Recently, a fast-food chain employee won workers’ compensation benefits in a case that came before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission on appeal. After a workers’ compensation case is decided in court, either the worker or the employer may appeal the decision to the commission.
The case involved an altercation with a coworker, and it hinged on whether or not the worker was the aggressor in that struggle. The plaintiff sought benefits after she was injured in a workplace scuffle. Allegedly, the woman placed a dish in the wrong sink, and a coworker responded by spraying her with a hose. She also claimed that on another occasion, the coworker tried to put her into the sink.
In the altercation that followed, the woman struck her coworker in the groin area, and she claimed that her coworker forcefully pulled on her arm, causing the injury. A witness corroborated that the woman hit her coworker in the groin, but there was uncertainty as to whether the action was purposeful or accidental. The employer sought to have the claim denied based on rules that preclude a worker from being awarded workers’ compensation benefits if he or she is the aggressor in a fight that causes injuries to the worker.
The commission determined that the woman’s conduct in striking her coworker did not trigger the aggressor defense for the employer, regardless of whether or not the action was accidental. The commission therefore granted the woman’s request for benefits.