IN THE
THIRD DISTRICT
ROADWAY EXPRESS, INC., Appellant, v. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION, Appellee). | ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) | Appeal from the Circuit Court of Rock Island County. No. 02-MR-157 |
JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH delivered the opinion of the court:
Claimant, Richard Shadden, age 57, sought benefits pursuant to the Workers' CompensationAct (Act) (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 1998)) for injuries he sustained on January 20, 2000, whileemployed as a dock worker for Roadway Express (employer). The arbitrator found the accidentarose out of and in the course of claimant's employment and claimant's condition of ill-being iscausally related to the injury sustained on that date. The arbitrator ordered the employer to payclaimant's outstanding medical bills in the amount of $19,458.12, ordered the employer to paytemporary total disability benefits of $494.49 per week for 53 1/7 weeks, and found claimantpermanently and partially disabled to the extent of 45% of the man as a whole. The Commission,with one dissent, affirmed and adopted the arbitrator's decision. The circuit court of Rock Islandreversed the decision of the Commission and remanded for a finding consistent with its opinion thatclaimant is permanently and totally disabled. On appeal, the employer argues that the circuit courterred in reversing the Commission's determination of the extent of permanent disability; however, weagree with claimant that the judgment of the circuit court is not a final, appealable order, and, thus,the appeal must be dismissed.
Claimant has an 11th grade education and was employed as a dockworker for approximately24 years prior to the instant claim. Claimant has a history of back injuries. He admitted to nine priorlow back injuries and three prior back surgeries. The surgeries took place in 1979, 1987, and 1989. Claimant settled his 1989 workers' compensation claim for 22