The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission ruled that a Department of Human Services worker was not entitled to compensation for a fall from a chair, because her work did not expose her to an increased risk of falling.
A security therapy aide employed by the Department of Human Services testified that she was writing notes while sitting on a plastic chair when the chair slipped out from under her and she fell, injuring her back, head and right hand. The worker testified that the floors had been waxed the previous night, and though the chair was not on wheels, it slipped on the floor.
The workers’ compensation arbitrator found that the accident arose out of and in the course of the worker’s employment and awarded permanent partial disability benefits and medical expenses. However, the commission reversed the arbitrator’s decision, finding that the aide was not eligible for benefits.
The commission found that the worker was not exposed to increased risk of falling merely by being seated in the chair and that she did not show how her injuries arose out of her employment. The commission found that the aide did not show a causal relationship between the floors being waxed the previous night and her falling out of her chair.