United Airlines flight attendant lands wage loss award
The Illinois Worker's Compensation Commission awarded wage loss benefits pursuant to Section 8(d)1 of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act to an airlines attendant who suffered injuries in two work-related accidents.
Case name: Thompson v. United Airlines, 17 ILWCLB 160 (Ill.W.C.Comm.2009).
Thompson, a flight attendant who worked a flight between Washington, D.C., and Frankfurt, Germany, sustained several injuries due to two work-related accidents. Thompson sought wage loss benefits pursuant to Section 8(d)1. The arbitrator found that Section 8(d)1 was the appropriate remedy since Thompson had attained a prestigious and responsible position of purser, or first flight attendant on a major international carrier. She flew mostly international trips and earned an average weekly wage of $1,044.18 in the year before the second accident.
When Thompson believed that she might not be able to return to work in the career of her choice, she took it upon herself to retrain for other employment. That other employment presently pays $560 per week. In calculating the wage loss award, Thompson argued that per diem pay and international purser premium pay should be included in the calculation of the average amount which she would be able to earn in the full performance of the occupation in which she was engaged at the time of the accident. The defendant argued that Thompson's calculations were speculative based upon the varagies of the bidding process. The arbitrator agreed with the defendant. Pursuant to case law, the arbitrator explained that when the earnings of the injured worker cannot be determined or are speculative, then the earnings for the year preceding the injury should be the basis upon which the wage loss differential is determined. Upon review, the Commission affirmed the decision of the arbitrator.
