Employee wins work comp case for Wallyball injury

In an appellate court case an employee of the Elmhurst park district won his workers compensation case for an injury her received while playing Wallyball durring work hours. The petitioner was a fitness director who began playing a walleyball game when there were not enough players to get a game going. When he came down from a shot he injured his knee that required surgery.

His employer denied the claim, stating that section 11 of the workers compensation act barred the claim. Section 11 of the Illinois workers Compensation act states at the relevant part  ” accidental injuries incurred while participation in voluntary recreational programs do not arise out of and in the course of the employment.”

The arbitrator and the appellate court held that although wallyball is a recreational activity, his job was to help the customers on there fitness goals and he played wallyball not for his own reasons but to accommodate the employers customers, and awarded the injured employee benefits.

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Injured Worker Entitled to TTD Benefits after being Laid Off while on Light Duty

In a recent Illinois appellate court case the court held that an injured worker was entitled to TTD benefits after he was laid off when working light duty.  In the case the petitioner was injured at work and was working for the respondent light duty.  The employer laid off the petitioner due to lack of work or economic reasons.  The respondent insurance company refused to pay the TTD benefits when the injured worker was laid off.  The injured worker fought the case and the arbitrator found in his favor and awarded him TTD benefits. The commission, the trial court and the appellate court affirmed the arbitrators decision in awarding benefits.  The court noted the law is clear that neither the ability to do light duty work or not getting medical benefits prohibits the injured worker from getting TTD benefits.

In the case, the injured worker attempted to find work with in his restrictions, and kept track of his attempts to find work. His attempts to find a nother job was unsucessful. Thus the injured worker proved that theree was no work avaliable for him with his work restrictions. As a side note the arbitrator awarded the injured worker penalties for the insurance carriers bad faith in failing to pay benefits.

Illinois Jurisdiction for a Work Injury Occuring Outside Illinois

What happend if you are injured at work while outside of Illinois, Does the Illinois Workers Compensation Act apply to you ?

Illinois has jurisdiction over any work injury claim if 1) the contract for hire was made in Illinois 2) if the accident occurred in Illinois or 3) if the injured worker’s employment was principally located in Illinois.

How do you determine if the contract for hire occurred in Illinois? The contract for hire is made were the last act necessary for the formation of the contract occurred.  An example is when an Illinois resident is offered a job over the telephone to work in another state.  If All the paperwork to work at the out of state job is done via fax at the workers house in Illinois then the Illinois Workers Compensation act would apply. If they same worker was required to travel to the out of state employer and fill out employment forms and take and pass a drug test then the last act necessary for the contract of employment occurred out of sate and the worker would not enjoy the  Protection of the Illinois Workers Compensation Act.

Rotator Cuff Tear Settlement

In 2007 an injured worker with a left shoulder rotator cuff tear and a massive acromion tear, that was surgically repaired with an arthroscopic procedure received an award of 25% of an arm.  The arbitrator found that the injured employee who was 57 years old and employedas a factory worker returned to work regular duty.  The employee reports that he has numbness in his left arm and trouble reaching with his left arm.

Injured Workers are entitled to three basic Illinois Workers Compensation Benefits

When you’re injured at work you are entitled to three basic worker’s compensation benefits.

A.      Medical Benefits.  An injured employee is entitled to receive all the necessary first aid, medical, surgical and hospital services reasonably required to cure his condition of ill being resulting from his work injury.

B.      Temporary Total Disability Benefits (TTD).  The injured worker is entitled to temporary total disability benefits.  This means the injured worker is entitled to receive two-thirds of his or her average weekly wage during the time he or she is unable to return to work as a result of the work-related injury.  The temporary total disability (TTD) benefits are payable after the first three days the injured worker is off due to a work-related injury.  If the injured worker is off work for more than 14 days for that same injury, the Worker’s Compensation Act requires the worker’s compensation insurance carrier to pay the injured worker the first three days he or she was off.

C.      Permanent Partial Disability Benefits (PPD).  At the conclusion of the case the injured worker is entitled to a permanent partial disability (PPD) benefit.  This PPD benefit is calculated as a percentage of disability for each body part that was injured in the work-related injury times 60% of the average weekly wage up to the current statutory maximum rate.  The current maximum PPD rate is $636.15.

After the work injury, the injured worker must notify his or her employer of the work accident promptly.  The law requires notification within 45 days of the injury.  The notice must be given to a person who is part of the management team of the company as opposed to only a co-worker.  The notice of the injury does not need to be in writing, but the injured worker must notify his or her employer as to the date, time and place of the work injury.