Sous-chef's hunt for missing carrots all in day's work, Illinois high court confirms

Workers' compensation has gotten a lot of attention this year because of, you guessed it, the COVID-19 pandemic. But like everything else, the virus has overshadowed an important decision recently issued by the Illinois Supreme Court, which discusses when injuries "arise out of" employment. Here's what you may have missed.

Pop goes the knee

Kevin McAllister worked as a sous-chef for North Pond restaurant. On August 7, 2014, he was setting up his station for the evening shift when another cook mentioned he may have misplaced a pan of carrots in the walk-in cooler. McAllister went into the cooler to locate the missing carrots. He knelt down to look at the bottom, middle, and top shelves to see if the carrots were there. When he stood up, he felt his right knee pop and then lock up.

The general manager took McAllister to the emergency room shortly thereafter. He was off work because of the injury until September 15.

McAllister sought benefits for the time off under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. He initially was awarded benefits, and North Pond sought further review of the decision. The claim was heard by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission, an Illinois trial court, and the Illinois Appellate Court. At each step, the commission and the courts rejected the claim. McAllister ultimately appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Glazed over

For a claimant to be entitled to workers' comp benefits under the Act, the injury must "arise out of" and occur "in the course of" the individual's employment. McAllister therefore needed to show his knee injury: