Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Candice Martin v. Goodrich Corporation

Case No.: 23-2343

Officials: Scudder, St. Eve, and Lee, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act

Candice Martin, representing herself and her deceased husband Rodney Martin’s estate, sued Goodrich Corporation and PolyOne Corporation, Rodney’s former employers. Rodney had been exposed to the hazardous chemical vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) during his employment, leading to a diagnosis of angiosarcoma of the liver, a condition allegedly associated with VCM exposure.

Central to the case was the interpretation and application of the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (ODA), which offers compensation to employees who contract diseases as a result of their work. The Act includes an exclusivity provision, limiting employees from seeking compensation outside of the statutory framework.

The plaintiff contended that her claim fell outside the ODA’s exclusivity provisions due to an exception introduced by the Illinois legislature in 2019. This exception permits claims to proceed outside the ODA if they would otherwise be barred by any period of repose or repose provision. However, the defendants argued that this exception did not apply in Rodney’s case, as his exposure to VCM had occurred many years prior to the enactment of the exception.

Given the complexity of the statutory provisions and the significance of their interpretation, the Court of Appeals opted to certify three questions to the Illinois Supreme Court. These questions centered on whether a specific provision of the ODA constituted a period of repose, whether the 2019 exception had retrospective application, and whether applying this exception to past conduct would violate the due process rights enshrined in the Illinois Constitution.

Decided 03/06/24

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