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Date: 11-15-2024

Case Style:

Timothy R. Barz v. The Village of Hazel Crest Firefighters Pension Fund, et al.

Case Number: 2023-CFh00632

Judge: Michael T. Mullen

Court: Circuit Court, Cook County, Illinois

Plaintiff's Attorney:


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Defendant's Attorney:


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Description:


Chicago, Illinois employment law lawyers represented the parties a line of duty disability pension fund claim disputes.



Barz was hired by the Village of Hazel Crest Fire Department (HCFD) in October 2011 as a firefighter/paramedic. On February 6, 2020, Barz applied for a line of duty disability pension and, alternatively, a non-duty pension. On August 17, 2021, the Board held a hearing on Barz's application, where it heard the testimony of Barz and received documentary evidence and voluminous exhibits.

At the hearing, Barz alleged that he sustained on-duty injuries to his left ankle on January 2, 2018, and May 5, 2018. Barz claimed that these injuries caused him to develop complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), rendering him permanently disabled. The Village argued that there was no connection between Barz's injuries and his disability. In support of its position, the Village pointed to evidence regarding Barz's farming operation while he was recovering from his injuries and after he was cleared to return to work.

The record shows that on January 2, 2018, Barz responded to an elevator alarm at a multifamily dwelling in Hazel Crest where he suffered a sprained ankle after he stepped off the fire engine and rolled his ankle. Barz testified he felt a "slow burning feeling" that immediately "fill[ed] into [his] boot." Barz did not complete any further activities on the call due to his injury and immediately informed his lieutenant. Barz's shift ended at 7:00 a.m. on January 3, 2018, at which time he went to see Dr. Mark Veldman. Dr. Veldman was the first to diagnose Barz with a
sprain on his left ankle and restricted him from working. He advised Barz to engage in physical therapy twice a week for three weeks and provided him with additional care instructions.

Physical therapy records dated February 16, 2018, indicate that Barz had, by that point, attended 15 physical therapy sessions but still had "soreness in his foot." On February 26, 2018, Barz went to see Dr. Thomas Regan for left ankle pain. A letter from Dr. Regan indicates Barz had "a full range of motion, "good stability to his ankle," and "a little bit of tenderness medial and anterior." Barz's diagnostic imaging indicated "some peroneus brevis pathology" but Dr. Regan was unsure of "the exact etiology" of Barz's symptoms and whether they were "related to the peroneus brevis."

The record contains a medical evaluation report dated March 2, 2018, authored by Dr. Anand Vora, who evaluated Barz for a worker's compensation examination at the request of the Village's insurance carrier. Dr. Vora diagnosed Barz with an ankle sprain related to the January 2, 2018, incident. The location of symptoms were "inconsistent with that of the findings of the MRI of peroneal tendon tear." Dr. Vora opined that it was "unlikely" that Barz's peroneal tendon pathology had "any clinical correspondence" to his ankle sprain. Dr. Vora recommended that Barz restart physical therapy.


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Barz v. Vill. of Hazel Crest Firefighters Pension Fund, 2024 IL App (1st) 240137U, 1-24-0137 (Ill. App. Nov 15, 2024)

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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