CHICAGO — A state appeals court has upheld a ruling that a Maywood police officer who was injured in a car accident was not entitled to a line-of-duty disability pension.
On May 31, a three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court affirmed a trial court's ruling that it could not definitively conclude the injury was caused in the line of duty. The appellate decision was issued as an unpublished order filed under Supreme Court Rule 23, which limits its use as precedent.
Justice Robert E. Gordon authored the order. Justices Margaret McBride and David Ellis agreed.
Justice Robert E. Gordon
| Illinois Courts
Plaintiff Michael Hurd argued the board of trustees of the Maywood Police Pension Fund made the wrong decision about his pension, asserting he clearly proved his injury was sustained in the line of duty.
Hurd alleged he was injured in 2010 in a vehicle accident that occurred while he was on patrol. He filed for line-of-duty disability pension benefits in 2014, but it was determined on Feb. 17, 2015 that the injury was not work-related. As a result, Hurd was granted a non-duty disability pension.
The board said in its decision Hurd was not credible and called his testimony self-serving.
According to the appellate court decision, Hurd claimed he was on patrol when a car ran a red light and hit him. The driver was arrested for running a red light, and Hurd finished the last 45 minutes of his shift before going home.
The plaintiff testified he had complained to everyone at the station about the accident and a sergeant had asked him if he wanted to go to the hospital, but he told her he would try to finish his shift.
That sergeant, however, testified she worked a different shift the day of the accident and that Hurd had not reported the accident to her. She suggested that maybe Hurd was remembering her involvement in a different accident.
Hurd appealed the board's decision to Cook County Circuit Court, which also affirmed the decision. Hurd then appealed to the First District court.
Since the plaintiff was not responding to a call or engaged in an investigation, the appellate court said he was not doing anything different from an ordinary citizen driving a car, which means he was not rightfully a recipient of a line-of-duty disability pension.
The court agreed with the board that it found no credible evidence that Hurd was actually on patrol because he could not even remember where he was on patrol at the time.
According to Cook County court records, Hurd is represented by attorney Thomas Rajda.
The Maywood police pension fund is represented by Richard J. Reimer & Associates, of Hinsdale.