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

How to check if your Employer has Illinois Workers Compensation Insurance

Every employer in the State of Illinois is required by law to purchase worker’s compensation insurance coverage for their employees.  The State of Illinois has formulated an insurance compliance division, they have hired investigators to ensure that every employer has worker’s compensation insurance.  Failure of an employer to carry worker’s compensation insurance subjects that employer to stiff financial penalties. 

You can easily check to determine if your employer has worker’s compensation insurance by visiting the Illinois Worker’s Compensation website at  www.state.il.us/agency/iic/ and then click on the right-hand side of the webpage “Employer Insurance Coverage Search”.  From there you can follow the prompts to determine if your employer does, in fact, carry worker’s compensation insurance and learn the identity of the insurance carrier.