Noonan v. Illinois Workers' Compensation Comm'n
2016 IL App (1st) 152300WC
Ill. App. Ct.2017Background
- Terry Noonan, a City of Chicago employee, alleged a work-related right wrist injury on March 31, 2008, after reaching from a rolling chair to pick up a pen and bracing a fall with his right hand.
- Noonan had previously worked as a truck driver but was reassigned to clerical duties because of a prior back injury; clerical duties included filling out forms (truck driver sheets).
- An arbitrator denied benefits, finding the act of reaching from a rolling chair exposed Noonan to no greater risk than the general public; the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (Commission) affirmed.
- The Cook County circuit court reversed the Commission and remanded for benefits; on remand the Commission again denied benefits with fuller reasoning; the circuit court later entered an order saying its earlier remand was “in error” and of “no consequence.”
- The appellate court held the circuit court erred in nullifying its prior remand order, but because the Commission’s original December 26, 2012 decision was proper on the merits, the court reinstated that initial Commission decision and vacated the remand decision and the circuit court’s subsequent order.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Noonan’s wrist injury "arose out of" his employment | Noonan: Reaching for a pen was incidental to his clerk duties (essential to completing forms) and thus an employment-related risk | City: Reaching from a chair to pick up a dropped pen is a neutral/personal risk, not peculiarly tied to employment | Held: Injury did not arise out of employment; Commission’s denial was not against manifest weight of the evidence |
| Whether prior work-related back injury made the wrist injury compensable | Noonan: Back restrictions forced him to reach sideways, increasing fall risk and connecting injury to employment | City: Prior back injury was unrelated to the wrist injury and did not show increased risk causing the fall | Held: Prior back injury did not causally increase risk of falling from chair; Interlake inapplicable |
| Whether Commission could ignore the circuit court's remand order | Noonan: (implicit) Commission should follow remand | Commission: Circuit court applied incorrect legal standard; Commission refused to follow remand | Held: Commission erred in refusing to comply with remand order, but appellate review may consider the original Commission decision on merits |
| Scope of circuit court’s later order declaring its remand “of no consequence” | Noonan: Challenged court’s later order | City: Court can review Commission decisions | Held: Circuit court acted without authority when addressing prior orders; review limited to affirming or setting aside the Commission’s decision on remand |
Key Cases Cited
- Sisbro, Inc. v. Industrial Comm’n, 797 N.E.2d 665 (Ill. 2003) (burden: injury must arise out of and in course of employment)
- Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. Industrial Comm’n, 541 N.E.2d 665 (Ill. 1989) (defining acts incidental to assigned duties)
- Orsini v. Industrial Comm’n, 509 N.E.2d 1005 (Ill. 1987) (risk must be peculiar to work or greater than public’s risk)
- Northwestern Univ. v. Industrial Comm’n, 99 N.E.2d 18 (Ill. 1951) (commission must follow court remand directions)
- Interlake, Inc. v. Industrial Comm’n, 515 N.E.2d 202 (Ill. App. 1987) (progression of compensable work injury may remain compensable)
- Board of Trustees v. Industrial Comm’n, 254 N.E.2d 522 (Ill. 1969) (turning in a chair without unusual conditions is noncompensable personal risk)
- Hopkins v. Industrial Comm’n, 553 N.E.2d 732 (Ill. App. 1990) (injury from turning in chair insufficiently tied to employment)