Court Opinion

ID: 9711067
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:23:56.861237+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:02.014400
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE CLARK, dissenting: I dissent because the majority has resolved anew the conflicting evidence in this case and has substituted its inferences for the inferences the Commission made. First, it is clear that the claimant, was under a misapprehension about what constitutes an accident. The majority quotes her: “To me an accident is if you fall or something falls on you, or you drop something or you are in a car wreck.” (83 Ill. 2d at 216.) This answer shows that the claimant probably did not consider what happened to her to be an accident. It is significant that she was never specifically asked whether she considered her lifting incident to be an “accident.” Her response to that question would resolve any doubt about why her answers on forms and her statements were inconsistent with her contention here that she suffered an accidental injury at work. As her answer stands, I think the arbitrator and the Commission were justified in finding that the claimant suffered an injury at work which arose out of her employment, since it occurred when she was lifting a part out of a tub. The arbitrator and Commission obviously discounted the claimant’s inconsistent statements in light of all the evidence and the likelihood that the claimant did not fully understand what was meant by the term “accident.” The arbitrator and the Commission have resolved any conflicts and ambiguities in favor of the claimant and have found that her injury was compensable. The circuit court and the majority are incorrect to inject their interpretation of the conflicts and ambiguities in the evidence into the case. Moreover, the majority concedes that the claimant has a “severe back problem” (83 Ill. 2d at 218), and there is no medical evidence of deterioration to the point where any activity might cause harm (see County of Cook v. Industrial Com. (1977), 68 Ill. 2d 24, 33; Greater Peoria Mass Transit District v. Industrial Com. (1980), 81 Ill. 2d 38, 43). The fact that the claimant had recently received medical treatment for her back problem and had been permitted to return to work indicates that no deterioration was occurring but, instead, her condition was improving. Thus, the Commission was correct to find that the claimant’s condition was aggravated by the lifting she was required to do at work (Greater Peoria Mass Transit District v. Industrial Com. (1980), 81 Ill. 2d 38, 43; Riteway Plumbing v. Industrial Com. (1977), 67 Ill. 2d 404, 412) and that her resulting injury was compensable. I would reverse the circuit court. MR. CHIEF JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH joins in this dissent.