Illinois Workers' Compensation: Injuries Sustained During Lunch Breaks

The Illinois Appellate Court has held that an employee injured while warming up his car on his lunch break was entitled to the benefits of the Workers’ Compensation Act.

During his lunch break, the Illinois worker went to the company parking lot to warm his car on a January day. When he tried to start the car, he saw smoke and then flames escaping from the hood. He then ran into the company building, retrieved a fire extinguisher and headed back to his car. At that time, while still in the building, he slipped on melting snow near the doorway and fell to the concrete floor injuring his knee.

The employer argued that he was acting for his own personal benefit, and was therefore not entitled to Workers' Compensation. However, the Court held that injuries to an employee that occur while in the performance of “reasonable necessary” acts of personal comfort may be compensable. This includes an employee warming his/her car during a lunch break when doing so would assist the employee in being able to leave work at the end of his/her shift. Furthermore, in this case, the injury was partially caused by a condition inside the employer’s building, the melting snow in the doorway.

Injuries on lunch breaks or personal time are often contested by employers, but they are also, often covered under the Act.

If you have any questions on this subject, please call the Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorneys at Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck for a free consultation today.