One of the key issues in establishing a workers' compensation claim in Illinois is showing that the injury was "causally connected" to or "arose out of" the work performed. This means that you have to be able to prove that something related to your job actually caused your condition. In some cases, this causal connection is obvious and undisputed, such as when a worker is involved in an industrial accident or construction accident of some sort and suffers a back injury, a muscular sprain or strain, or a bone fracture. There, it is usually clear that the accident caused the injury. Similarly, if your job requires repetitive motions such as twisting and turning, a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome or cubital tunnel syndrome in your wrist or arm can potentially be connected to the repetitive nature of your work.
However, just because an injury happens at work does not necessarily mean it is a work injury. Claims have consistently been denied when it is revealed the injury resulted from some sort of horseplay on the jobsite. In those cases, the courts have determined that because they were engaging in activities outside of their expected work duties, the workers could not claim the injuries "arose out of" their employment.
Conversely, just because an injury happens away from work does not mean it is not a work injury. Workers compensation is not limited to incidents occurring within the walls of a factory or office, or within the fences surrounding a jobsite. The doctrine of the "traveling employee" dictates that if your job requires you to travel, then injuries occurring during those travels may be found to arise out of your employment. This is not limited to cross-country travels, or even cross-town. If your job requires you to take to the streets on a regular basis, you may be considered a traveling employee, and an injury incurred while on the streets may be compensable.
For example, recently an appellate court in Illinois awarded an injured worker benefits for broken wrists she suffered when she fell on a sidewalk while walking from her office to a bank to make deposits for the company she worked for. Even though she was not necessarily "at work" when it happened, because she was performing a function for her job that required her to be on the streets, the court found that the accident was causally connected and arose out of her job.
Illinois Work Injury Attorneys deal with the issue of "causal connection" in every case they handle, and can help you determine if the injury you suffered can be connected to the work duties you performed.
