Ill. Court Reverses Order Dismissing Toxic Chemical Suit Against Motorola, Says In Utero Exposure Claims Separate from Work-Related Injury

CHICAGO –– An Illinois appellate court has reversed an order dismissing a toxic chemical suit against Motorola Inc., finding that the claims were not, in fact, barred by the exclusive remedy provision of the state’s workers’ compensation laws since the alleged injuries were independent of the employee’s work-related injury.

In the Feb. 20 opinion, the Illinois First District Court of Appeals concluded that the underlying complaint “indisputably pled a claim for the children’s injuries personally sustained separately and independently from any injury to their fathers.”

Plaintiffs Sarina Finzer and Jeremy Hardison contended that they were born with severe birth …