Attorney Profile
Richard D. Hannigan has practiced Workers' Compensation law since 1973. From 1973 to 1991 he represented both employers and injured employees before the Industrial Commission. Now his practice is limited to serving the injured worker. Mr. Hannigan received his B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Economics from the University of Dayton in 1970, and his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in 1973. While at John Marshall Law School he was a member of the Appellate Defender Program.
Mr. Hannigan has been editor/co-editor for the Illinois Bar Association Workers' Compensation Newsletter since 1998. He has been a member of the Illinois State Bar Association's Workers' Compensation Section Council from 1992 through 2001 and 2002 to date. In 1998 he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Section. In 1999 he was appointed Chairman of the Illinois State Bar Association Workers' Compensation Section Council. He is a past Chairman of the Lake County Bar Association's Workers' Compensation Section. Richard Hannigan served as President of the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association in 1992, Vice-President in 1991, Secretary from 1989 to 1990, and on the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association Board of Managers from 1984 to 1988 and 1993 to 1995. He is a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association. He has been a member of the Arizona State Bar since 1975 and is a member of the Arizona Bar Association's Workers' Compensation Section.
Richard Hannigan has lectured and published articles on Workers' Compensation for the Illinois State Bar Association, the National Business Institute, the Lake County Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association. The subject matter of said lectures have included heart attack and stress related injuries, average weekly wage, temporary total disability benefits, carpal tunnel and repetitive trauma cases, the application of the Petrillo Doctrine (physician/patient privilege) to Workers' Compensation cases, gathering evidence for Workers' Compensation cases and depositions of medical witnesses.
He has represented both employers and employees before the Appellate and Supreme Court in the State of Illinois. He attends medical seminars covering worker related injuries and occupational diseases yearly. He successfully argued that the injured workers do not waive the physician/patient privilege simply because the worker was injured on the job (Hydraulics v Anderson 329 Ill. 3d 166). Zitzka v. Industrial Commission (328 Ill.App3d 844) dealt with the award of penalties against an employer for not promptly paying the uncontested portion of an Industrial Commission award. He was also involved in other published and non-published Appellate and Supreme Court cases.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
2008 - Present, Hannigan & Botha, Ltd; 1991 - 2007, Richard D. Hannigan Ltd.; 1973-1991, Burgesson, Laughlin, Cunningham & Fanone
ADMITTED:
1973 Illinois; 1975 Arizona; 1973 U.S. Dist. Ct. (N. Dist. IL.)
EDUCATION:
J.D. 1973, John Marshall Law School ( Illinois Appellate Defender Program); B.S. (Business Administration) 1970, University of Dayton.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
Illinois State Bar Association (Workers' Compensation Section Council 1992-2001 and 2002 to date). Chairman ISBA Workers' Compensation Section Council 2000. Editor/Co-Editor ISBA Workers' Compensation Section Council Newsletter 1998 to date. Board of Managers Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association 1984 to 1988 and 1993 to 1995. Also served the WCLA as secretary 1989-1990, Vice President 1991 and President 1992. Lake County Bar Association Workers' Compensation Section Chairman 1988 & 1991.
Kevin Botha has experience in the Insurance Industry and Workers’ Compensation since 1995. He entered the Insurance Industry in underwriting. From 1999 to 2006 he was managed Worker’s Compensation claims for various Insurance Companies and Third Party Administrators. He managed an Insurance Program that included hundreds of millions of dollars in Worker’s Compensation Claims including catastrophic losses and complex litigation involving Worker’s Compensation and Employer’s Liability. He has developed a unique perspective into the management of a Worker’s Compensation claim. Since being admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2006, his practice is exclusive in representing the injured worker.
EDUCATION:
Kevin Botha graduated from The Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1994 with a Bachelors degree in Sports Management. He went on to complete an Honors Degree in Sports Management and Exercise Physiology in 1995. He received his J.D. from the John Marshall Law School in 2006.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
- Illinois Sate Bar Association
- ISBA Worker’s Compensation Law Section Council
- Worker’s Compensation Lawyers Association
- Lake County Bar Association
- Chicago Bar Association
PUBLICATIONS:
Kevin Botha has published various articles on Workers' Compensation legal issues for the Illinois State Bar Association newsletter (Worker’s Compensation Law Section Council).
- “Petitioner’s non-compliance with Vocation Rehabilitation insufficient to deny compensation,” ISBA Worker’s Compensation Law Newsletter, December, 2006.
- “Respondents Must Meet Their Obligations in Vocational Rehabilitation,” ISBA Worker’s Compensation Law Newsletter, March 2007.
- “The elusiveness of the Intoxication defense,” ISBA Worker’s Compensation Law Newsletter, June 2007.
- “A rare reversal & remand of a manifest weight issue under the Odd-Lot permanent disability theory,” ISBA Worker’s Compensation Law Newsletter, June 2007.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
2006 – 2007, Richard D. Hannigan, Ltd.
2008 - present, Hannigan & Botha, Ltd.
ADMITTED:
2006 Illinois State Bar
2006 U.S. District Court (Northern District of Illinois)
