Matros v. Commonwealth Edison Co.
| Decision Date | 31 July 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-18-0907,1-18-0907 |
| Citation | 136 N.E.3d 83,434 Ill.Dec. 335,2019 IL App (1st) 180907 |
| Parties | Russell MATROS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY, and Exelon Corporation, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Steven R. Saks, of Rittenberg, Buffen, Gulbrandsen, Robinson & Saks, Ltd., of Chicago, for appellant.
Garrett Boehm, of Johnson & Bell, Ltd., and Kent Sezer, both of Chicago, for appellees.
¶ 1 This cause of action stems from a retaliatory discharge claim filed by the plaintiff, Russell Matros, against his former employer, the defendant Commonwealth Edison Company and its parent company, the defendant Exelon Corporation (hereinafter collectively referred to as ComEd), alleging that he was fired in retaliation for exercising his rights under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (Workers' Compensation Act or Act) ( 820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 2012)). After a bench trial, the trial court found in favor of ComEd. The plaintiff appeals from that judgment, contending that (1) the trial court misapplied the law regarding causation and (2) the trial court's findings were against the manifest weight of the evidence. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
¶ 3 From the outset, we note that the record before us is voluminous and that the seven-day bench trial included the testimony of 12 witnesses and the introduction of over 130 exhibits. We therefore set forth only those facts that are relevant to the resolution of the issues addressed in this appeal.
¶ 4 It is undisputed that the plaintiff, who is an overhead electrician specialist (OES), worked for ComEd for over 20 years, between 1979 and September 20, 2004. It is further undisputed that, during his employment with ComEd, the plaintiff filed two separate workers' compensation claims (820 ILCS 305/1-30 (West 2002)) seeking benefits from ComEd. The first such application was filed on July 8, 2003, for injuries suffered to his right shoulder on April 23, 2002 (No. 03-WC-33033). The second application was filed on October 23, 2003, for injuries suffered to his left shoulder and psyche on October 3, 2003 (No. 03-WC-51570).
¶ 5 Following a consolidated hearing on the two claims, on February 16, 2007, the arbitrator found that the injuries sustained by the plaintiff on both April 23, 2002, and October 3, 2003, arose out of and in the course of his employment with ComEd, and that both accidents were "a contributing cause" of the plaintiff's "present psychological condition of ill being." Accordingly, in case No. 03-WC-33033 the arbitrator awarded the plaintiff, inter alia , temporary total disability (TTD) benefits from August 20, 2002, through February 10, 2003, and additional TTD benefits from July 2, 2003, through August 5, 2003. In case No. 03-WC-51570, the arbitrator awarded the plaintiff TTD benefits, medical expenses, and penalties for ComEd's failure to pay those benefits. ComEd filed a petition for review of the arbitrator's decision before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission).
¶ 6 While that petition for review was pending, on March 19, 2007, the plaintiff filed his retaliatory discharge claim against ComEd, alleging that he was terminated because he exercised his right to seek workers' compensation benefits. The workers' compensation claims and the retaliatory discharge action were litigated in parallel.
¶ 7 On October 16, 2009, the Commission modified the arbitrator's decision in both cases. With respect to case No. 03-WC-33033, the Commission found that the plaintiff was suspended from his employment on July 2, 2003, through August 5, 2003, and therefore was not entitled to TTD benefits for that time period. Further, the Commission found that the plaintiff's anxiety and depression were unrelated to his April 23, 2002, right shoulder injury. With respect to case No. 03-WC-51570, the Commission found that there was "no causal connection" between the plaintiff's October 3, 2003, work injury and his current psychological condition of ill-being. Accordingly, the Commission vacated the award of TTD benefits and medical expenses since they were both incurred, inter alia , as a result of that "psychological condition."
¶ 8 The plaintiff appealed the decision of the Commission. On February 19, 2013, we affirmed that decision. See Matros v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Comm'n , 2013 IL App (1st) 113646WC-U, 2013 WL 623544. In doing so, we found that the record supported the Commission's finding that the plaintiff's psychological condition was not the direct and natural result of either his right or left shoulder injury. Id. ¶¶ 51-53.
¶ 9 While the plaintiff's workers' compensation cases were being appealed, his retaliatory discharge action proceeded with extensive discovery. Following the denial of cross-motions for summary judgment in the retaliatory discharge action, on March 26, 2018, the matter finally proceeded to a bench trial at which the following relevant evidence was adduced.
¶ 12 The plaintiff testified that he was 19 years old when he began working in the mail room at ComEd. He stated that since then he had been progressively promoted, first to lineman in 1984, then to OES, and finally to lamper in 1998. In 2001, he was a lamper at ComEd's Crestwood office, which encompasses the geographic area between 87th Street and Interstate 80, and Will Cook Road and the city limits, and his job responsibility was to repair and maintain streetlights. The plaintiff stated that he "loved [his] job" and believed he was "good at it." With about 2000 hours of overtime in 2001, he made close to $130,000 a year.
¶ 13 The plaintiff testified that prior to April 23, 2002, he had been injured at work on at least two occasions and was therefore familiar with the workers' compensation process. On April 23, 2002, the plaintiff was changing a broken streetlight when a mast bar came off the pole and in an attempt to prevent it from falling onto the street below, the plaintiff held it with his hand and it dislocated his shoulder. The plaintiff reported this incident to his supervisor and filled out an incident report. The plaintiff was initially treated by his own primary care physician, Dr. Ibrahim, who diagnosed a right shoulder sprain, prescribed medication, and released the plaintiff to full-duty work. The plaintiff's shoulder did not improve and on July 13, 2002, he sought treatment from an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Smith. The plaintiff underwent right shoulder surgery on August 20, 2002, after which he did not return to work. He began physical therapy on September 9, 2002. While doing physical therapy, the plaintiff aggravated his shoulder, and on January 29, 2003, Dr. Smith recommended that he have an additional MRI. The plaintiff acknowledged that ComEd accepted the injury and the treatment immediately and he was paid disability benefits during this time.
¶ 14 The plaintiff explained, however, that on February 10, 2003, he received a letter from ComEd's senior human resources (HR) consultant, Debra Staples, which shocked him. The letter stated that he had "failed to comply with the Occupational Health & Services Department [OHS] by not providing documentation to support [his] absence" and that it was "imperative" that he report to work "immediately." According to the letter, failure to comply with the request would "jeopardize [his] employment status with ComEd." The plaintiff averred that at this time and unbeknownst to him, ComEd had also stopped paying his disability benefits a week earlier.
¶ 15 Ignoring his physician's recommendations, the plaintiff returned to work the following day. From February 11, 2003, through March 19, 2003, the plaintiff was on restricted duty until his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Smith, released him to full duty.
¶ 16 The plaintiff averred that as soon as he returned to work on February 11, 2003, he was treated differently. According to the plaintiff, his immediate supervisor, Wayne Brazeau, became less social with him and began "harassing" him with questions about when he would return to full duty. The plaintiff stated that before his injury, he had a great relationship with Brazeau because Brazeau had come from the military and did not know much about ComEd procedures and installations, so the plaintiff had "helped him along."
¶ 17 The plaintiff averred that even after he returned to full duty on March 20, 2003, his shoulder continued to bother him, and he often took pain medication (Ibuprofen ) to alleviate the pain. Nonetheless, he continued to perform his duties through May 2003. The plaintiff stated that he turned in his tickets to Brazeau at the end of each day, including how many streetlights he had repaired, and that in those three months he was never disciplined for not completing a sufficient number of repairs.
¶ 18 The plaintiff testified that on Thursday, May 1, 2003, he telephoned Brazeau early in the morning to tell him he was going to take two vacation days to attend the Kentucky Derby, which was the following day. He explained that he had attended the derby for 37 years in a row and that his friend was coming into town that afternoon so he wanted to be able to pick him up from the airport. The plaintiff also explained that because he was a lamper he could take vacation days whenever he wanted to and did not need to ask for permission first. According to the plaintiff, however, Brazeau was not available to pick up the telephone when he called and instead Marty Quinn, who was another supervisor, answered the call. Quinn told the plaintiff to telephone back in five minutes. When the plaintiff called again, Brazeau was still busy, so the plaintiff asked Quinn to pass the message to Brazeau. The plaintiff heard Brazeau talking to Quinn and responding that he wanted the plaintiff to come into work that...
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... ... testimony should receive. Matros v. Commonwealth Edison ... Co., 2019 IL App (1st) 180907, ¶ 153, 434 Ill.Dec ... ...