{
  "id": 3407716,
  "name": "CHARLES E. McCARTHY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THE RETIREMENT BOARD OF THE FIREMEN'S ANNUITY AND BENEFIT FUND OF CHICAGO et al., Defendants-Appellants",
  "name_abbreviation": "McCarthy v. Retirement Board of the Firemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund",
  "decision_date": "1977-11-17",
  "docket_number": "No. 76-862",
  "first_page": "330",
  "last_page": "332",
  "citations": [
    {
      "type": "official",
      "cite": "55 Ill. App. 3d 330"
    }
  ],
  "court": {
    "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.",
    "id": 8837,
    "name": "Illinois Appellate Court"
  },
  "jurisdiction": {
    "id": 29,
    "name_long": "Illinois",
    "name": "Ill."
  },
  "cites_to": [
    {
      "cite": "67 Ill. 2d 137",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "Ill. 2d",
      "case_ids": [
        5813822
      ],
      "weight": 2,
      "pin_cites": [
        {
          "page": "141"
        }
      ],
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/ill-2d/67/0137-01"
      ]
    },
    {
      "cite": "66 Ill. 2d 234",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "Ill. 2d",
      "case_ids": [
        5464372
      ],
      "weight": 2,
      "pin_cites": [
        {
          "page": "240"
        }
      ],
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/ill-2d/66/0234-01"
      ]
    },
    {
      "cite": "54 Ill. App. 3d 578",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d",
      "case_ids": [
        3399084
      ],
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/ill-app-3d/54/0578-01"
      ]
    },
    {
      "cite": "54 Ill. 2d 260",
      "category": "reporters:state",
      "reporter": "Ill. 2d",
      "case_ids": [
        2934533
      ],
      "year": 1977,
      "opinion_index": 0,
      "case_paths": [
        "/ill-2d/54/0260-01"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "analysis": {
    "cardinality": 377,
    "char_count": 5686,
    "ocr_confidence": 0.873,
    "pagerank": {
      "raw": 5.8591662004228935e-08,
      "percentile": 0.3655595364826289
    },
    "sha256": "1d5207816e5272c14209671cd151e4954b8dd835951ccf715ab4588438450118",
    "simhash": "1:c7c74534627a8559",
    "word_count": 949
  },
  "last_updated": "2023-07-14T21:20:02.730807+00:00",
  "provenance": {
    "date_added": "2019-08-29",
    "source": "Harvard",
    "batch": "2018"
  },
  "casebody": {
    "judges": [],
    "parties": [
      "CHARLES E. McCARTHY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THE RETIREMENT BOARD OF THE FIREMEN\u2019S ANNUITY AND BENEFIT FUND OF CHICAGO et al., Defendants-Appellants."
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE DIERINGER\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nThis is an appeal from the circuit court of Cook County. The trial court reversed The Retirement Board of the Firemen\u2019s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago (hereinafter \u201cBoard\u201d), and awarded the plaintiff duty disability benefits. The Board has appealed.\nThe sole issue on review is whether or not the decision of the trial court to reverse the Board is against the manifest weight of the evidence.\nThe facts of the case are Lieutenant Charles E. McCarthy was a member of the Chicago Fire Department for 26 years. On July 28,1974, Lt. McCarthy was in command of Engine Co. 32 when it responded to a residential fire at 5145 South Kolmar. The fire was in the attic of the structure. Lt. McCarthy, along with a fireman, took a hose into the building and began to go up a twisting staircase towards the fire. On the way up the stairs, the fireman was sickened by the smoke and Lt. McCarthy sent him outside for some fresh air. Lt. McCarthy then proceeded up the stairs to put water on the fire. It was later discovered the material burning was jute rug padding encased in polyethylene. Lt. McCarthy was forced back by the thick and noxious smoke and he retreated down the stairs and collapsed in the kitchen. Lt. McCarthy was taken outside by other firemen and given oxygen. Subsequently he was taken to Christ Community Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. The day after his release from the hospital, Lt. McCarthy saw Dr. Cari, a physician for the Chicago Fire Department, who diagnosed his condition as a case of delayed smoke inhalation. Lt. McCarthy was sent to his own doctor who diagnosed his problem as being obstructive pulmonary disease, as did the Board\u2019s physician, Dr. Motto. Plaintiff filed an application with the Board for duty disability benefits. The Board denied this and granted occupational disease disability benefits. This meant the plaintiff would only receive 50% of his salary instead of 75% of his salary.\nThe plaintiff was not represented by counsel before the Board, but retained counsel and appealed the decision of the Board to the circuit court of Cook County. The circuit court of Cook County reversed the decision of the Board as being against the manifest weight of the evidence and ordered the plaintiff be granted duty disability benefits. The Board has appealed.\nIt has been uncontroverted before the Board, in the lower court, in the briefs and on oral argument here, that the Chicago Fire Department requires annual chest X rays for every man in the Department. It is the testimony of the Board\u2019s own physician he examined the plaintiff\u2019s X rays from 1969 to 1974, and there was no evidence of atelactasis of any significance before the incident of July 28. Dr. Motto agrees with the plaintiff\u2019s own physician and the Fire Department\u2019s physician there is presently evidence of obstructive pulmonary disease which makes it impossible for the plaintiff to function as a fireman. Dr. Motto agrees with the fact the noxious smoke from the fire of July 28 and resulting damage to the plaintiff\u2019s lungs is a cause of plaintiff\u2019s condition.\nThe law in Illinois is well settled, the decision of an administrative agency will not be overturned on review unless it is clearly against the manifest weight of the evidence. (Peterson v. Board of Trustees of the Firemens Pension Fund (1973), 54 Ill. 2d 260; Rydberg v. Quinn (1977), 54 Ill. App. 3d 578.) In the instant case the Board\u2019s own physician testified there was no prior evidence of any disease on the lungs of the plaintiff in the five years previous to the injury of July 28. The Fire Department\u2019s physician called the injury one of the worst cases he had ever seen of delayed smoke inhalation. All the experts have agreed the plaintiff cannot return to the career he had followed for 26 years, compiling an excellent work and health record.\nTwo recent Illinois Supreme Court decisions are analogous to the instant case. The first case is Illinois Valley Irrigation, Inc. v. Industrial Com. (1977), 66 Ill. 2d 234, where the court stated:\n\u201cThis court has held that evidence that the employee may have a preexisting heart condition does not render an award of compensation against the manifest weight of the evidence, where the Commission may legitimately have inferred from the evidence that the employee\u2019s occupational activity was a causative factor in accelerating his death.\u201d 66 Ill. 2d 234, 240.\nThe second case is Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Industrial Com. (1977), 67 Ill. 2d 137, where the court said:\n\u201cTo constitute an accidental injury within the meaning of the Workmen\u2019s Compensation Act, it suffices if \u2018a workman\u2019s existing physical structure, whatever it may be, gives way under the stress of his usual labor\u2019.\u201d 67 Ill. 2d 137, 141.\nThe trial judge is a learned and capable judge. We cannot say he abused his discretion in overturning the decision of the Board based on the evidence presented for review. The decision of the Board was clearly against the manifest weight of the evidence and we affirm the decision of the trial court.\nAccordingly, for the reasons contained herein, the decision of the circuit court of Cook County is affirmed.\nAffirmed.\nROMITI and LINN, JJ., concur.",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE DIERINGER"
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "William R. Quinlan, Corporation Counsel, of Chicago (Daniel Pascale and Marsile J. Hughes, Assistant Corporation Counsel, of counsel), for appellants.",
      "Friedman & Rochester, Ltd., of Chicago, for appellee."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "CHARLES E. McCARTHY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THE RETIREMENT BOARD OF THE FIREMEN\u2019S ANNUITY AND BENEFIT FUND OF CHICAGO et al., Defendants-Appellants.\nFirst District (4th Division)\nNo. 76-862\nOpinion filed November 17, 1977.\nWilliam R. Quinlan, Corporation Counsel, of Chicago (Daniel Pascale and Marsile J. Hughes, Assistant Corporation Counsel, of counsel), for appellants.\nFriedman & Rochester, Ltd., of Chicago, for appellee."
  },
  "file_name": "0330-01",
  "first_page_order": 352,
  "last_page_order": 354
}