Gassner v. Raynor Manufacturing Co.
Illinois Appellate Court
948 N.E.2d 315 (2011)
Gassner (plaintiff) injured his back at work for Raynor (defendant) and developed a staph infection from subsequent back surgery; his settlement with Raynor released all claims except Raynor's agreement to pay for "treatment to the low back causally related to the alleged injury." After the staph infection spread to his heart requiring significant additional treatment, Raynor refused to pay, arguing the clause covered only musculoskeletal, chiropractic-type back treatment, not an infection that migrated elsewhere in the body; Gassner argued the infection remained connected to his back injury and Raynor owed for its treatment generally, including the spread to his heart. The trial court granted Raynor summary judgment.
Whether contract language is ambiguous when there is doubt about its true meaning such that applying the words to the dispute at hand is genuinely difficult.