A caller asked our help after blowing out his knee when he was using a treadmill on company property at lunch in the employee workout facility. He wanted to know if he had a valid Illinois workers’ compensation claim.
We try to speak in plain English, but don’t always succeed. Below is a memo on recreational type injuries that another lawyer we know wrote a year ago. It explains everything.
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Generally, injuries sustained during voluntary recreational activities are not compensable. Potential liability still exists however per the personal comfort doctrine. Accidents occurring on break can still be deemed as in the course of employment pursuant to the personal comfort doctrine. However, we also note that the acts encompassed by this doctrine (eating, drinking, smoking, bathroom activity or seeking relief from harsh temperatures) do not typically involve employee exercise.
If the company (management) knows or acquiesces to the practice of lunchtime exercise, then a claimant may overcome the burden of proving the "in the course of" prong of the accident analysis. He would further be able to argue that the exercise conveyed a benefit to the employer (bettering the health of employees and arguably increasing their productivity and decreasing their absenteeism). Yet, the claimant would still need to prove the second prong, "arising out of". The injured worker would need to show that his employment somehow increased his risk of injury beyond that of the general public. The cause of the injury has to be related to the employment environment and not a hazard to which claimant would have been equally exposed apart from his employment.
If the petitioner used no equipment of the employer in the exercising, then he would have a more difficult time proving the "arising out of" aspect of his case.
The bottom line is that an employer is typically not responsible for injuries sustained by employees during off-the-clock activity that can be characterized as voluntary recreation. However, the personal comfort doctrine may allow an employee to bring within the scope of employment an activity not intrinsic to the job. In the Eagle Discount case the employee injured himself while playing Frisbee in the company parking lot. By allowing or acquiescing to lunchtime exercise by its employees, it is fair to say that the employer is opening itself up to that potential. Prohibition of exercise at work is a management option.
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And, the Illinois Supreme Court has added:
"[I]f the employee voluntarily and in an unexpected manner exposes himself to a risk outside any reasonable exercise of his duties, the resultant injury will not be deemed to have occurred within the course of the employment. [Citation.] The employer may, nevertheless, still be held liable for injuries resulting from an unreasonable and unnecessary risk if the employer has knowledge of or has acquiesced in the practice or custom." Eagle Discount Supermarket, 82 Ill.2d at 340, 45 Ill.Dec. 141, 412 N.E.2d 492.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
