What Do You Think: Did Bus Driver Injure Shoulder on Job?

Chicago, IL (WorkersCompensation.com) – If a worker is in good health and doesn’t experience pain prior to a work-related injury, does it mean the injury arose out of and in the course of her employment?

An Illinois court recently weighed in on that question.

A school bus driver for a private busing company had duties that involved picking up students in the morning and driving them to school and picking up students from school in the afternoon and driving them home.

The driver began driving a larger bus with a manual door opener that required the use of a handle to open and close the bus door at each stop. She had two separate morning and two separate afternoon routes with this bus, and these routes required her to manually open the bus door approximately 25 to 30 times daily.

While driving one day, the driver felt “extreme” pain in her should as she opened and closed the bus door during her afternoon routes. Despite the pain, she did not report her injury to her supervisor but took over-the-counter pain medicine when she got home.

After waking up the next morning with pain, the driver completed her four routes for the day and told her supervisor that she needed to see a doctor. The driver filled out an employee injury form and went to a clinic.

Several days later, the driver sought medical treatment. A day later, she filed a claim for benefits. Following arbitration, the arbitrator found that the driver experienced accidental injuries that arose out of and in the course of her employment and awarded the driver temporary total disability benefits.

The company filed a petition for review before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. The commission determined that the arbitrator miscalculated the TTD award, but otherwise affirmed and adopted the arbitrator’s decision. The company appealed to court, which confirmed the commission’s decision, prompting the company to appeal to the next level in court.

The company contended that there was nothing wrong with the door-opening mechanism, so the injury didn’t happen because of the driver’s job.

Under Illinois law, a worker must establish that she experienced a disabling injury that arose out of and in the course of her employment.

Did the driver’s injury occur because of her job?

A. Yes. She felt pain in her arm and shoulder while operating the bus.

B. No. Opening and closing the bus door would not have caused the injury.

If you chose A, you agreed with the court in American School Bus Company LLC v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, No. 1-21-0733WC (Ill. App. Ct. 04/08/22) , which upheld the previous decisions in the driver’s favor.

According to the court, the driver was in good health prior to the date on which she experienced pain for the first time and never had shoulder problems before. The court rejected the opinion of a doctor who testified in the company’s favor as being “too speculative” and failing to take into account the facat that the driver did not experience shoulder problems prior to the date in question.

This feature does not provide legal advice.

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