Work Related Injuries In Illinois

The Workers' Compensation Act was designed to enable workers to recover for work-related injuries without going to the hassle and expense of filing and pursuing a lawsuit in court. Under the Act, an employer is required to compensate an employee for injuries that occur in the course of, or arising out of, his or her employment. Compensation includes payment of all medical and hospital expenses, a percentage of lost wages, and an award for temporary and/or permanent disability.

There have been a number of cases that have interpreted or defined the meaning of the phrases "in the course of" or "arising out of" the employment. In order for an injury to be within the course of employment, it must occur within the period of employment at a place where an employee may reasonably be performing his or her duties and while he or she is fulfilling those duties or doing something incidental to those duties. Thus, if an employee is injured running a personal errand while driving to work, that injury will be deemed outside of the course or scope of employment. Or, if an employee is injured while ignoring the explicit rules of the company, the injury is not in the course of employment.

In one case, the court agreed with the findings of the statewide Industrial Commission, which stated that a worker who was injured while riding as a passenger on a forklift was not acting within the scope of his employment because, according to a company safety rule, the employee was prohibited from riding double as a passenger on a forklift.

For an injury to arise out of employment, the cause must be some risk connected with, or incidental to, the employment. For example, a housekeeper who was hurt when she baited a trap for a raccoon was acting within the scope of her employment because her employer knew that she was baiting the trap. However, a police officer who was sitting in a chair in a courthouse and who injured his back when he turned to answer a question did not have an injury arising out of his employment because his injury could have occurred anywhere with any normal activity.

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