Zephyr, Inc. v. Industrial Commission

576 N.E.2d 1, 215 Ill. App. 3d 669, 159 Ill. Dec. 332
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJuly 26, 1991
Docket1-90-0679 WC
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 576 N.E.2d 1 (Zephyr, Inc. 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
Zephyr, Inc. v. Industrial Commission, 576 N.E.2d 1, 215 Ill. App. 3d 669, 159 Ill. Dec. 332 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE McNAMARA

delivered the opinion of the court:

Respondents, Zephyr, Inc., and The Travelers Insurance Company, appeal from an order of the circuit court of Cook County confirming a decision of the Industrial Commission (Commission) which ordered respondents to pay for remodeling claimant’s home. Claimant, John Giannoules, sought worker’s compensation benefits under section 8(a) of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 48, par. 138.8(a)) for injuries sustained on December 27, 1986, while working for Zephyr, which resulted in the 100% loss of the use of both legs. By agreement of the parties, the Commission determined that claimant was permanently totally disabled within the meaning of the Act. The arbitrator entered an award based upon that determination, which has not been appealed.

The issues before this court are whether the Commission’s decision which awarded claimant $275,491.74 for the modification and remodeling of his residence at 1715 Parkside Drive in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, was against the manifest weight of the evidence, and whether the Act may be construed to cover payment for remodeling claimant’s home.

On January 14, 1988, after a hearing, the arbitrator ordered respondents to pay claimant $299,200 for remodeling his home. The arbitrator explicitly adopted the testimony and recommendations of claimant’s architects, Leonard Wisniewski and Michael Dixon. The arbitrator found these changes “reasonable and necessary” for claimant’s physical, mental and occupational rehabilitation under section 8(a). The arbitrator rejected the testimony of Steven Lome, Travelers’ expert, who estimated the cost of remodeling at $85,000.

Upon review, the Commission reopened the proofs, requesting specific additional evidence. Claimant submitted various itemized estimates for his modification plan. Respondents did not submit any further evidence. The Commission found that certain items in claimant’s proposed plan were not reasonable and necessary, particularly the elevator, skylight, security system, lighting equipment, and waterbed. The Commission accordingly reduced the award to $275,491.74. In its order, the Commission explicitly found Travelers’ modification plan “inadequate” and characterized it as “consisting mainly of changes to Petitioner’s kitchen.”

On appeal, respondents argue that the Commission’s decision ordering respondents to pay $275,491 to remodel claimant’s home is against the manifest weight of the evidence for two reasons: (1) claimant’s architect did not rely upon a medical opinion in developing the proposal; and (2) claimant’s proposal was based upon a rough estimate of costs and was, thus, too speculative and uncertain upon which to base a dollar award against respondents.

Claimant testified that while working for Zephyr on December 27, 1986, he sustained a bullet wound which severed his spinal cord and completely paralyzed him from the chest to the toes. Dr. Roth, claimant’s treating physician, told him that he will be confined to a wheelchair or bed for the rest of his life. Claimant cannot control his bladder or bowel function and frequently has accidents. He follows a daily regimen for bowel and bladder control, which requires a nurse’s assistance for three to four hours daily. Claimant’s 10-year-old daughter, who has been a paraplegic since birth, is also confined to a wheelchair and has similar bowel and bladder control problems.

Claimant currently resides at 211 East Ohio Street in Chicago in a facility leased and operated for Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (Institute) patients, where he has lived since March 12, 1987. Prior to that time, he lived in the Institute’s main building several blocks away. Dr. Roth had instructed claimant to remain at the Institute facility until his home was modified because the home lacked accessible bathroom facilities and a ramp to accommodate his wheelchair.

Dr. Roth testified before the arbitrator for respondents that claimant’s incontinence and necessity for a bladder and bowel program required two separate wheelchairs and accessible bathrooms for claimant and his daughter. Dr. Roth also stated that claimant’s physical and mental well-being required that he have full accessibility to all parts of the home and sufficient space to roll through all doorways, and emphasized that two wheelchairs needed to be accommodated in the home. Dr. Roth also recommended separate beds for claimant and his wife, and heat lamps. He later stated that the home needed at least two exits and ramps to the outside for safety and an exit and ramp to the garage. Although Dr. Roth testified that Travelers’ plan was adequate for claimant’s needs, that plan provided only one exit and one bathroom.

Leonard Wisniewski, claimant’s architect, testified at the arbitration hearing that he had designed eight homes for wheelchair-incapacitated persons and considers himself an expert in the area. He visited claimant 20 times at his home in order to understand claimant’s physical disability, the limitations of wheelchair movements in the home and the special family circumstances. Wisniewski also consulted numerous textbooks and treatises. He did not rely on the specific recommendations of any doctor. His plan proposes the following modifications and additions: add ramp to front door; add storage locations for two wheelchairs; widen main corridor to accommodate two wheelchairs; remodel bathroom to allow claimant to transfer from wheelchair to toilet; remodel bedroom to allow him to readily transfer from wheelchair to bed; remodel kitchen to allow access for two wheelchairs; add elevator to basement for safety and access to physical therapy equipment; add ramps to living room and family room; and increase garage size to accommodate elevator.

Wisniewski prepared a 22-item estimate of construction costs which totaled $323,940 and included legal fees and building permits. In developing this estimate, he relied upon cost estimates, his own experience in estimating construction costs, and conversations with suppliers and other persons experienced in this area. He testified that his “whole concern was to minimize cost and simplify the building.” Wisniewski did not retain a general contractor, but a general contractor did prepare a preliminary estimate in June 1987 of $200,000 to $225,000. When Wisniewski presented his plan to Travelers at an April 1987 meeting, it immediately viewed the plan as excessive and rejected it without further consideration.

Wisniewski reviewed Travelers’ modification proposal as prepared by Steve Lome. He found that it indicated limited modifications to the kitchen, garage, and bathroom which failed to serve claimant’s needs. Specifically, Wisienewski found that Lome’s plan failed to account for two wheelchair-bound individuals in the home who require a strict daily regime for bowel and bladder incontinence. Lome’s plan also failed to provide full access for two wheelchairs in the hallways and in all rooms and ignored the safety and accessibility needs of a disabled person. Lome’s plan, in his view, failed for “lack of safety” and “lack of room to function.” Finally, the plan violated the Hoffman Estates building code provision which designates the required space between the building and the lot line.

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Bluebook (online)
576 N.E.2d 1, 215 Ill. App. 3d 669, 159 Ill. Dec. 332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zephyr-inc-v-industrial-commission-illappct-1991.