The insurance company will try to deny your claim if they can. It’s their job. Plenty of people don’t have a problem getting benefits, but for those who do, it often comes down to the details of how they got injured and whether it was “in the course of” their employment. In other words, the insurance company argues that the injury could have happened anywhere, anytime and that the job did not put the worker at any sort of increased risk.
The Illinois appellate court recently ruled in favor of an employee who was facing this argument from the insurance company. Her job was to provide care for people in their homes. One day she was helping someone get into the shower when she noticed a soap dish in the way. She held the person with one arm and reached to move the soap dish with the other arm, and felt something pop in her neck. She had a herniated disc, which eventually required surgery.
The insurance company tried, and failed, to argue that moving a soap dish was not a particular risk of the job, but the employee won. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, as well as the courts, said that her job required her to keep people safe while getting in the shower and that’s what she was doing when she was injured.
It seems fairly clear that this employee should have won. After all, she was doing her job when this happened, and her job duties caused her to reach awkwardly and hurt her neck. Not all injured employees win this argument, however. For example, if you trip on your shoelaces at work, it’s not going to necessarily be considered a work injury. It depends on whether there was any increased risk because of the type of job you have or what you were doing at the time. If you were required to rush somewhere and tripped, you might win. If you were required to wear special shoes that caused you to fall, you might win. But anyone, anywhere can trip on their shoelaces at any given moment. So the argument is that the job didn’t put you at an increased risk of tripping.
It all comes down to the very specific facts of your injury. This is one reason why it’s important to write down what happened, explain to your doctor what you were doing when you were injured, notify your employer, file a claim and talk to an Illinois attorney if you have questions or doubts.
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.
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.
