(Court opinion corrected 12/11/15.) Police officer injured his back while loading his duty bag (weighing about 40 pounds) into his personal vehicle in preparation for reporting to police stations for work. Commission properly found that claimant sustained accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment, and properly found that claimant established causal relationship between accident and back condition requiring surgery. Testimony in record establishes that duty bag contained items necessary for performance of job duties, and that as part of his job duties he was responsible for safekeeping of his duty bag, and keeping duty bag at home was acceptable to employer. Thus, irrelevant that injury occurred while lifting it into his car at home. Commission was within its prerogative to find that accident aggravated or accelerated officer's preexisting back condition and was a causative factor resulting in his back surgery.(HOLDRIDGE and HOFFMAN, concurring; HUDSON and HARRIS, dissenting.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Workers' Compensation