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.

http://illinoisworkinjurylawyer.com/free-book-illinois-workers-comp.html

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Settlement

What is the value of a work related carpal tunnel surgery case in Illinois? As with all workers compensation cases the answer depends on the facts of each case. The permanency award will vary if the injured hand was the dominant hand or the non dominant hand.  In 2006 through 2008 the vast majority of carpal tunnel work related injuries with surgery that went to trial had an award of 20% loss of use of a hand. The cases were higher or lower depending upon if the person had any lifting restrictions of if the injured worker had a good recovery and was able to return to her regular job. Most of the reported decisions the carpal tunnel release surgery was done arthroscopicly  rather than  with an open procedure.

In several reported cases that were tried in Illinois the injured worker also had an ulnar nerve release or a lateral epicondylectomy.  In those cases the petitioner recovered more than 20% loss of use of the hand.