We reviewed a case recently of a worker that years ago had a seizure disorder. He took medication for it which got the problem under control. Unfortunately the meds made him feel bad so he stopped taking them.
Fast forward to a few months ago. He has a seizure at work and hits his head on the ground resulting in a broken nose and a concussion. It happened while he was working so he wanted to know if he had a workers’ compensation claim.
We didn’t take the case on. First, it’s arguable that he put himself at risk by not taking his meds. Reckless behavior can get your work comp case denied. But to me, there was nothing about the job that contributed to the ultimate injury. It just happened to be that he was at work when it happened.
My opinion would have been different if he had some risk with his job such as working on a ladder or scaffold. If he was up on the ladder when his seizure happened, his fall to the ground would have been much farther. There would be an increased risk of injury from something related to the job that is unique. In other words, whether at work or home or the store, you are often standing. But being on a ladder is more unique to the job. It’s not that you can’t ever be on a ladder (or scaffold or driving a forklift, etc.) outside of work, but doing that activity at work creates an increased risk of injury.
This is true for many types of cases. We once helped out a truck driver that had a stroke while driving. There was nothing about the job that caused the stroke, but being in a truck led to a crash that caused injuries and being in the middle of nowhere made it so he had to wait much longer for medical care.
Moral of the story is that if you have something physically wrong with you that leads to an accident, ask yourself if something about your job duties made things worse. If you can’t think of anything then there probably isn’t a case.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys who 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.