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Chicago Messenger Service v. Industrial Commission3/30/2005
Abdelhafidh Chichti filed a workers' compensation claim against his employer, Chicago Messenger Service (CMS), claiming that on September 11, 2001, he sustained a compensable accident under the Workers' Compensation Act (the Act) (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 2000)). The matter proceeded to arbitration where the arbitrator found that Chichti sustained a compensable accident on that date. The arbitrator awarded temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for 26 3/7 weeks (September 15, 2001, through March 18, 2002), and medical expenses in the amount of $7,917.56. The Illinois Industrial Commission (Commission) modified the TTD award to 52 5/7 weeks (September 15, 2001, through September 18, 2002) and otherwise adopted the arbitrator's decision. The decision of the Commission came with one dissent. Commissioner Stevenson found that the claimant had failed to prove an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of the claimant's employment. On review, the Cook County circuit court confirmed the Commission's decision. CMS now brings this appeal, claiming the Commission erred in finding that: (1) the claimant proved he suffered an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of his employment; and (2) the Commission erred in finding that the claimant proved he was temporarily totally disabled on and after September 11, 2001.
For the following reasons, we reverse the decision of the Commission and remand for further proceedings.
BACKGROUND
The claimant was employed by CMS as a delivery driver. CMS provided drivers to European Imports, Inc., a company that supplied food products to small restaurants in the Chicago area. The drivers made deliveries in trucks owned by European. European employees loaded the trucks each day, and the CMS drivers reported to European's loading dock to obtain their delivery route for the day. The drivers used dollies or hand trucks to deliver items to the restaurants on their routes. Each route consisted of approximately 15 to 25 stops, with approximately 15 packages at each stop. Each item weighed between one and forty pounds, with most items weighing around twenty pounds. CMS drivers carried CMS pagers and phones to enable them to contact CMS directly during their routes.
Testimony of the Claimant
The claimant testified that on September 11, 2001, while on the second or third to the last stop on his route, he was lifting a 45-pound package when he heard a clicking in his lower back. He continued working and finished his deliveries. He brought the truck back to European and then went home and took a bath. That evening he experienced severe back pain that became progressively worse. On the morning of September 12, 2001, his back was still hurting. He sneezed and felt severe lower back pain.
The claimant testified that he called his CMS supervisor, Paul Korzen, who was stationed at European. He told Korzen that he had hurt his back the previous day lifting a heavy box, and that he had experienced a sharp pain while sneezing that morning. He told Korzen that he was coming in to work, but he did not know if he could work that day.
The claimant reported for work and had a conversation with Tom Ruiz, a dispatcher at European. The claimant testified that he told Ruiz that he had injured himself at work the previous day but kept working because there was nobody available to complete his route. The claimant testified that another dispatcher was also present during this conversation.
The claimant testified that he next had a conversation with Korzen in person. According to the claimant, he again told Korzen that he injured himself the previous day while making deliveries, and t
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