Taylor v. Pekin Insurance

Chief Justice Fitzgerald and Justices Freeman, Thomas, Kilbride, Garman, and Karmeier concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

This case involves the application of section 5(b) of the Workers’ Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/5(b) (West 2006)), which grants an employer a lien on an employee’s recovery against a third-party tortfeasor, up to the amount of the workers’ compensation benefits paid to the employee. The second paragraph of section 5(b) requires the employer to pay the employee’s attorney an attorney fee totaling 25% of the amount of the lien recovered by the employer. At issue…