In Illinois several appellate court cases had held that a petitioner in a workers compensation claim must show that he or she had been exposed to a risk of injury to a degree greater than the public in order to prove a compensable accident. The Supreme Court in Illinois has now been corrected that rule by holding that an injury victim need only prove he or she got injured and work-related accident. The case is called McAllister vs Illinois Workers Compensation Commission.
This case applies to common everyday activities like standing from the kneeling position, bending, reaching, or twisting. In older cases courts had ruled that petitioner had proved his job duties require him to engage in an activity to a greater degree than the general public, even in situations where the activity is directly related to the claimant’s job duties.
This case involves a sous chef who bent to help a co-worker find some carrots in the walk-in refrigerator. When the petitioner bent down to find the carrots, he found felt a pop in his knee. He indicated on cross examination that his position in the floor was like the position he would be in if you were looking for something under his bed.