When The UFC Happens At Work
Usually when you think of work injuries and workers’ compensation, you’re likely to picture an employee performing his or her job, and some accident or event happens. But what about when a physical fight breaks out at work, and injuries result? Consider this scenario: two employees disagree over who is entitled to a sale from a customer, and words turn into punches. Can workers’ compensation insurance cover the injuries?
Just because your work injury was caused by a coworker’s fist, does not rule out the possibility of it’s being a covered injury. In fact quite often these injuries do come within the scope of workers’ compensation. However there are a few important limitations.
First, as with all workers’ compensation claims, the situation must be job-related. It is not enough that the fight broke out between two employees. The fight itself needs to have come out of some aspect of your job. If two workers at a health club get into a heated argument over politics, and one throws a punch and injures the other, the injuries did not come about as a result of their employment.
However if the health club employees argued over who is entitled to credit for bringing in a new member, and it got physical, then the injuries are likely to be covered. In this situation, the issue that sparked the fight was related to the job, and so the fight could be considered a risk that is related to their employment. It’s not that workers’ compensation laws support resolving disputes by violence. But the reality is that work-related disagreements can escalate, and where there is an injury that follows, there may be insurance coverage.
But there is another significant consideration that limits who may receive benefits from a work-related fight. Whoever is determined to be the aggressor in the fight cannot claim workers’ compensation benefits for his or her injuries. Even though two workers may be fighting over a legitimate work dispute, the one who escalated the fight is not entitled to benefit from the conduct. The reason behind this distinction, is that the aggressor’s action taking the fight to that level breaks the connection to the job. The person’s own uncontrolled behavior becomes the cause of his or her own injuries.
Deciding which of the employees is really the aggressor in the fight is not always an easy matter. Cases in Illinois have said that it’s not necessarily the person that starts the fight, or the person that turns the fight physical. All the facts surrounding the fight will be looked at, including what may have provoked the violence. Sometimes, what may at first seem like one fight, when looked at closer can really be two separate events. One person tried to end it and walk away, and the other then pursued it further.
Though the law may say that returning a punch from a coworker does not necessarily prevent you from receiving benefits from workers’ compensation for the injuries; causing a fight likely can.
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.
