In general, if you are hurt during a volunteer or recreational activity, if it wasn’t mandatory then it’s not covered under Illinois workers’ compensation laws. We recently were contacted by a woman from Joliet who was injured while dancing at an office party. Sadly for her, attendance at the party wasn’t mandatory nor was the dancing. While she might have a negligence lawsuit for how she got hurt, there is no workers’ compensation option.
That said, there are exceptions to this rule.
Case in point, we are now representing a teacher who contacted us looking for an Aurora workers’ compensation lawyer. She hurt her knee playing in a student-teacher volleyball game during an assembly. Participation wasn’t mandatory and her job wasn’t to play volleyball. But the injury took place during her normal work hours and it’s reasonable and beneficial to the employer that the teacher took part of this activity.
The case was denied by the insurance company because it was not mandatory, but that misses the point. The rules on this mostly apply to out of work activities, not activities during working hours, especially when it benefits the employer. And why I guess we could always lose, I’ll bet you a nickel that we don’t.
Moral of the post is that don’t let the insurance company give you legal advice or anyone else other than an attorney for that matter. New case law is created every day and most people have unique circumstances. And since it is free, it never hurts to get an honest opinion.
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.