HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 8/23/2024 - Police Pension BoardPage 1
·1· · · · · · ·BEFORE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
· · · · · · · · · MCHENRY POLICE PENSION FUND
·2
·3· · IN THE MATTER OF THE· · · · · )
· · · DISABILITY PENSION OF:· · · · )
·4· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · )
· · · · · PETER MADER,· · · · · · · )
·5· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · )
· · · · · · · · ·Applicant.· · · · ·)
·6
·7· · · · · · ·Report of proceedings had at the hearing in
·8· ·the above-entitled cause at the City of McHenry Village
·9· ·Hall, 333 South Green Street, McHenry, Illinois,
10· ·commencing at 9:00 a.m. on the 23rd day of August, A.D.,
11· ·2024.
12
13· ·TRUSTEES PANEL:
14· · · · MR. JEFFREY FOERSTER
· · · · · MR. ROBERT BEAUDOIN
15· · · · MR. THOMAS SETTLES
· · · · · MR. NICHOLAS CLESEN
16
17· ·ALSO PRESENT:
18· · · · LAW OFFICE OF PATRICK J. QUILTY, by
· · · · · MR. PATRICK J. QUILTY
19· · · · · · ·On behalf of Officer Peter Mader;
20· · · · PUCHALSKI GOODLOE LLC, by
· · · · · MS. LAURA GOODLOE
21· · · · · · ·On behalf of the
· · · · · · · ·Police Pension Board of Trustees
22
23· · · · Mr. John R. Birk (Chief of Police)
· · · · · Mr. Thomas Walsh (Deputy Chief of Police)
24
Page 2
·1· · · · · · · · · · · ·I N D E X
·2· ·WITNESS· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · PAGE
·3· ·PETER MADER
·4· · · · Examination by Mr. Quilty ...............· ·9
·5· · · · Examination by Ms. Goodloe ..............· 47
·6· · · · Examination by Mr. Settles ..............· 60
·7· · · · Examination by Mr. Foerster .............· 61
·8· · · · Examination by Mr. Clesen ...............· 62
·9
· · ·CLOSING ARGUMENTS· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · PAGE
10
· · · · · On Behalf of the Applicant ..............· 63
11· · · · · ·by Mr. Quilty
12
· · · · · · · · · · · · ·E X H I B I T S
13
· · ·PENSION BOARD GROUP EXHIBIT· · · · · · · · · · PAGE
14
· · · · · Group Exhibit Nos. 1 through 11
15· · · · (Submission) ............................ 8
16
· · · · · · · ·(Exhibits retained by Ms. Goodloe)
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page 3
·1· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Settles?
·2· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Yeah.· Present.
·3· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Foerster?
·4· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Here.
·5· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Clesen?
·6· · · · MR. CLESEN:· Here.
·7· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· And Trustee Beaudoin?
·8· · · · MR. BEAUDOIN:· Here.
·9· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Did I pronounce that properly?
10· · · · MR. BEAUDOIN:· Yeah.
11· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Jim Schmidt is absent.
12· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· And Trustee Schmidt is absent.
13· · · · · · ·Also present is Board of Attorney Laura
14· ·Goodloe.
15· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· All right.· Anybody here for public
16· ·comment?
17· · · · DEPUTY WALSH:· No.
18· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· All right.· Do we have to make a
19· ·motion for this?
20· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Yes.
21· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Okay.· I'm going to entertain a
22· ·motion.· Normally with these hearings, we appoint Laura
23· ·as our hearing officer so I'll entertain a motion to
24· ·appoint Laura Goodloe as the hearing officer for the
Page 4
·1· ·hearing.
·2· · · · MR. SETTLES:· So moved.
·3· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Is there a second?
·4· · · · MR. CLESEN:· Second.
·5· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· All right.· Moved by Tom, seconded
·6· ·by Nick.· Any further discussion?
·7· · · · · · · · · · · ·(No response.)
·8· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· All who's in favor, signify by
·9· ·saying I.
10· · · · · · · · · · · ·("Ayes" heard.)
11· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Opposed, say nay.
12· · · · · · · · · · · ·(No response.)
13· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Hearing none so ordered.· So it's
14· ·all up to you.
15· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Thank you, Trustee Foerster.· This is
16· ·a hearing that's being conducted pursuant to Article 3
17· ·of the Illinois Pension Code to adjudicate the
18· ·line-of-duty disability pension of the applicant,
19· ·Peter Mader.
20· · · · · · ·The applicant was previously sent a notice
21· ·advising him of these proceedings today, also advising
22· ·him his right to be represented by legal counsel to
23· ·present evidence, and to respond to any evidence before
24· ·the McHenry Police Pension Board.
Page 5
·1· · · · · · ·Will the applicant and his attorney please
·2· ·identify themselves for the record?
·3· · · · MR. QUILTY:· Go ahead.
·4· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Peter Mader.
·5· · · · MR. QUILTY:· Pat Quilty.
·6· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Mr. Mader, did you receive notice of
·7· ·these proceedings and are you willing to proceed today?
·8· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Yes.
·9· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Thank you.
10· · · · · · ·The procedures in this case are as follows:
11· ·Number one, under the law, the applicant bears his
12· ·burden of proving his entitlement to a line-of-duty
13· ·disability pension.
14· · · · · · ·Number two, the Pension Board will read into
15· ·the record certain documentation that it intends on
16· ·entering into the administrative record here today.
17· · · · · · ·The applicant and/or his attorney may present
18· ·any objections they have to the entry of those documents
19· ·into evidence.· The Pension Board upon advice of his
20· ·legal counsel will then rule on those.
21· · · · · · ·The applicant may then proceed with entering
22· ·additional evidence into the record followed by an
23· ·opening statement and witness testimony in support of
24· ·his disability claim.
Page 6
·1· · · · · · ·The Board and/or its legal counsel may ask the
·2· ·applicant and any other witnesses questions.
·3· · · · · · ·The Board will have its hearing officer rule
·4· ·on any and all legal matters.· The Board may also have
·5· ·the opportunity to call witnesses on its own behalf if
·6· ·it so chooses.
·7· · · · · · ·And in the event that this case cannot be
·8· ·continued -- or cannot be completed today, it shall be
·9· ·continued from time to time to dates agreeable amongst
10· ·all parties.· In the event that this matter is
11· ·continued, the Board does reserve the right to call and
12· ·recall witnesses for further testimony.
13· · · · · · ·At the conclusion of the hearing, Mr. Quilty
14· ·has the right to make closing argument.· The Board may
15· ·then pursuant to 2(c)(4) of the Open Meetings Act
16· ·adjourn into executive session to deliberate as to the
17· ·evidence and testimony received.
18· · · · · · ·The Board will then come out of executive
19· ·session and render a final ruling by vote as to
20· ·Mr. Mader's line-of-duty disability claim.· That final
21· ·ruling will be either after memorialized in writing and
22· ·subsequently approved at a regular Pension Board
23· ·meeting.
24· · · · · · ·It's important for the trustees to remember
Page 7
·1· ·that this is a hearing, but it is not a partisan
·2· ·proceeding with the applicant on one side arrayed
·3· ·against the Pension Board on the other.· This should
·4· ·rather be considered an administrative investigation
·5· ·instituted for purposes of ascertaining and making
·6· ·findings of fact.· The rules of evidence in this
·7· ·proceeding are to be relaxed with the exception of
·8· ·hearsay, but the rules of fundamental fairness shall
·9· ·remain strictly intact.
10· · · · · · ·Furthermore, it shall be noted that all
11· ·trustees of Article 3 Pension Funds are presumed to be
12· ·objective and capable of fairly adjudicating any claim
13· ·before it.· Any trustee who feels biased, prejudiced, or
14· ·otherwise nonobjective today shall recuse himself.
15· · · · · · ·At this time I'd like to confirm on the record
16· ·that the four trustees sitting here today believe that
17· ·they can be unbiased, not prejudiced against Mr. Mader,
18· ·and objective in adjudicating this claim.
19· · · · · · ·Trustee Foerster?
20· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Yes.
21· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Settles?
22· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Yes.
23· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Clesen?
24· · · · MR. CLESEN:· Yes.
Page 8
·1· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Beaudoin?
·2· · · · MR. BEAUDOIN:· Beaudoin (different pronunciation.)
·3· ·Yes.
·4· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Beaudoin.
·5· · · · · · ·Are there any questions before we proceed?
·6· · · · · · · · · · · ·(No response.)
·7· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Hearing none, we will proceed with
·8· ·the entry of Pension Board exhibits into the
·9· ·administrative record.· Previously tendered to the
10· ·trustees as well as counsel for Mr. Mader were Pension
11· ·Board proposed Exhibits Numbered 1 through 11.
12· · · · · · ·Mr. Quilty, do you have any objections with
13· ·respect to the entry --
14· · · · MR. QUILTY:· No, none.· None whatsoever.
15· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· Therefore, Pension Board
16· ·Exhibits Numbered 1 through 11 are hereby entered into
17· ·the administrative record.· They are page numbered 2
18· ·through 1772.
19· · · · · · ·Counsel, do you have any additional
20· ·applicant exhibits?
21· · · · MR. QUILTY:· No, ma'am, I do not.
22· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· We will move forward with
23· ·opening statements.
24· · · · MR. QUILTY:· I'll waive opening.
Page 9
·1· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· You may call your first
·2· ·witness.
·3· · · · MR. QUILTY:· Pete?
·4· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· And could the court reporter please
·5· ·swear in the witness in?
·6· · · · · · · · · · · ·(Witness sworn.)
·7· · · · MR. QUILTY:· Before we get started, if anybody
·8· ·can't hear me very well, I got allergies, kind of kicked
·9· ·in.· I kind of lost my voice yesterday.· It came back
10· ·late last night.· So if anybody has a problem, just --
11· ·I'll say it again.· So I'm doing the best right now.
12· ·WHEREUPON:
13· · · · · · · · · · · · ·PETER MADER,
14· ·called as a witness herein, having been first duly
15· ·sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
16· · · · · · · · · · · · ·EXAMINATION
17· ·BY MR. QUILTY:
18· · · · Q.· ·But, Pete, state your full name and spell your
19· ·last name for the court reporter, please.
20· · · · A.· ·First name Peter, middle name Michael, last
21· ·name Mader, M A D E R.
22· · · · Q.· ·And where do you live, Pete?
23· · · · A.· ·City of Woodstock.
24· · · · Q.· ·And who do you live there with?
Page 10
·1· · · · A.· ·My wife Katherine Mader and my two children,
·2· ·Evelyn and Finnegan.
·3· · · · Q.· ·And what's Evelyn's age?
·4· · · · A.· ·She is 12.
·5· · · · Q.· ·And what's Finnegan's age?
·6· · · · A.· ·He is 10.
·7· · · · Q.· ·Now, do you recall your start time with
·8· ·McHenry?
·9· · · · A.· ·My hire date was May 14th of 2018.
10· · · · Q.· ·Prior to that date, did you work in any other
11· ·police departments?
12· · · · A.· ·Yes.
13· · · · Q.· ·Where at?
14· · · · A.· ·I lateraled here from Island Lake where I was
15· ·full-time and I also worked part-time for the Village of
16· ·Holiday Hills at that time.
17· · · · Q.· ·Now, how many years were you a police officer
18· ·with Island Lake?
19· · · · A.· ·Almost two years.
20· · · · Q.· ·And your rank at McHenry?
21· · · · A.· ·Patrol officer.
22· · · · Q.· ·And your duties are?
23· · · · A.· ·For the City of McHenry, I was an evidence
24· ·technician, a field training officer, and a patrol
Page 11
·1· ·officer.
·2· · · · Q.· ·Now, I'm going to direct your attention to
·3· ·May 8th, 2021, and you were dispatched to a domestic
·4· ·dispute?
·5· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·6· · · · Q.· ·And can you tell the Board what you saw and
·7· ·observed when you arrived at the scene?
·8· · · · A.· ·We were dispatched to a physical domestic. I
·9· ·believe it was called in by the victim's mother who was
10· ·on her way there, saying that her daughter was involved
11· ·in a physical domestic.· Upon arrival, I recall the
12· ·victim exiting the apartment, coming down the exterior
13· ·stairs and coming into the parking lot where I met with
14· ·her with Officer Rewiako.· She was upset.· She was
15· ·crying.· She stated that she was strangled.· At the time
16· ·I observed redness marks to her neck.· At that time I
17· ·got a little bit more information.· She stated that her
18· ·newborn baby was inside with the offender.· I believe
19· ·she had stated that he was under the influence of
20· ·alcohol or drugs and provided us with the key to the
21· ·apartment to make entry into the apartment to get the
22· ·baby.
23· · · · Q.· ·Were you in a police uniform at that time?
24· · · · A.· ·Yes, I was.
Page 12
·1· · · · Q.· ·And a marked squad car at the time?
·2· · · · A.· ·Yes.
·3· · · · Q.· ·Were you by yourself or did you have another
·4· ·partner with you in the car or did you have -- The other
·5· ·officer you mentioned, he arrived in his squad also?
·6· · · · A.· ·I was solely in my squad and he was in his
·7· ·squad.
·8· · · · Q.· ·Now, after talking to the woman, the victim
·9· ·that you described coming down the stairs or coming to
10· ·the exterior of the building, what was the next step
11· ·that you did at that time?
12· · · · A.· ·After we got some information, saw the redness
13· ·on her neck that she was strangled, we proceeded up to
14· ·the apartment to make entry into the apartment to make
15· ·sure the baby was safe.
16· · · · Q.· ·How many were with you?
17· · · · A.· ·I think originally it was Officer Rewiako and
18· ·I at first, and then I believe the third officer arrived
19· ·shortly after --
20· · · · Q.· ·Can you --
21· · · · A.· ·Like shortly after that.
22· · · · Q.· ·Can you tell the Board what you observed when
23· ·you arrived at the apartment?
24· · · · A.· ·The door was locked.· We announced ourselves,
Page 13
·1· ·knocked on the door, announced our presence.· We were
·2· ·met with some profanities to go away, to leave.· At that
·3· ·time Officer Rewiako was attempting to unlock the door
·4· ·with the key that was provided by the victim.· And at
·5· ·that time we were forced -- trying to force open the
·6· ·door.
·7· · · · Q.· ·Did -- The key obviously didn't work to get
·8· ·the door opened?
·9· · · · A.· ·The key was working I think.· It was
10· ·barricaded.· And I think every time, you know, he would
11· ·unlock it, the offender would lock it behind the door.
12· ·So it was kind of an unlock/lock situation.
13· · · · Q.· ·And the profanities I assume were coming from
14· ·inside the apartment directed at you officers?
15· · · · A.· ·Correct.
16· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· How long did this take place if you
17· ·recall trying to just get the door open?
18· · · · A.· ·I would say just a couple minutes.· Nothing
19· ·too long.
20· · · · Q.· ·What were you -- did the two of you come up
21· ·with to get the door open at that time?· What was
22· ·the -- What decision was made?
23· · · · A.· ·Just to continue to try to force open the
24· ·door.· So every time he would unlock it, I was using my
Page 14
·1· ·shoulder to kind of ram the door and force it open. I
·2· ·think the third officer -- I want to say it was Officer
·3· ·Voelker at that time -- showed up to assist with forcing
·4· ·open the door, still having difficulties and then a
·5· ·handful of other officers showed up and were there.
·6· · · · Q.· ·When you say you were using your shoulder,
·7· ·what type of force, if you can describe it, that you
·8· ·used trying to get the door open?
·9· · · · A.· ·Almost kind of like a ram.· Nothing like I was
10· ·running into it, but I was there and just kind of
11· ·ramming my shoulder into the door trying to force it
12· ·open.
13· · · · Q.· ·Did you determine what was holding the door
14· ·closed on you guys once you got inside?
15· · · · A.· ·I believe it was just him at that time. I
16· ·wasn't aware that I saw a whole bunch of --
17· · · · Q.· ·How big was he?
18· · · · A.· ·He was a fairly decent size.
19· · · · Q.· ·How big are you?
20· · · · A.· ·Six three.· 2- -- At that time I don't know
21· ·how much I weighed.· Over 200 pounds.
22· · · · Q.· ·And how many times do you think you hit the
23· ·door with your shoulder to try to get into there?
24· · · · A.· ·A decent amount of time.
Page 15
·1· · · · Q.· ·Was there anybody else?· Were the other
·2· ·officers doing the same with you?
·3· · · · A.· ·Yes.· Well, once some more officers arrived,
·4· ·we all kind of piled on to the door.· So I think there
·5· ·was three of us at the door:· myself, Officer
·6· ·Voelker ...· And I'm trying to remember who the other
·7· ·one was.· And then there's a few officers that were kind
·8· ·of behind us all, all just kind of pushing on the door,
·9· ·people pushing like on our backs trying to force the
10· ·door open.
11· · · · Q.· ·How long did it take if you recall to get that
12· ·door open?
13· · · · A.· ·A handful of minutes.
14· · · · Q.· ·Once you got inside, what did you find?
15· · · · A.· ·I believe I was the third one in.· Officer
16· ·Voelker was in before me.· I remember seeing a gentleman
17· ·holding a baby.· Officer Voelker and the other officer
18· ·proceeded to go to the gentleman who was holding the
19· ·baby.· I had entered into the hallway area and I
20· ·observed the offender on the ground kind of behind the
21· ·door where I believe Officer Beaudoin and I placed him
22· ·in handcuffs.
23· · · · Q.· ·Did he go willingly?
24· · · · A.· ·We placed him in handcuffs and then kind of --
Page 16
·1· ·I wouldn't say fought, but just kind of pulled away and
·2· ·being a little aggressive as we escorted him down the
·3· ·stairs to the squad.
·4· · · · Q.· ·A good characterization, was he struggling?
·5· · · · A.· ·Kind of fighting, but not really fighting.
·6· · · · Q.· ·Was he saying anything at that time?
·7· · · · A.· ·I don't recall if he was saying anything at
·8· ·that time.
·9· · · · Q.· ·Now, after he was taken into custody, where
10· ·did you take him?
11· · · · A.· ·I placed him in the rear of my squad car.
12· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Just you were by yourself at that time
13· ·in the squad car?
14· · · · A.· ·I believe Officer Beaudoin and I walked him
15· ·down, placed him in there, and then I stood by my squad.
16· ·It was Officer Rewiako's call so I stood by the squad
17· ·while he gathered more information, and I -- I -- I'm
18· ·not sure.· I -- Maybe Officer Beaudoin went back up.
19· ·I'm not a hundred percent sure where he went, but I was
20· ·by myself with him in the back of my squad.
21· · · · Q.· ·Where did you go at that point when you left
22· ·the residence?
23· · · · A.· ·At that time the offender started complaining
24· ·that he wanted to go to the hospital so I ...
Page 17
·1· · · · Q.· ·At that time did you notice any visible
·2· ·injuries on him?
·3· · · · A.· ·I believe he had some marks to his face a
·4· ·little bit which I think was from the door hitting him,
·5· ·but other than that, no.
·6· · · · Q.· ·And now let me stop on that narrative, but ask
·7· ·you, at any point -- or at some point I guess is a
·8· ·better way to put it, did you experience any pain
·9· ·yourself in trying to knock the door down and apprehend
10· ·this guy?
11· · · · A.· ·It wasn't initially.· I started feeling like a
12· ·pain in my lower back while I was standing next to the
13· ·squad car while he was in the back of the squad car
14· ·while everyone was kind of investigating the incident.
15· ·I kind of just felt discomfort and some pain in my low
16· ·back.· I didn't really think anything of it.· I think
17· ·after my adrenaline started, you know, wearing down a
18· ·little bit from the incident or whatever, that's when I
19· ·started feeling the pain in my low back.
20· · · · Q.· ·And you took him to the hospital as he
21· ·requested?
22· · · · A.· ·An ambulance came.· He was placed in the
23· ·ambulance and then I followed the ambulance in my squad
24· ·car to the hospital because he was under arrest.
Page 18
·1· · · · Q.· ·Did anything unusual happen when you arrived
·2· ·at the hospital pertaining to the suspect?
·3· · · · A.· ·We were there a short time and they were going
·4· ·through their medical procedures.· He started getting
·5· ·agitated, asking for water and everyone kept telling him
·6· ·we'll get you water, but we have to do I believe it was
·7· ·a CAT scan at that time.· They kept saying, Hey, as soon
·8· ·as you come back from your CAT scan, we'll get you
·9· ·water.· Then he started getting irritated and started
10· ·taking off his vitals and stuff like that in the
11· ·hospital room.
12· · · · Q.· ·Was he in the ER room at that point?
13· · · · A.· ·He was in an ER room, yes.
14· · · · Q.· ·And what other officers were there besides
15· ·yourself?
16· · · · A.· ·I was the only one there.· There was two
17· ·security officers there that worked for Northwestern.
18· · · · Q.· ·And did he end up getting into some type of
19· ·altercation with the security officers?
20· · · · A.· ·He did.
21· · · · Q.· ·What happened?
22· · · · A.· ·He was becoming belligerent, started ripping
23· ·off everything, trying to leave.· Obviously, he was
24· ·under arrest.· He wasn't free to leave.· So they jumped
Page 19
·1· ·in, started fighting with him, trying to get him into
·2· ·restraints and then they were having difficulty so then
·3· ·I further assisted with the security staff trying to get
·4· ·him into the hospital restraints to subdue him.
·5· · · · Q.· ·How long did that take, if you recall?
·6· · · · A.· ·A handful of minutes.
·7· · · · Q.· ·And at some point he was restrained?
·8· · · · A.· ·He was.
·9· · · · Q.· ·And at that point did you notice anything
10· ·unusual about yourself?· And I'm talking specifically to
11· ·any pain that you were feeling at that time.
12· · · · A.· ·Yes.· As soon as that incident happened with
13· ·him getting into restraints, I knew my back was messed
14· ·up at that point.
15· · · · Q.· ·When you say "messed up," we all know what
16· ·that means, but can you describe it in a term that --
17· ·Like, was it a specific area of pain?
18· · · · A.· ·It was just a sharp pain in my low back.
19· · · · Q.· ·And did it go into the legs, the buttocks, or
20· ·was it just in the lower back at that time, if you
21· ·recall?
22· · · · A.· ·I believe it was just my low back at that
23· ·time --
24· · · · Q.· ·And --
Page 20
·1· · · · A.· ·-- from what I recall.
·2· · · · Q.· ·And after he was, you know, put in restraints,
·3· ·how long were you at the hospital after that?
·4· · · · A.· ·I didn't leave the hospital until -- I don't
·5· ·know -- 8:00 a.m., I believe.
·6· · · · Q.· ·And what time did this all occur?· What was
·7· ·the initial dispatch time?· Do you recall?
·8· · · · A.· ·After midnight.
·9· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· So when you left the hospital, did you
10· ·report that you were in distress or suffering or having
11· ·some pain?
12· · · · A.· ·I notified my sergeant while I was at the
13· ·hospital that I got hurt.
14· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And --
15· · · · A.· ·Shortly after placing the offender in
16· ·restraints, I had contacted my sergeant and notified him
17· ·that my back was hurting.
18· · · · Q.· ·And were you directed to seek any type of
19· ·treatment at that point?
20· · · · A.· ·I was admitted into the emergency room that
21· ·same night.
22· · · · Q.· ·Right after you talked to -- or got him in
23· ·restraints or did you stay at the hospital or did you go
24· ·home and then come back?
Page 21
·1· · · · A.· ·No.· I stayed at the hospital the whole time.
·2· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· When you were in the hospital the whole
·3· ·time at -- for you, specifically what did you tell the
·4· ·doctor on call or whoever was working that was wrong and
·5· ·what did they say to you?
·6· · · · A.· ·I went through the incident of the night and
·7· ·then they just proceeded to -- I think just some pain
·8· ·meds.· I didn't have any imaging or X-rays or anything
·9· ·like that.· It was not done at that time.
10· · · · Q.· ·Did you return back to the department or did
11· ·you go home at that point?
12· · · · A.· ·Actually, since I was on pain meds, Officer
13· ·Beaudoin got off duty and picked me up from the hospital
14· ·and drove me home.
15· · · · Q.· ·And when you got home, for the course of the
16· ·next couple of hours, did you notice anything at that
17· ·point about your pain or your back specifically?
18· · · · A.· ·Yes.· I mean, I vividly remember I had
19· ·difficulty -- I'm used to sitting in an SUV.· I think
20· ·Officer Beaudoin had a passenger car, Chevy.· I just
21· ·remember having difficulty sitting in the car leaving
22· ·the hospital.
23· · · · Q.· ·When you say "difficulty," difficulty in what
24· ·sense?
Page 22
·1· · · · A.· ·Just in a lot of pain, trying to manipulate my
·2· ·body to fit into the passenger car.
·3· · · · Q.· ·When was the next time -- Or strike that.
·4· · · · · · ·Did you have to fill out a report for the
·5· ·police department concerning your injury?
·6· · · · A.· ·I believe my sergeant filled out the incident
·7· ·report and then when I came back to work a couple days
·8· ·later, I filled out a To-From memo and provided it to
·9· ·the command staff.
10· · · · Q.· ·Now -- And a couple days transpired after the
11· ·injury when you came back to work.· Did you seek any
12· ·additional medical treatment outside of the initial
13· ·treatment at the ER?
14· · · · A.· ·I believe I was sent to occupational health.
15· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And occupational health, what is that?
16· · · · A.· ·It's like a procedure you go through on any
17· ·on-duty injury that they send you to.
18· · · · Q.· ·And when you went there, what did they do for
19· ·you, if anything?
20· · · · A.· ·They did an exam and I believe I was ordered
21· ·an MRI for my back injury.
22· · · · Q.· ·And when you had the M- -- Did you have the
23· ·MRI?
24· · · · A.· ·I did.· I believe it was May 19th.
Page 23
·1· · · · Q.· ·And do you know what the MRI showed at that
·2· ·time?
·3· · · · A.· ·Yes.
·4· · · · Q.· ·And what did it show?
·5· · · · A.· ·I suffered two bulging discs.· One at L3-L4
·6· ·and the other one at L4-L5 and then I had some disc
·7· ·narrowing between L5-S1.
·8· · · · Q.· ·Now, prior to this incident, had you ever had
·9· ·an issue with your back?
10· · · · A.· ·No.
11· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Wasn't there a -- Excuse me.· Wasn't
12· ·there some notes about an injury that occurred prior to
13· ·this?· I mean, maybe five, ten years before, but ...
14· · · · MR. QUILTY:· I was -- That was my next question.
15· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Okay.· All right.
16· ·BY MR. QUILTY:
17· · · · Q.· ·Back in around 2015, did you slip on any ice
18· ·while at work?
19· · · · A.· ·Yes, I did.
20· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And can you tell the Board, clear up
21· ·any -- To go through that, what happened in that
22· ·incident?
23· · · · A.· ·It was an ice storm.· I responded to an
24· ·accident and the street was just covered in ice.· I was
Page 24
·1· ·I think walking over to check on the other party and I
·2· ·just slipped on the ice and kind of landed on my back.
·3· ·I wouldn't say it was an injury.· I would just say a
·4· ·general soreness from just falling.
·5· · · · Q.· ·Did you get an X-ray or some type of
·6· ·radiograph was done on it?
·7· · · · A.· ·I don't recall if I got that.
·8· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· The records indicate that you had a
·9· ·radiograph.· Did you have any other treatment to
10· ·follow-up besides that?
11· · · · A.· ·No.
12· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Just consumed over-the-counter
13· ·medication?
14· · · · A.· ·I believe so.· I think I was just on bed rest
15· ·for a day or two.· I went back to work.
16· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, getting back to when you had --
17· ·after you had the MRI, did they refer you to a specific
18· ·doctor from having the occupational health or did you
19· ·have a doctor?· Or how did you get to Dr. Patel I guess
20· ·is the best question?
21· · · · A.· ·My wife works for Northwestern and through her
22· ·research or whatever, she got in touch and was
23· ·recommended to Dr. Patel out of Northwestern and saw her
24· ·for spine in the City of Chicago.
Page 25
·1· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And was Dr. Patel the first ortho you
·2· ·saw?
·3· · · · A.· ·I believe so.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And when you saw Dr. Patel, I assume
·5· ·you gave the same history you've given all of us today
·6· ·about how it happened?
·7· · · · A.· ·(Nodding.)
·8· · · · Q.· ·And what did he say to you and what was his
·9· ·plan with you?
10· · · · A.· ·I believe the first course of action was to
11· ·try physical therapy so we proceeded with physical
12· ·therapy at that time, PT.
13· · · · Q.· ·And when was -- When did you see Dr. Patel the
14· ·first time?· May of '21, end of April of '21, if you
15· ·recall?· We don't need a specific date.· Just if you
16· ·recall.
17· · · · A.· ·I don't recall how soon I got in to see him.
18· ·I want to say it was pretty quick, but ...
19· · · · Q.· ·And what was -- He obviously reviewed the MRI
20· ·that you had taken after -- a short time after the
21· ·incident, correct?
22· · · · A.· ·Correct.· I think he also ordered up X-rays
23· ·and MRI as well.
24· · · · Q.· ·Now, when you started treatment with
Page 26
·1· ·Dr. Patel, just summarize to the Board when the
·2· ·treatment was initially with Dr. Patel and what --
·3· ·besides physical therapy, what else did he have you do?
·4· · · · A.· ·He didn't want to do -- At first, obviously we
·5· ·want to try to avoid surgery so we just went the
·6· ·physical therapy route for a handful of sessions. I
·7· ·think he had -- the first order was for 12 physical
·8· ·therapy sessions.· I think it was twice a week I think
·9· ·for six weeks I want to say.
10· · · · Q.· ·And did you go to all those physical therapy
11· ·sessions?
12· · · · A.· ·I did.
13· · · · Q.· ·And what else did he want you to do?
14· · · · A.· ·At that time PT wasn't working.· He referred
15· ·me to his partner, Dr. Jing, who ordered up some
16· ·epidural injections.
17· · · · Q.· ·And when you say the physical therapy wasn't
18· ·working, does that mean your pain wasn't getting better,
19· ·staying the same, or getting worse?
20· · · · A.· ·It was about the same.
21· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And when you say it's about the same,
22· ·can you tell the Board where you were experiencing the
23· ·pain and as best you can on a scale of zero to ten, zero
24· ·being no pain, ten being the worst, what you were
Page 27
·1· ·experiencing at that time?
·2· · · · A.· ·It always kind of fluctuated.· I would say at
·3· ·the low end I was a five.· At the high end, I -- you
·4· ·know, nine, ten.· You know, with pain, sometimes I
·5· ·wanted to go to the hospital, asking my wife to take me.
·6· ·So it kind of varied depending on day to day kind of in
·7· ·that scale range I would say.
·8· · · · Q.· ·Now, at that time, we're talking April/May,
·9· ·maybe up through to June, were you taking any
10· ·prescription medication to alleviate the pain?
11· · · · A.· ·Yes.· I was prescribed some muscle relaxers,
12· ·pain medicines.· I believe it was Norco to try to help
13· ·alleviate --
14· · · · Q.· ·How often were you taking those?
15· · · · A.· ·As needed.· Just kind of working in law
16· ·enforcement, I was very cautious with the Norco and
17· ·stuff like that.
18· · · · Q.· ·Were you off duty at that time or were you
19· ·doing light duty, if you recall?
20· · · · A.· ·I was doing light duty.
21· · · · Q.· ·And what did light duty consist of?
22· · · · A.· ·I was up in investigations helping
23· ·investigations.· I was helping records, things of that
24· ·nature.
Page 28
·1· · · · Q.· ·And the pain you talked about with your back,
·2· ·was it better sitting, standing, or could you not do
·3· ·either one of those for any length of time?
·4· · · · A.· ·I tried to get up frequently.· If I sat too
·5· ·long, it would hurt.· If I was on my feet too long, it
·6· ·would hurt.· So I kind of, you know, would get up and
·7· ·walk around.· I think I had ice packs in the freezer
·8· ·upstairs in investigations.· I would grab and put ice
·9· ·packs on my back.
10· · · · Q.· ·Now, backtracking, Dr. Patel sent you to
11· ·Dr. Jing concerning having injections.· Okay.· Did you
12· ·have the injections?· My notes indicate you had them in
13· ·August and October.· Did the injections do anything for
14· ·you?
15· · · · A.· ·Part of the back pain, I had a little bit of
16· ·symptoms in my left leg going down my left leg.· The
17· ·only thing that kind of helped with the injections is
18· ·the left leg pain kind of went away, the symptoms of
19· ·radiating pain.· Other than that, my low back pain
20· ·continued.
21· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, when you talk about having to go
22· ·down the leg, did it go down all the way down to your
23· ·feet, just go down to your knee?
24· · · · A.· ·Just --
Page 29
·1· · · · Q.· ·What was the extent of it?
·2· · · · A.· ·-- kind of right behind my left knee area.
·3· · · · Q.· ·And that went from the back to the buttocks
·4· ·down the left knee?
·5· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·6· · · · Q.· ·Did you have anything on the right side at
·7· ·that time?
·8· · · · A.· ·If I sat too long, I would say it kind of
·9· ·would start going numb, but other than that, nothing
10· ·really ...
11· · · · Q.· ·Now, the pain you experienced in the left
12· ·side, was that a tingling, a numbness, or was it actual
13· ·pain?
14· · · · A.· ·I would say kind of a numbness, pain, tingling
15· ·feeling.· I don't know how to describe it.
16· · · · Q.· ·Now, I had given the dates of August and
17· ·October with Dr. Jing for the epidural.· And you know
18· ·what?· Maybe some of the people on the Board don't know.
19· ·Can you describe what it's like to have one of those
20· ·epidurals?
21· · · · A.· ·It's --
22· · · · Q.· ·Describe the needle.
23· · · · A.· ·It's pretty uncomfortable.· You sit on -- You
24· ·have to lay on your stomach on this table and there's
Page 30
·1· ·like this rotating X-ray machine because they're
·2· ·constantly taking pictures to make sure the needle is
·3· ·going into your disc properly.· So it's just very
·4· ·uncomfortable, a lot of pressure, you feel it going into
·5· ·your spine and especially when they're injecting that
·6· ·into ...
·7· · · · Q.· ·How long would the -- You know, you had two of
·8· ·these.· How long would one of these take to have done,
·9· ·if you recall?
10· · · · A.· ·If I recall, maybe 10, 15 minutes I would say,
11· ·each one.
12· · · · Q.· ·Was it painful having the injection?
13· · · · A.· ·It wasn't pleasant.
14· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, during that time you had indicated
15· ·you were doing physical therapy per the doctor's orders.
16· ·Did you continue -- Did you stop and then continue to do
17· ·more physical therapy?
18· · · · A.· ·I did more physical therapy after the
19· ·injections.
20· · · · Q.· ·And the physical therapy that you were doing
21· ·and -- Can you briefly summarize, what did they have you
22· ·do at physical therapy?
23· · · · A.· ·Just a lot of exercises.
24· · · · Q.· ·What type of exercises?
Page 31
·1· · · · A.· ·You know, laying on your stomach, kind of --
·2· ·There's a special procedure I forget the name of it off
·3· ·the top of my head where you kind of try to manually by
·4· ·doing these exercises push the bulging.· The bulging
·5· ·disc would then go back in to where it was supposed to
·6· ·be going.
·7· · · · Q.· ·Did any of that help?
·8· · · · A.· ·It did not.
·9· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, let's go through -- We're up into
10· ·sometime through the summer and then into the fall.· Did
11· ·you see any other doctors at that time concerning any
12· ·issues with the back?
13· · · · A.· ·I believe I saw Dr. Jing's partner.· I think
14· ·it's Dr. Weber I want to say.· Does that sound ...
15· · · · Q.· ·Correct.
16· · · · A.· ·Okay.· Just kind of -- I think that was just a
17· ·follow-up appointment to the epidurals, I believe.
18· · · · Q.· ·Did they change your prescription medication
19· ·at any time during the fall?· Because the notes
20· ·indicated that you were given Tramadol and Celebrex also
21· ·during this time of treatment.· And actually that's
22· ·following in '22.· Did any of that help you besides
23· ·Norco?
24· · · · A.· ·No, not really.
Page 32
·1· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, throughout the time of the
·2· ·treatment through the fall of '21 and up until about
·3· ·December '21, was there any talk with Patel at that time
·4· ·at all about having any type of surgery for your back?
·5· · · · A.· ·Yeah.· I'm not sure on the time frame, but
·6· ·once I was still having back pain and the shots didn't
·7· ·work in my back, we started discussing the potential of
·8· ·having a fusion.
·9· · · · Q.· ·And did you talk to him about why you didn't
10· ·have a laminectomy or discectomy, instead having a --
11· ·you know, the full fusion?
12· · · · A.· ·I don't recall having that conversation.· It
13· ·was pretty much stated that these --
14· · · · Q.· ·Fusion right off?
15· · · · A.· ·Correct.
16· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, can you tell the Board as best you
17· ·can what the doctor explained to you that a fusion was
18· ·going to do for you and what would be the procedure of
19· ·having the fusion done?
20· · · · A.· ·So there's two different options for a fusion.
21· ·They go -- either go through the back or to the --
22· ·through the front.· Mine was an ALIF, anterior lumbar
23· ·fusion, which they went through my stomach and that's
24· ·the procedure that he wanted to proceed with.· Basically
Page 33
·1· ·he said he would go in and take out the damaged disc at
·2· ·L4-L5 and put in the hardware with the plates and the
·3· ·screws to keep my spine in line I guess.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Now, to go forward a little bit, there's
·5· ·a -- the medical reports indicate that there was quite a
·6· ·few CAT scans done after you had the surgery.· Now, my
·7· ·understanding is that a lot of -- a majority of those
·8· ·CAT scans were done to make sure the hardware stayed in
·9· ·place, correct?
10· · · · A.· ·Correct.· I know there's like a bone graft
11· ·involved and inside the hardware there's I guess a lot
12· ·of little tiny holes and the bone from my L5 and L4 is
13· ·supposed to fuse through the equipment so it becomes
14· ·like one solid, I guess, vertebrae.
15· · · · Q.· ·And actually my understanding is up until
16· ·today, is the hardware stayed in place for you after the
17· ·surgery and still has, correct?
18· · · · A.· ·Correct.
19· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, when you were talking to Patel
20· ·about the potential of having this fusion done, did he
21· ·give you any alternatives as opposed to having surgery
22· ·that you could continue to try and specifically refer
23· ·you to a doctor about that?
24· · · · A.· ·At that time it was left up to me if I wanted
Page 34
·1· ·to try the fusion.· He gave me a 50/50 chance that it
·2· ·would work or didn't work.· And even if it worked, I
·3· ·still might be in pain; but after, you know, talking it
·4· ·out with my spouse, we decided to try to alleviate the
·5· ·pain that I was experiencing and proceed with the
·6· ·fusion.
·7· · · · Q.· ·Now, you had filed a workman's compensation
·8· ·case in this and workman's compensation is they will
·9· ·always refer you to -- for an independent medical exam?
10· · · · A.· ·Correct.
11· · · · Q.· ·And that's through the workman's compensation
12· ·carrier, you know, representing the Village and they'll
13· ·send you to a specific doctor.· Was that done after you
14· ·had filed your case to go see a specific doctor?
15· · · · A.· ·So after -- They allowed me to go see my own
16· ·doctor, being Dr. Patel.· Once my doctor, Dr. Patel,
17· ·said I needed a fusion, work comp wanted a second
18· ·opinion and sent me to Rush.· I believe Dr. Phillips or
19· ·Franks.
20· · · · Q.· ·Frank Phillips?
21· · · · A.· ·Yeah, to do an IME.· And then he confirmed
22· ·that I needed a fusion.
23· · · · Q.· ·When he did the IME, what did that consist of
24· ·for you?· Going down to his office?
Page 35
·1· · · · A.· ·Yeah, going to his office and doing an exam.
·2· · · · Q.· ·Did you have -- Or did he have I should say
·3· ·all your medical records, the MRIs?
·4· · · · A.· ·I believe he had my imaging that was provided
·5· ·from work comp, yes.
·6· · · · Q.· ·And what did he tell you concerning your
·7· ·injury?
·8· · · · A.· ·That I was injured and that he agreed with
·9· ·Dr. Patel and I needed a fusion.
10· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And that was a work comp doctor,
11· ·correct?
12· · · · A.· ·Correct.
13· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And then the -- Patel had sent you to
14· ·Dr. Rho or Dr. Ehm I think is the correct name.· Correct
15· ·way to say his name?
16· · · · A.· ·Yeah.· Dr.· Meredith Ehm, E H M, I believe is
17· ·how it's spelled.
18· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
19· · · · A.· ·She's out of Shirley Ryan Rehabilitation
20· ·Center.
21· · · · Q.· ·And the purpose of seeing her was maybe an
22· ·alternative as I was talking about just briefly as
23· ·opposed to having the surgery, correct?
24· · · · A.· ·Correct.
Page 36
·1· · · · Q.· ·And her response was that basically you've
·2· ·done so much physical therapy, you've had the epidurals,
·3· ·and you also had one of the doctors perform acupuncture
·4· ·on you and that none of them worked, that she agreed
·5· ·that the fusion surgery is probably the best path for
·6· ·you?
·7· · · · A.· ·The acupuncture was after my fusion.
·8· · · · Q.· ·After.· Excuse me.· And she thought that the
·9· ·best thing for you, though, is to have -- to proceed
10· ·with the fusion, correct?
11· · · · A.· ·I believe I met with Shirley Ryan before my --
12· ·I'm trying to remember all the dates.· I saw so many
13· ·doctors.· I apologize.
14· · · · Q.· ·No.· It was in December before you had the
15· ·surgery and it was at Shirley Ryan was Dr. E H M,
16· ·correct?
17· · · · A.· ·Okay.
18· · · · Q.· ·Now, you had the surgery -- the fusion
19· ·surgery.· Where was it done and it was done by
20· ·Dr. Patel and when?
21· · · · A.· ·It was April of '22 and it was done at
22· ·Northwestern in the City of Chicago.
23· · · · Q.· ·And how long were you in the hospital?
24· · · · A.· ·I think I had it on a Thursday and I might
Page 37
·1· ·have been out on a Saturday.· I was in there for two or
·2· ·three days.· I ...
·3· · · · Q.· ·And after you had the surgery and -- let's say
·4· ·a week, two weeks afterward, did you notice anything
·5· ·different about how you felt?
·6· · · · A.· ·During my recovery, I guess with any type of
·7· ·surgery, I developed a blood clot in my right leg.
·8· · · · Q.· ·And how did you know you developed a blood
·9· ·clot?
10· · · · A.· ·There was an at-home nurse that would come and
11· ·check on me throughout my recovery and they were just
12· ·doing their normal checkup and noticed that my -- I
13· ·believe my right foot was swollen more than my left foot
14· ·and ordered me to go to the hospital and get an
15· ·ultrasound of my leg.
16· · · · Q.· ·And they determined that you had a blood clot
17· ·and they put you on blood thinners I would assume?
18· · · · A.· ·Correct.
19· · · · Q.· ·How long were you on the blood thinners for?
20· · · · A.· ·30 or 60 days.
21· · · · Q.· ·Did you have any problems as a result of the
22· ·blood clots outside of the obvious of having the blood
23· ·clots?
24· · · · A.· ·No.
Page 38
·1· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Now, after you had the surgery done by
·2· ·Patel, you'd go back and visit Patel and he would check
·3· ·on your progress.· Did he put you in physical therapy at
·4· ·some point?
·5· · · · A.· ·Yeah, at some point I did start physical
·6· ·therapy again.
·7· · · · Q.· ·And how did you start -- Or how did you feel,
·8· ·excuse me, after starting physical therapy?· And the
·9· ·term of the physical therapy, how did your body feel,
10· ·the back specifically?
11· · · · A.· ·Not great.· It was kind of a tough road.· You
12· ·know, any type of sneeze or cough or -- you know, would
13· ·cause pain in my back.· If I took like a step down off
14· ·of a curb, you know, and kind of hit it hard or
15· ·whatever, it would cause shooting pain in my back.· It
16· ·was a long road for recovery.
17· · · · Q.· ·Now, when Patel prior to the surgery he had
18· ·told you was 50/50 that, you know, this would help you a
19· ·lot or the best way to say it is that you would be
20· ·better, what was his response and what did he say to you
21· ·post surgery when you were going to visit him concerning
22· ·the continuing pain that you were having?
23· · · · A.· ·Like I said, he gave me a 50/50 odds that it
24· ·would work or wouldn't work.· And even if it did
Page 39
·1· ·quote-unquote work and the fusion was there, I could
·2· ·still experience back pain, but it was worth a chance to
·3· ·try to alleviate what I was going through.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Now, the back pain you had post surgery, did
·5· ·it -- can you distinguish that pain and how it felt
·6· ·relative to prior to having the surgery done?
·7· · · · A.· ·It's kind of a different type of pain to
·8· ·describe.· Having the hardware in between your disc,
·9· ·I've -- The best way to describe it is like feeling your
10· ·spine compressing like on the hardware which is causing
11· ·that sharp pain.· Before, it was kind of spread out
12· ·throughout my low back, and this is more centralized on
13· ·my spine what I'm feeling day to day.
14· · · · Q.· ·Now, you continued to have the physical
15· ·therapy done and we had talked prior to this.· How many
16· ·sessions of physical therapy do you recall having since
17· ·the initial injury?
18· · · · A.· ·I think it was well over 70 I want to say.
19· ·70 sessions of physical therapy.
20· · · · Q.· ·And you talked about they'd sent you to get
21· ·acupuncture.· Did that help you at all?
22· · · · A.· ·That did not.
23· · · · Q.· ·And the -- obviously the physical therapy you
24· ·don't believe has helped you either.· Did he have you on
Page 40
·1· ·pain medication and how long after the surgery?
·2· · · · A.· ·I'm still prescribed -- My general
·3· ·practitioner now has kind of taken over, but I'm still
·4· ·prescribed pain medicine to help when I'm in extreme
·5· ·pain to help alleviate some of my discomfort.
·6· · · · Q.· ·Now, we're going to kind of go a little
·7· ·forward from the surgery here.· Since then you've
·8· ·obviously had imaging studies done on your back and I
·9· ·had mentioned earlier that the hardware is still intact,
10· ·but the images have also shown that there's another
11· ·issue with the back at this point, correct?
12· · · · A.· ·Correct.
13· · · · Q.· ·And what is that?
14· · · · A.· ·I still have the initial bulged disc from the
15· ·injury at L3-L4.· It just wasn't as big as a bulge as
16· ·the L4-L5.· And then I still have -- I believe it's
17· ·gotten worse is this -- The disc spacing between my
18· ·L5-S1 has progressively gotten worse in my back.
19· · · · Q.· ·And the L5-S1 is the lower, lower back?
20· · · · A.· ·(Nodding.)
21· · · · Q.· ·When you initially spoke with Patel or any of
22· ·the doctors for that matter, did they ever tell you that
23· ·when you have the fusion, it could weaken the above and
24· ·below area?
Page 41
·1· · · · A.· ·Yes.
·2· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· So you were prepared that there might
·3· ·be an issue --
·4· · · · A.· ·I was prepared --
·5· · · · Q.· ·-- potentially?
·6· · · · A.· ·I was prepared that further down the road I
·7· ·might need another fusion down the road.
·8· · · · Q.· ·Now, you had filed -- We had filed the
·9· ·application for a disability pension.· And speaking with
10· ·Patel, did he tell you what he thought or believed that
11· ·your ability to return full-time as a police officer
12· ·was?
13· · · · A.· ·Due to the pain and everything, Dr. Patel
14· ·wanted me to conduct an FCE, a functional capacity exam.
15· · · · Q.· ·And when did you do that?
16· · · · A.· ·I believe I did that in June of '23.
17· · · · Q.· ·And, if you recall, what were the results of
18· ·the functional capacity test?
19· · · · A.· ·That I could not return to unrestricted duty
20· ·as a police officer.
21· · · · Q.· ·And one of the main reasons was obviously the
22· ·injury, the pain, or whatever?· It was also you couldn't
23· ·lift enough based on what you need to do as a full-time
24· ·police officer, correct?
Page 42
·1· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·2· · · · Q.· ·Now, prior to getting the functional capacity
·3· ·test, you asked the work comp would not pay for it so
·4· ·they sent you to a doctor, correct?
·5· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·6· · · · Q.· ·And they sent you to Dr. Lanoff?
·7· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·8· · · · Q.· ·And Dr. Lanoff is not a board-certified
·9· ·orthopod?· He's not an orthopod himself and his opinion
10· ·was you can return to go back to work right away,
11· ·correct?
12· · · · A.· ·Correct.
13· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Did any doctor besides him that you
14· ·talked with post May 8th, '21, anyone ever say you could
15· ·return and go back to work right away?
16· · · · A.· ·No.
17· · · · Q.· ·Now, as a result upon the application, the
18· ·Board per law has to send you to three doctors and you
19· ·went and saw the three doctors as requested by the
20· ·Board.· And can you explain to -- or let the Board know
21· ·when you saw Dr. Graf, what was the interview like and
22· ·what did he do?
23· · · · A.· ·I saw Dr. Graf at the end of May of '24.· I'm
24· ·trying to remember.· Is it the 27th?· I'm trying to
Page 43
·1· ·remember the specific date, but I know it was towards
·2· ·the end of May.· I had to bring -- I brought with my job
·3· ·description duties and my imaging with to each IME that
·4· ·the Pension Board sent me to.· I turned everything over.
·5· ·He, I guess, reviewed everything.· I came back.· They
·6· ·did an exam on me and then submitted their report back
·7· ·to the Pension Board.
·8· · · · Q.· ·And you saw a Dr. Vivek Mohan also, correct?
·9· · · · A.· ·I saw -- Yes.· That was in the beginning of
10· ·June.
11· · · · Q.· ·And can you describe meeting him and what he
12· ·did when speaking with you for the independent medical
13· ·exam?
14· · · · A.· ·Same kind of procedure.· I came there, turned
15· ·everything over.· He also did a further exam on me as
16· ·well and then typed up his report.
17· · · · Q.· ·And Dr. Stanley the same?
18· · · · A.· ·Correct.
19· · · · Q.· ·And they asked you a history where basically
20· ·you told them how the incident occurred and the
21· ·treatment you've had?
22· · · · A.· ·Correct.
23· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Did they at any time tell you that
24· ·they're not your doctor or they're not really going to
Page 44
·1· ·talk to you about treatment or anything?· They're just
·2· ·going to submit a report to the Board?
·3· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Did any of the three say anything to
·5· ·you about any treatment or any future treatment that you
·6· ·should have?
·7· · · · A.· ·Dr. Graf made -- mentioned in more or less
·8· ·words asked me if I discussed with my doctor about
·9· ·needing another fusion at L5-S1.
10· · · · Q.· ·Did you ever talk to Patel about doing another
11· ·fusion?
12· · · · A.· ·Not at L5-S1.· At that time we talked about
13· ·doing a level 2 fusion with the bulging disc at L3-L4.
14· ·Nothing really at L5-S1 at that time.
15· · · · Q.· ·Now, as you sit here today, can you describe
16· ·for the Board what you can't do today that you used to
17· ·be able to do prior to being injured on May 8th, '21?
18· · · · A.· ·I was an avid waterskier, snow skier, sloping
19· ·softball.· You know, yard work, I don't do.· My wife
20· ·does everything.· So I can't do any of those things
21· ·anymore.
22· · · · Q.· ·Not done any of it at all since May or at all?
23· · · · A.· ·I haven't done --
24· · · · Q.· ·May '21?· Excuse me.
Page 45
·1· · · · A.· ·I haven't done anything -- any of that stuff,
·2· ·no.· My kids are active in sports.· I recently tried,
·3· ·you know, hitting ground balls to my daughter, whatever
·4· ·like that, and I stopped shortly after that just due to
·5· ·starting to get pain in my low back.
·6· · · · Q.· ·Now, is the pain a constant thing for you, I
·7· ·mean, where you experience it all day long or is it just
·8· ·something that goes from time to time depending how long
·9· ·you're sitting, standing, or what -- any type of
10· ·activity?
11· · · · A.· ·It's constant.
12· · · · Q.· ·What do you take for medication for the pain
13· ·that you have?
14· · · · A.· ·Again, I try staying away from the Norcos. I
15· ·do take those occasionally when it gets real bad, but
16· ·Tylenol, ibuprofen.
17· · · · Q.· ·Just over-the-counter-type medications?
18· · · · A.· ·Correct.
19· · · · Q.· ·Is there any particular time in the day or
20· ·whatever where the pain becomes the worst what it causes
21· ·it to be?
22· · · · A.· ·I don't really know specifically what causes
23· ·me to have more pain on some days than others, but, you
24· ·know, we had to buy a new mattress to try to help me
Page 46
·1· ·sleep better, things like that.· So it's 24/7 my back is
·2· ·in pain pretty much.
·3· · · · Q.· ·Now, I believe I had asked you that you had
·4· ·the physical and psych test before you came on the
·5· ·Department?
·6· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·7· · · · Q.· ·And passed that?
·8· · · · A.· ·I did.
·9· · · · Q.· ·Passed both those?· Yes?
10· · · · A.· ·Yes.
11· · · · Q.· ·We had talked about you really never --
12· ·outside of the slip on the ice, you never had a back
13· ·injury at all?
14· · · · A.· ·No.
15· · · · Q.· ·And what is your plan as you sit here now
16· ·concerning future medical treatment or anything that can
17· ·be done for your back?
18· · · · A.· ·You know, eventually I got to follow up with
19· ·Dr. Patel and see kind of what's going on based on what
20· ·Dr. Graf kind of mentioned, you know, see if I
21· ·potentially need another fusion at L5-S1 or L3-L4. I
22· ·don't know what's continually causing my back pain, but
23· ·a follow up is going to be in the process.
24· · · · MR. QUILTY:· I don't have any further questions.
Page 47
·1· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Thank you, counsel.· Nice job.
·2· · · · · · ·The Board now has the opportunity to ask the
·3· ·applicant questions with regards to his testimony and
·4· ·the evidence that we've received thus far.· I can get
·5· ·the ball rolling.· I believe counsel did a very good job
·6· ·of reciting to us the incident in question as well as
·7· ·some substantial medical treatment that was received.
·8· ·So I only have a couple just general pension questions
·9· ·for you, maybe a couple to fill in the gaps, so ...
10· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Okay.
11· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· If you don't understand something,
12· ·please let me know.· Once again, this is a
13· ·non-adversarial proceeding so I doubt you'll be calling
14· ·me the dragon lady today, but please know that this is a
15· ·diplomatic proceeding.
16· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Sure.
17· · · · · · · · · · · · EXAMINATION
18· ·BY MS. GOODLOE:
19· · · · Q.· ·You currently are 39, going to be 40 in
20· ·November?
21· · · · A.· ·Correct.
22· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And your rank is patrol officer?
23· · · · A.· ·I resigned my position October 9th.· Chief
24· ·Birk gave me an opportunity to still work with the City
Page 48
·1· ·of McHenry.· He could no longer keep me on the books as
·2· ·a patrol officer while this long process was going on so
·3· ·he gave me an opportunity to work in the dispatch
·4· ·center.· So I think it was October 9th I resigned my
·5· ·position and got a new position kind of hand in hand
·6· ·with the dispatch center.
·7· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
·8· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Of '23?
·9· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Of '23, correct.
10· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Okay.
11· ·BY MS. GOODLOE:
12· · · · Q.· ·Your rank as of the date of your application
13· ·was patrol officer, however?
14· · · · A.· ·Correct.
15· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
16· · · · A.· ·Sorry about that.
17· · · · Q.· ·Yeah.· No problem.· You indicate that you're
18· ·currently married, you have two dependent children.· Do
19· ·you have any dependent parents who are physically or
20· ·mentally disabled and also financially dependent upon
21· ·you?
22· · · · A.· ·No.
23· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Do you have any prior marriages
24· ·throughout your tenure as a police officer?
Page 49
·1· · · · A.· ·No.
·2· · · · Q.· ·And you indicated earlier that your date of
·3· ·employment -- or probationary employment I should say
·4· ·was May 14th of 2018, and your date of regular
·5· ·appointment was one year later, correct, on May 14th of
·6· ·2019?
·7· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·8· · · · Q.· ·You testified earlier that you underwent an
·9· ·initial fitness-for-duty evaluation prior to becoming a
10· ·police officer here with McHenry.· Does the police
11· ·department or municipality require that you undergo any
12· ·subsequent fitness-for-duty evaluations?
13· · · · A.· ·I don't believe so after the initial one.
14· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And you testified earlier that you had
15· ·close to two years of service time with Island Lake, but
16· ·not past two years, correct?
17· · · · A.· ·No.· It was just short of two years.· I mean,
18· ·I've been in law enforcement since December of 2011.
19· ·Not to confuse everyone, so I started my law enforcement
20· ·career with McHenry County College.· They sent me to the
21· ·police academy.· I was there for a handful of years.
22· ·They didn't pay super great so I picked up a couple
23· ·part-time jobs, Bull Valley, Wonder Lake, and Holiday
24· ·Hills part-time just to try to bring in some income at
Page 50
·1· ·that time, so ...
·2· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
·3· · · · A.· ·I didn't go back all the way.· I thought it
·4· ·was just right before McHenry is how I answered the
·5· ·question previously.
·6· · · · Q.· ·Yeah.· I just want to make sure that when you
·7· ·left Island Lake, I would presume that you took a refund
·8· ·of your contributions because you had been just shy of
·9· ·the opportunity to transfer that service time here?
10· · · · A.· ·Correct.
11· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· So no credible service transfers?
12· · · · A.· ·Correct.
13· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Have you ever served in the military?
14· · · · A.· ·No.
15· · · · Q.· ·Do you have any considerable suspensions
16· ·without pay during your tenure here at McHenry?
17· · · · A.· ·I received a one-day suspicion.
18· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Have you taken any other leaves of
19· ·absence through FMLA throughout your tenure?
20· · · · A.· ·No.
21· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And obviously we -- you do have a long
22· ·gap of time from the date of injury which was May 8th of
23· ·2021 to today.· I'd like to have you just walk through
24· ·me your employment status between that point in time and
Page 51
·1· ·now.· Obviously, you testified that, you know, you were
·2· ·injured on May 8th of 2021.· You resigned from service
·3· ·on October 9th of 2023.· You testified earlier that you
·4· ·were on light duty for a period of time.· Is there any
·5· ·way you could just provide me a brief chronology as to
·6· ·what your employment status was between the date of
·7· ·injury and your date of resignation?
·8· · · · A.· ·Like my -- the titles I held or what I did?
·9· · · · Q.· ·Just whether or not you returned to light duty
10· ·and were being fully compensated for a period of --
11· · · · A.· ·Oh.
12· · · · Q.· ·-- time?
13· · · · A.· ·Yes.· So after I completed my FCE, I was -- My
14· ·doctor, Dr. Patel and Dr. Ehm from Shirley Ryan stated
15· ·that I could go back to light-duty status.· At that time
16· ·I was assigned to the dispatch center to help out them.
17· ·They had some staffing issues.· So previously on light
18· ·duty, I was upstairs in the investigations with
19· ·Commander Clesen helping them out.· And then when I came
20· ·back, I helped out the dispatch center, kind of started
21· ·working in there on a light-duty position.
22· · · · Q.· ·And obviously given the fact that you resigned
23· ·on October 9th of 2023 but filed your disability
24· ·application back in July 17th of 2023, you remained
Page 52
·1· ·employed here with the McHenry Police Department as of
·2· ·your date of application, correct?
·3· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Are you aware of any full-time
·5· ·light-duty positions within the McHenry Police
·6· ·Department?
·7· · · · A.· ·There is not any full-time light-duty
·8· ·positions.
·9· · · · Q.· ·And so that's safe to say that you've never
10· ·been offered one or heard that the municipality was
11· ·going to attempt to create one?
12· · · · A.· ·Correct.
13· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· Just like with your employment status,
14· ·I'd like to obtain confirmation as to your compensation
15· ·status between the date of injury to now.· After you
16· ·were injured, did you go on something called PEDA,
17· ·P E D A?· It would be a full 52 weeks of your salary
18· ·where your pension contributions would come out, you
19· ·would receive credible service during that period of
20· ·time?
21· · · · A.· ·That doesn't sound familiar to me.
22· · · · Q.· ·It does not sound familiar to you?
23· · · · A.· ·No.
24· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· We'll double-check with that.· You also
Page 53
·1· ·indicated earlier that you filed a workman's
·2· ·compensation claim.· Did you ever receive something in
·3· ·the form of TTD benefits which is 66 and two-thirds
·4· ·percent of your salary for any periods of time you were
·5· ·not working light duty?
·6· · · · A.· ·I know for a period of time work comp I
·7· ·believe was paying me where I believe no taxes or
·8· ·anything was taken out or whatever while I was
·9· ·recovering from surgery and stuff like that.· Outside of
10· ·that, I'm not aware of anything else.
11· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And can you verify -- and you might not
12· ·know and that's okay -- what your salary was as of the
13· ·last date you worked?
14· · · · A.· ·I'd have to look at the contract.· It was --
15· ·What were we at?· Like, 108 and some change I want to
16· ·say.
17· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
18· · · · A.· ·Yeah.· That's about --
19· · · · Q.· ·I believe it's in the record as well, but ...
20· · · · A.· ·Okay.
21· · · · Q.· ·And with respect to your disability
22· ·application, you have filed only for a line-of-duty
23· ·disability pension; is that correct?
24· · · · A.· ·Yes.
Page 54
·1· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· In terms of the May 8th, 2021 incident,
·2· ·you did a nice job of reciting the chronology of events
·3· ·that had occurred.· You indicated earlier that you had
·4· ·responded in, you know, your squad with sirens, you were
·5· ·in full uniform.· When you respond to that call, can you
·6· ·describe to us why you potentially would have believed
·7· ·that this was an emergency situation you were responding
·8· ·to?
·9· · · · A.· ·I'd have to look at like the specific call-in
10· ·notes, but from -- if my memory -- It's going on a while
11· ·now, but I believe the victim's mother called saying
12· ·that her daughter was involved in a physical domestic
13· ·where she was choked or strangled.· I can't remember how
14· ·it was worded.· So any time you get dispatched to any
15· ·type of disturbance or domestic, it's -- you know, you
16· ·always go, you know, emergency lights and sirens trying
17· ·to get there as quick as possible to render aid.
18· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· You testified earlier that a couple
19· ·supervisors' reports were filled out.· Was a Form 45
20· ·filled out in conjunction with your workers'
21· ·compensation filing?
22· · · · A.· ·I am not sure what a Form 45 would be.
23· · · · Q.· ·It is just a form that within 45 days of your
24· ·injury somebody has to fill that out, notify the
Page 55
·1· ·municipality and it kind of coincides with your workers'
·2· ·compensation claim?
·3· · · · A.· ·I'm not aware of anything.· If it got
·4· ·completed, I'll go on your lead there.
·5· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· With respect to your IME with
·6· ·Dr. Lanoff, can you describe -- I mean, you appeared
·7· ·before Dr. Lanoff, correct?
·8· · · · A.· ·I did.
·9· · · · Q.· ·Can you describe any differences that you
10· ·personally noticed between Dr. Lanoff's examination
11· ·versus the three IME providers that we sent you to?
12· · · · A.· ·Yes.
13· · · · Q.· ·Yeah?· Go ahead.
14· · · · A.· ·He was extremely unprofessional.
15· · · · Q.· ·And how so?
16· · · · A.· ·He, and I quote, told me he was going to fuck
17· ·me.
18· · · · MR. SETTLES:· What?· Really?
19· · · · OFFICER MADER:· I swear to God.
20· · · · MR. QUILTY:· You got to know Lanoff.· I hate to
21· ·tell you that, but you got to know Lanoff.
22· ·BY MS. GOODLOE:
23· · · · Q.· ·And I presume that Dr. Stanley, Dr. Graf, and
24· ·Dr. Mohan did not express that same sentiment to you?
Page 56
·1· · · · A.· ·They did not.· They were extremely
·2· ·professional.
·3· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
·4· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Wow.
·5· ·BY MS. GOODLOE:
·6· · · · Q.· ·With respect to your FCE, your functional
·7· ·capacity evaluation, it's noted that the determining
·8· ·factors were based upon the job description that was
·9· ·provided to the FCE provider.
10· · · · · · ·Was it the Village/workers' compensation that
11· ·notified the FCE provider that that was to be the
12· ·standard to be utilized?
13· · · · A.· ·For the FCE?
14· · · · Q.· ·Yeah.
15· · · · A.· ·Since work comp decided to go with Dr. Lanoff
16· ·as the -- I guess the IME, once my -- Dr. Patel and
17· ·Dr. Ehm saw that I could go back, he said I could go
18· ·back to unrestricted duty, he said absolutely not.· You
19· ·need to do an FCE.· So we had to pay out of pocket at
20· ·that time to conduct the FCE.· And then I just brought
21· ·all my -- brought my duty gear, my vest, and I didn't
22· ·know what was needed.· I brought my job description and
23· ·went through my daily activities with the gentleman who
24· ·conducted my functional capacity exam.
Page 57
·1· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· All right.· And with respect to your
·2· ·attendance at your IMEs pursuant to the Board's
·3· ·statutory obligation, you appeared before Dr. Graf,
·4· ·Dr. Stanley, and Dr. Mohan.· You've had the opportunity
·5· ·to read all three of those reports, correct?
·6· · · · A.· ·Yes.· My attorney provided me with a copy of
·7· ·those.
·8· · · · Q.· ·And with respect to their recitations as to
·9· ·your medical history and treatment, do you believe that
10· ·their recitations were accurate enough for them to --
11· ·you know, I guess more accurate enough for you in terms
12· ·of what your medical history is based upon your
13· ·perception?
14· · · · A.· ·Yes.
15· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And with respect to Dr. Graf's IME, he
16· ·noted that, you know, there's a, quote, questionable
17· ·nonunion.· I understand that you're not Dr. Graf.· You
18· ·can't speak to what Dr. Graf's talking about, but is
19· ·your understanding that that is related somehow to your
20· ·L5-S1 issue that you're undergoing or is that related to
21· ·his belief that your hardware might have an issue?
22· · · · A.· ·I'm not aware of -- on that.
23· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
24· · · · A.· ·Whether it's the hardware or it's the L5-S1,
Page 58
·1· ·I'm not sure what he's relating to.· As far as I'm
·2· ·concerned, everyone has said that my hardware is intact.
·3· · · · Q.· ·Yeah, I know.
·4· · · · A.· ·Okay.
·5· · · · Q.· ·You testified as to that earlier.· I just
·6· ·want --
·7· · · · A.· ·Yeah.· So I'm not a hundred percent sure what
·8· ·he's referring to in that.
·9· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Yeah.· I didn't understand that
10· ·either, what was meant by that.
11· ·BY MS. GOODLOE:
12· · · · Q.· ·In terms of your current employment, you
13· ·testified earlier that you took a job as a dispatcher.
14· ·Again, can you confirm the date you began that
15· ·employment?
16· · · · A.· ·October 9th.
17· · · · Q.· ·Of 2023?
18· · · · A.· ·Yes, ma'am.
19· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And you remain employed in that
20· ·capacity today?
21· · · · A.· ·Yes.
22· · · · Q.· ·Can you briefly describe what your job duties
23· ·entail?
24· · · · A.· ·It's -- I work the midnight shifts, 1800 hours
Page 59
·1· ·to 0600 hours and take nonemergency, emergency calls,
·2· ·dispatch fire, police, EMS to whatever incident that may
·3· ·be happening.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And then finally with respect to the
·5· ·disability adjudication as you sit here, you know, under
·6· ·oath, if you were to be awarded a line-of-duty
·7· ·disability pension, the Pension Board has a statutory
·8· ·obligation to have you re-evaluated on an annual basis
·9· ·up until age 50 for purposes of verifying the
10· ·continuance of your disability.· Do you agree that if
11· ·you were to be awarded this disability pension, you
12· ·would cooperate with all the policies and procedures for
13· ·doing that on an annual basis?
14· · · · A.· ·Absolutely.· Yes.
15· · · · Q.· ·And that would include if you were to, you
16· ·know, move out of state, the Board potentially asking
17· ·you on occasion to come back and stay for the
18· ·evaluation?
19· · · · A.· ·Yes.
20· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· I have no further questions at
21· ·this time.· I will open up the floor to the Board
22· ·members.
23
24
Page 60
·1· · · · · · · · · · · ·EXAMINATION
·2· ·BY MR. SETTLES:
·3· · · · Q.· ·How do you feel right now?
·4· · · · A.· ·Not great.
·5· · · · Q.· ·Just sitting here?
·6· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·7· · · · Q.· ·Did they ever prescribe back braces for you?
·8· · · · A.· ·I did have a back brace.· That was for right
·9· ·after the surgery.· It kind of went around and you could
10· ·tighten and stuff like that, but at some point my doctor
11· ·said I -- you know, to stop wearing it and just kind of
12· ·proceed with the physical therapy and stuff like that to
13· ·try to be -- get as more mobile as possible.
14· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And you're doing 12-hour shifts?
15· · · · A.· ·Correct.
16· · · · Q.· ·That's got to be tough?
17· · · · A.· ·It's not good.
18· · · · Q.· ·So you're up and down all the time?
19· · · · A.· ·I try to follow my watch when it tells me
20· ·every hour to stand up, whatever.· I try to get up. I
21· ·get water.· I walk around.· Sometimes I -- The desks
22· ·raise there.· Sometimes I raise the desk up, but being
23· ·in there, you never know how busy it is.· If it's really
24· ·busy, sometimes you're stuck sitting for an extended
Page 61
·1· ·period of time and so ...· I mean, I'm grateful for the
·2· ·opportunity they've given me, but it's kind of rough
·3· ·working 12 hours.
·4· · · · Q.· ·Yeah.
·5· · · · MR. SETTLES:· No further questions.
·6· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Beaudoin?
·7· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· I --
·8· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Oh, sorry.· Go ahead.
·9· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· I have one.
10· · · · · · · · · · · · EXAMINATION
11· ·BY MR. FOERSTER:
12· · · · Q.· ·When was the last date the City of McHenry
13· ·paid you as a patrolman, patrol officer?
14· · · · A.· ·October 9th, I believe.
15· · · · · · ·Right, Chief?
16· · · · CHIEF BIRK:· Yeah.· The 8th probably.· His switch
17· ·was the 9th.
18· ·BY MR. FOERSTER:
19· · · · Q.· ·But that was the last time you were officially
20· ·paid as -- You were not on unpaid discretionary leave at
21· ·any time?
22· · · · A.· ·No.
23· · · · Q.· ·You were paid the whole time between the
24· ·injury of '21 till October 8th or 9th?
Page 62
·1· · · · A.· ·Correct.
·2· · · · Q.· ·Okay.
·3· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· And you're not currently receiving
·4· ·any TTD benefits?
·5· · · · OFFICER MADER:· No.
·6· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· Trustee Beaudoin?
·7· · · · MR. BEAUDOIN:· No questions.
·8· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Clesen?
·9· · · · MR. CLESEN:· Just a couple quick.
10· · · · · · · · · · · · EXAMINATION
11· ·BY MR. CLESEN:
12· · · · Q.· ·Just from your point of view, your injury was
13· ·a direct result of the direct part of your police
14· ·duties?
15· · · · A.· ·Correct.
16· · · · Q.· ·Okay.· And that currently as you said, you
17· ·cannot do the physical activities that are required to
18· ·be a police officer including effecting arrests,
19· ·subduing, resisting individuals, chasing fleeing
20· ·suspects, et cetera?
21· · · · A.· ·Correct, I can no longer do that.
22· · · · MR. CLESEN:· All right.· That's all I have.
23· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Redirect, counsel?
24· · · · MR. QUILTY:· None.
Page 63
·1· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Any additional witnesses?
·2· · · · MR. QUILTY:· No.
·3· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· I do not believe the Pension Board
·4· ·has any additional witnesses to call at this juncture.
·5· · · · · · ·Would you like to make a closing argument?
·6· · · · MR. QUILTY:· You know, just briefly if I may.· You
·7· ·know, I think everybody kind of read the reports and
·8· ·paid attention.
·9· · · · ·CLOSING ARGUMENT ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANT
10· · · · MR. QUILTY:· You know, Pete went and saw numerous
11· ·doctors and basically it looked -- you know, it looks
12· ·and sounds like he went -- basically tried everything
13· ·possible to prevent surgery which didn't work.· And
14· ·every doctor with the exception of Lanoff and -- It
15· ·might be shocking what Pete said, but that's kind of
16· ·Lanoff's rep who's not an orthopod and is not
17· ·board-certified.· Compare him with the other work comp
18· ·doctor, Dr. Frank Phillips out of Rush, he's a
19· ·board-certified orthopod, agreed with Patel and as did
20· ·the three IME doctors which all said that -- you know,
21· ·the same thing, that the 5-8-21 injury is -- would cause
22· ·the result and pain, surgery that he's had and the pain
23· ·that he's in now; but I think more importantly, counsel
24· ·does a great job on the question is that what type of
Page 64
·1· ·red herring of -- of these cases or any type of injury
·2· ·cases?· They'll say it's -- the person was suffering
·3· ·from degenerative disc disease, and it's like throwing a
·4· ·red herring that he would have gotten this anyways.· And
·5· ·the question that, you know, Laura always asks these
·6· ·doctors, you know, even with the degenerative disc
·7· ·disease, without this incident, would that have
·8· ·happened?· And many of us have degenerative disc
·9· ·disease.· I can guarantee you I do.· I can guarantee any
10· ·time you get over the age of 50 you probably have it,
11· ·but I think the question is great because it separates
12· ·that -- that -- You know, this injury is -- All the
13· ·doctors said is the causal connection for what he's gone
14· ·through.· I think you can see it in the reports.· The
15· ·doctors actually did very good jobs in the reports
16· ·compared to some others' reports I've read over time.
17· · · · · · ·And, you know, I think it's all attributable.
18· ·It was done in the line of duty, kind of a classic
19· ·police case, knocking down the doors, a baby in the
20· ·house, and there's a drug guy high, strangling a woman.
21· ·I mean, this is, you know, right out of, you know, what
22· ·cops have to go through day-to-day that nobody sees and
23· ·what can happen just trying to do something like that.
24· ·And I think Pete has done everything under the sun to
Page 65
·1· ·try and do better.· And, you know, I always say this.
·2· ·This is just my personal opinion.· I've done this for so
·3· ·long that I can really tell when I sit down with
·4· ·somebody that, you know, they hate that this happened,
·5· ·they would not want to be sitting here.· They'd still be
·6· ·rather sitting with you guys on the Board or going out
·7· ·and working a shift, but it happened.· And luckily for
·8· ·all the police officers, this -- you know, there's these
·9· ·provisions that can compensate them for what they have
10· ·to go through and they pay into it, and I think Pete's
11· ·earned it and, you know, a hundred percent did
12· ·everything to avoid it, but he is what he is now sitting
13· ·here as a result of the incident, May 8th, '21.· And per
14· ·statute, the three IME doctors said it, his doctor said
15· ·it, the work comp doctor said it.· So, you know, I think
16· ·it's pretty obvious that he was injured as a result of
17· ·this incident on May 8th of '21.· And I would ask that
18· ·you award him a line-of-duty disability pension.· Thank
19· ·you.
20· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Thank you, counsel.· At this juncture
21· ·we have one of three options:· If the Board needed more
22· ·time, we can always, you know, adjourn the proceeding
23· ·for today, reconvene at a later date and time.· The
24· ·Board could pursuant to 2(c)(4) of the Open Meetings Act
Page 66
·1· ·make a motion to go into executive session to deliberate
·2· ·as to the evidence and testimony received, or
·3· ·alternatively, if the Board finds or feels as though
·4· ·there's enough evidence to award Mr. Mader a
·5· ·line-of-duty disability pension, a trustee can make a
·6· ·motion pursuant to 3-114.1 of the Illinois Pension Code
·7· ·to grant or award Mr. Mader a line-of-duty disability
·8· ·pension to be effective the date of his removal from
·9· ·payroll.
10· · · · MR. CLESEN:· I make a motion to move -- to go into
11· ·executive session.
12· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Is there a second?
13· · · · MR. SETTLES:· So moved.
14· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Second.· All in favor?
15· · · · · · · · · · · ·("Ayes" heard.)
16· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· And we will go off the open session
17· ·record at 10:04.
18· · · · · · · · · · · ·(WHEREUPON, proceedings were had in
19· · · · · · · · · · · · closed session.)
20· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Is there a motion to go back into
21· ·open session?
22· · · · MR. SETTLES:· So moved.
23· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· I'll second.
24· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Settles, Foerster.· All in favor?
Page 67
·1· · · · · · · · · · · ·("Ayes" heard.)
·2· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· We are back in open session at
·3· ·10:15 a.m.· The Board has closed proofs and is in a
·4· ·position to go ahead and adjudicate the disability
·5· ·pension before it.· At this time is there a motion to
·6· ·grant Mr. Mader a line-of-duty disability pension
·7· ·subject to 3-114.1 of the Illinois Pension Code?
·8· · · · MR. CLESEN:· I will make that motion.
·9· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· Made by Officer Clesen.· Is
10· ·there a second?
11· · · · MR. BEAUDOIN:· Second.
12· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Second by Officer Beaudoin.· Roll
13· ·call.· Beaudoin?
14· · · · MR. BEAUDOIN:· Yes.
15· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Settles?
16· · · · MR. SETTLES:· Yes.
17· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Clesen?
18· · · · MR. CLESEN:· Yes.
19· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Foerster?
20· · · · MR. FOERSTER:· Yes.
21· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· The Board has unanimously
22· ·awarded you a line-of-duty disability pension.· I would
23· ·say congratulations, but I presume this is not what you
24· ·had intended --
Page 68
·1· · · · OFFICER MADER:· It is not.
·2· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· -- in terms of your career.· Thank
·3· ·you for your service.
·4· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Thank you.
·5· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· What we're going to be doing right
·6· ·now is contacting our accounting department.· They're
·7· ·going to get in touch with both you and the
·8· ·municipality.· They're going to need to just confirm
·9· ·total credible service, confirm your final salary, your
10· ·date of removal from payroll.· Those all, you know, take
11· ·into account what your disability pension is going to
12· ·be.· You have been awarded a line-of-duty disability
13· ·pension which is 65 percent of your salary tax free. I
14· ·do recommend that you reach out to the municipality with
15· ·respect to filing a claim under PSEBA.· I'm sure Pat
16· ·will be able to walk you through that just to --
17· · · · MR. QUILTY:· We talked about it.· Yeah.
18· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· You have?· Okay.
19· · · · · · ·(Continuing.) -- just to ensure that you
20· ·understand what their policies are and procedures are
21· ·for obtaining that health insurance.· Municipalities
22· ·have different ways of going about that.· You don't want
23· ·to miss the window that they provide in terms of making
24· ·that application.
Page 69
·1· · · · OFFICER MADER:· Okay.
·2· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Once we receive all the necessary and
·3· ·requisite information back from yourself, from the
·4· ·municipality, the Pension Fund's accountants will be
·5· ·preparing a pension calculation worksheet that will be
·6· ·signed off on.· We also have to prepare a final written
·7· ·decision and order.· I'll be in charge of drafting that.
·8· ·That's going to become the final appealable decision in
·9· ·this claim.· The Board does have to vote to approve that
10· ·at a subsequent regular meeting.· It's just, you know,
11· ·protocol at this juncture.· When it's approved, I'll
12· ·file a copy with you and Mr. Quilty.· That would start
13· ·what's called the administrative review period.· I don't
14· ·think you have to worry about it in this instance.
15· · · · · · ·In terms of anything else like we had
16· ·indicated before, most likely Jeff will be in charge of
17· ·reaching out to you annually for verification to the
18· ·continuance of your disability.· You may hear from me
19· ·time to time.· This is based upon State statute.· It's
20· ·an anti-fraud provision and so you are required to
21· ·undergo those annual re-evals up until age 50.
22· · · · · · ·Is there anything else you have in terms of
23· ·questions for me?
24· · · · OFFICER MADER:· No.· Thank you everyone for your
Page 70
·1· ·time.· I appreciate it.
·2· · · · MR. QUILTY:· Thank you.
·3· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Okay.· Is there a motion to adjourn?
·4· · · · MR. SETTLES:· So moved.
·5· · · · MR. CLESEN:· Second.
·6· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· Trustee Settles.· Trustee Clesen.
·7· ·All in favor?
·8· · · · · · · · · · · ·("Ayes" heard.)
·9· · · · MS. GOODLOE:· And the hearing has completed at
10· ·10:18 a.m.
11· · · · · · · · · · · ·(Which were all the proceedings
12· · · · · · · · · · · · had in the above-entitled cause.)
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Page 71
·1· ·STATE OF ILLINOIS· ·)
· · · · · · · · · · · · ·)· SS.
·2· ·COUNTY OF COOK· · · )
·3
·4· · · · · · ·Christina J. Atto, being first duly sworn, on
·5· ·oath says that she is a Certified Shorthand Reporter,
·6· ·Registered Professional Reporter, doing business in the
·7· ·City of Chicago, County of Cook and the State of
·8· ·Illinois;
·9· · · · · · ·That she reported in shorthand the proceedings
10· ·had at the foregoing hearing;
11· · · · · · ·And that the foregoing is a true and correct
12· ·transcript of her shorthand notes so taken as aforesaid
13· ·and contains all the proceedings had at the said
14· ·hearing.
15
16
17· · · · · · · · · · · · ________________________________
· · · · · · · · · · · · · CHRISTINA J. ATTO, CSR, RPR
18
· · ·CSR No. 084-004321
19
20· ·SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO
· · ·before me this 10th day of
21· ·September, A.D., 2024.
22
23
· · ·_______________________________
24· · · · · ·NOTARY PUBLIC