggressor, and led the child to the end of the line.

On May 24, 1999, between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m., the claimant was summoned to the school’s main office. Present in the office were Spencer Adams, the principal, Beverly Slater, Doris Jordan and Pamela Sears, Jason’s mother. Mrs. Sears accused the claimant of beating her son. According to the claimant, Adams told Mrs. Sears that, if the claimant beat her son, he should be charged with battery. When the meeting concluded, the claimant returned to his classroom duties.

Between 2:30 and 2:40 p.m. on that same day, the claimant was again summoned to the main office. When he arrived at the office, the claimant was met by six Chicago police officers. The officers placed the claimant under arrest for battery and immediately handcuffed him. According to the claimant, he asked the officers to loosen the handcuffs as they were hurting his hands. The officers refused. The claimant was placed in the rear seat of a squad car and transported to the police station.

The claimant testified that, when he arrived at the police station, he was handcuffed to a pole for 25 to 30 minutes before being strip-searched, fingerprinted, and placed in a cell. According to the claimant, when the handcuffs were removed, his hands were bloody, scraped, and bruised. He testified that he was refused water and, when he asked to use the restroom, he was told to urinate on the floor.

Prior to the events on May 24, 1999, the claimant was treated for psychiatric problems. In 1992, the claimant was referred to Dr. Patrick E. Ebenhoe, a psychiatrist, who treated him for anxiety, panic attacks, and compulsive behavior involving eating and showers. In 1995, Dr. Ebenhoe referred the claimant to Dr. Gerald Blechman, a clinical psychologist, who has since continuously treated him.

The claimant testified that, when he was arrested, he became very panicky and anxious, started to sweat profusely, experienced heart palpitations, and could not stop shaking and trembling. The claimant stated that, while he was at the police station, he felt pain and anxiety and could not stop sweating even though the air conditioning was on. According to the claimant’s wife, a registered nurse, when she spoke to the claimant by phone while he was in police custody, he was babbling and incoherent. George Simmons, a friend of the claimant, was present at the police station when the claimant was released. Simmons testified that, when he saw the claimant, he was disheveled, extremely disoriented, agitated, and very upset. Simmons drove the claimant back to his car in the school’s parking lot. Simmons stated that, after the claimant got into his car, he led the claimant to the expressway because the claimant was disoriented. The claimant testified that, as he drove home, his legs were twitching, he was anxious and distraught, he was sweating and shaking, and his wrists were sore. When he arrived home, the claimant called Dr. Blechman.

WThen the claimant returned to work on May 25, 1999, he was told that he could not teach children until the charges against him were resolved, and he was assigned to a clerical position in the school office.

The claimant applied for a disability pension from the Public School Teachers Pension Fund (Fund). In support of the application, on September 13, 1999, Dr. Jeffrey Weinberg, the claimant’s internist who referred him to Dr. Ebenhoe in 1992, issued a report to the Fund stating that the claimant suffers from depression and panic/anxiety disorder, that he has been under psychiatric care since 1989, and that his condition worsened since his arrest. The report states that the claimant was taking a combination of Prozac, Xanax, and Trazadone. Dr. Weinberg reported that the claimant suffers from severe anxiety when in a classroom and is unable to function in that environment. Dr. Weinberg opined that the claimant suffers from a disability that wholly and “presumably” permanently incapacitates him for teaching.

The claimant continued to perform clerical duties until September 27, 1999, when the charges against him were dismissed. At that time, the acting principal requested that he return to a teaching position. The claimant testified that he requested to be assigned to a nonteaching position, but his request was denied. Thereafter, the claimant worked as a gym teacher for four days and acted as a substitute fifth-grade teacher.

On October 16, 1999, Dr. Blechman also issued a report in support of the claimant’s application for a disability pension. In that report, he diagnosed the claimant as suffering from panic disorder without agoraphobia. Dr. Blechman revealed that the claimant had been under his care since April of 1995, but that he had suffered from the condition for several years before beginning treatment. According to the report, the accusation that the claimant physically abused a student followed by his incarceration exacerbated the panic-anxiety related to his teaching duties. Dr. Blechman also opined that the claimant suffers from a disability that wholly and “presumably” permanently incapacitates him for teaching.

On November 2, 1999, the claimant requested a medical leave of absence and, on the following day, he began receiving sick pay. In support of the claimant’s request for a medical leave of absence, Dr. Weinberg issued a report to the Board on November 18, 1999, again listing a diagnosis of depression and panic/anxiety disorder and stating that the claimant’s condition is permanent. Dr. Blechman issued a report on November 19, 1999, repeating his diagnosis of panic disorder without agoraphobia and stating that the claimant was unable to function at work.

Relating to the claimant’s application for a disability pension, the Fund had him examined by two psychiatrists; Dr. Richard S. Abrams on November 12, 1999, and Dr. John Utley on November 16, 1999. Both physicians found the claimant to be suffering from a permanent disability that incapacitates him for teaching. Dr. Abrams diagnosed the claimant as suffering from panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive neurosis, both mild to moderate and “probably influenced by medication.” Dr. Utley diagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder without agoraphobia, and social phobia.

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Rotberg v. Industrial Commission
838 N.E.2d 55 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
838 N.E.2d 55, 361 Ill. App. 3d 673, 297 Ill. Dec. 568, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 1011, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rotberg-v-industrial-commission-illappct-2005.