Workers’ Compensation benefits awarded to employee who wipes out while exiting cooler
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission awarded 28-3/7 weeks of temporary total (TTD) disability and $19,596 in medical expenses, subject to the medical fee schedule, for an employee’s back injury sustained in a slip-and-fall accident at work.
When a food preparer is entering and exiting a refrigerated space while trying to meet her employer’s requirements and working in a busy, crowded environment, it’s reasonable to infer that the claimant is exposed to an increased risk of slipping at work.
The injured employee testified that she was walking out of a cooler at work when she slipped and fell, injuring her back. She stated that the area of the accident was busy and crowded and she did not know what she slipped on. Based on the claimant’s testimony, as supported by the medical records, the arbitrator found the claimant’s injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment and awarded benefits. The Commission clarified the temporary total disability and medical awards, and otherwise affirmed and adopted the decision of the arbitrator. A Commission majority noted that the record supported a reasonable inference that the claimant’s fall at work stemmed from a risk associated with her employment. The claimant’s job involved food preparation. Although she stated she did not know what caused her to slip, she indicated that “there were a lot of people that day,” that she was going in and out of the cooler, and that “they were ordering [her] to bring the food” before she fell. Based on this evidence, the Commission found it reasonable to infer that the claimant was exposed to an increased risk.
In a dissenting opinion, Commissioner Lindsay noted that the claimant did not know what caused her to slip or if anything was on the floor. The dissent noted that the presence of lots of people in the restaurant, as pointed out in the majority opinion, did not explain why she slipped. Without such explanation, the claimant failed to prove her injuries arose out of her employment
