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Recent Decisions at Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission
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Victims of severe injuries can recover under multiple sections of the Workers' Compensation Act
After a severe trucking injury, a worker was left quadriplegic, with a paralyzed left arm and amputated left arm. The Commission awarded the worker both lifetime benefits and 535 weeks of benefits for loss of his right and left arms. Although it is unusual to recover under two separate sections of the Workers' Compensation Act, this worker's injury was so severe that it was appropriate in his case.
Slip and fall recovery reversed
A worker was awarded workers' compensation benefits for slipping and falling in a bathroom at work. The Appellate Court reversed the Commission's benefits, because it was never determined whether the floor was clean or dirty. Because it was equally likely that the bathroom was clean as it was dirty, benefits were reversed.
Worker injured while making a delivery
A truck driver was instructed to make a delivery in 20 minutes. In his haste to get the job done on time, the worker ran down a flight of stairs and missed the last step. As a result, the worker twisted his knee. An arbitrator stated that there was no reason why the workers should not receive benefits, because he was injured while performing a task within the scope of his employment.
Slip and fall recovery reversed
A worker was awarded workers' compensation benefits for slipping and falling in an employee bathroom and fracturing her wrist. Benefits included 8.5 weeks of pay along with $9,000 for medical bills. The Appellate Court reversed, because the worker was wearing 3-inch healed shoes at the time of the fall. Furthermore, the fall took place after work hours, so it was unclear that it arose out of the scope of her employment.
Benefits slashed for missing doctor's appointment
A construction worker was initially awarded 52 weeks pay for a work injury that sliced his hand and severed several of his fingers. However, the worker failed to attend a doctor's appointment that would have determined his eligibility for performing light tasks at work. As a result, the Commission reduced the worker's award to 19 weeks.
Injured painter is awarded more than what he asked for
A painter was working on a house that was under construction when he fell through a space where a basement stair case was being installed. The painter sustained severe injuries which resulted in both memory and hearing loss. The plaintiff's wife also claimed loss of consortium. The plaintiff asked for $1,868,041, and a jury awarded him $2,201,238.
Second injury arises out of an injury sustained at work
A worker sustained a right shoulder injury while assembling pipes at work. He was compensated by his employer for his injury. Subsequently, the worker began favoring his injured right shoulder and sustained an additional injury to his left shoulder. The Commission decided that because the worker's left shoulder injury arose out of the work related injury to his right shoulder, it was compensable.
Kitchen workers' injury that arises out of a fight with a co-worker is compensable
Two kitchen workers wrestled to the ground during an altercation regarding the use of plastic wrap in the kitchen. One of the workers sustained a broken ankle. The Commission awarded workers compensation benefits for the injury because the injured worker was able to prove that the altercation was work related.
Thumb injury is compensable despite a preexisting condition
A worker re-injured a previous thumb injury while lifting auto parts onto the conveyer belt. The Commission decided that pre-existing conditions do not bar workers from claims when they are not symptomatic until after a work injury. The worker was awarded compensation for her injury.
Employer is penalized for unreasonable reliance on a medical opinion.
A worker injured his shoulder while pushing a handcart at work. After the worker was diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury, the employer's insurance company arranged for another doctor to review the medical records. The second doctor concluded that the injury was not work related. In reliance on the second doctor's opinion, the employer denied that the injury was work related, even though three additional doctors examined the worker, and stated that the injury was work related. The Arbitrator decided that the employer's doctor's opinion was wrong. The Arbitrator awarded penalties of $2,500.00 and $16,054.40 for the employer's reliance on the unreasonable medical opinion in addition to $27,356.56 in medical expenses, 14 weeks of TTD and 35% loss of use to the left arm.
Nurse recovers workers' compensation for a brain hemorrhage that she suffered while making a speech at a co-worker's retirement dinner.
When a nurse was invited to give a speech at a doctor's retirement dinner, she experienced severe headaches and nervousness. She did not want to give the speech, but she was afraid to decline the invitation, fearing that she would lose her job. While giving the speech, the nurse was blinded in one eye and lost consciousness. Later, she was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage. The Workers' Compensation Commission decided that the speech fell within the scope of the nurse's employment, and that there was sufficient evidence to prove that the brain hemorrhage was caused by the stress that the nurse experienced before giving the speech. The hospital was liable for $277,686.99.
Doctors logically determine that sheet metal worker's injury was work related
A sheet metal worker was injured at work and then laid off for several weeks. The worker did not seek medical treatment until three months later, but doctors were able to logically determine that the injury was work related given that his symptoms clearly and definitively began while performing a work related task.
Accounting assistant cannot recover injuries for severe burn sustained while attempting to remove a sweatshirt from a power line outside his employer's office.
When an accounting assistant was told by his employer to lock up for the night, he noticed a sweatshirt dangling outside an office window and attempted to remove it with a metal pole. As a result, the assistant was thrown back against a wall and his entire body was set on fire. The assistant sustained almost $200,000 in damages, but he was not eligible for workers' compensation because his actions fell so far outside of the scope of his employment that his employer would have never expected to be liable for such kind of activities.
When an accounting assistant was told by his employer to lock up for the night, he noticed a sweatshirt dangling outside an office window and attempted to remove it with a metal pole. As a result, the assistant was thrown back against a wall and his entire body was set on fire. The assistant sustained almost $200,000 in damages, but he was not eligible for workers’ compensation because his actions fell so far outside of the scope of his employment that his employer would have never expected to be liable for such kind of activities.
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