Illinois machine operator wins benefits for bending injury
The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission awarded temporary total disability (TTD) benefits and medical expenses to a laborer who aggravated a preexisting condition when she bent over at work.
Riley v. International Paper, 17ILWCLB 3 (ILL.Ind.Comm. 2008).
Riley, a laborer, operated seven machines at her employer's facility. Her duties required that she lift stacks of paper blanks, push carts and lift and dump barrels. On Nov. 15, 2006, Riley bent down to pick up a stack of blanks when she felt pulling and popping in her back. She acknowledged prior mild low back problems and that she began to feel some pain one week before the work incident. Riley reported that on the day of the incident, she had rotated to a different department which required more repetitive bending and twisting at the waist and more walking than normal. X-rays performed Nov. 8, 2006, showed spondylolisthesis with degenerative disk disease. The arbitrator denied benefits, reasoning that the claimant's act of bending down was not covered by the Workers' Compensation Act. However, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission reversed, finding that Riley's risk of back injury was greater than that of the general public.
In awarding benefits, the Commission relied on Komatsu Dresser Co. v Industrial Commission in which the appellate court affirmed a benefit award to a machine operator. The Komatsu court ruled that the frequency at which the claimant was bending and the method in which the claimant had to bend and lift without bending his knees increased his exposure to a risk of injury greater than that of the general public. Therefore, the fact that bending is a normal activity did not preclude a finding that the claimant's injury arose out his employment
Similarly, Riley's duties in this case required much more bending and lifting than ordinary activities of daily life would necessitate. Also, Riley indicated that to retrieve blanks, she had to bend in a somewhat awkward position. Thus, Riley's risk of back injury was greater than that of the general public.
