Illinois bakery employee proves injury arose out of employment but fails to win benefits
The Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ehld that although the claimant established that her fall at work arose out of her employment in the defendant's bakery,she failed to prove that her current condition of ill-being was causally related to the work accident.
Case name: Dugger v. Peter's Market Inc., 19 ILWCLC 145 (Ill.W.C.Comm.2011)
Summary: While worknig the defendant's bakery department in February 2010, Dugger slipped and fell on some plastic wrap while carrying a plate of strawberries. There was a video camera in the bakery that filmed the entire incident. Before the accident occurred, Dugger dropped the plastic on the floor and made no attempt to pick it up. She continued performing her regular duties. About 20 minutes later, Dugger was carrying a tray of strawberries along the back of the bakery counter when she stepped on the plastic, she slipped foward before landing on her buttock and rolling onto her back and left arm. The arbitrator found Dugger sustained an accidental injury that arose out of and in the course of her employment.
Although there was some speculation by the defendant that Dugger staged her fall, the defendant presented no credible evidence to support this finding. Also, the arbitrator rejected the defendant's argument that Dugger was not at any greater risk than the general public when she fell. Dugger was at a greater risk than the general public in that she fell on plastic wrap in an area where she was repeatedly walking from one end of the counter to the other in order to assist customers. In addition, this area was not open to the general public. The presence of such an item on the floor was incidental to Dugger's employment and was not something to which the general public would be exposed. As such, the arbitrator found Dugger had proven by preponderance of the credible evidence that she sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of her employment.
However, the arbitrator went on to find that Dugger's symptoms of myelopathy and need for surgery were not related to this accident. Medical records indicated that Dugger had consistent complaints of numbness and pain in her hands for years before the wrok accident. The records also showed prior episodes of falling and other myelopathic symptoms. The arbitrator adopted the opinions of the defendant's examining doctor, which were based on an accurate history of Dugger's past and present complaints, the credible medical records, and his viewing of the video surveillance showing the mechanism of Dugger's fall. Furthermore, the arbitrator found Dugger was less than truthful regarding her myelopathic complaints prior to the accident the mechanism of her fall.
Upon review, the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission affirmed and adopted the decision of the arbitrator.
