Rabbit made him fall off bike: Does he get comp?
August 15, 2011 by Fred HosierPosted in: Bizarre Accident of the Week, In this week's e-newsletter, Injuries, Latest News & Views, Workers' comp
A worker was injured while he was on his lunch break but still on company property. Does the injury qualify for workers’ comp benefits?
A worker at a nursing home took his lunch break. He was heading home on his bicycle on a paved road on company property when he was startled by a rabbit. He swerved and fell.
The employee applied for workers’ comp benefits, stating that his injury arose out of his employment.
The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission found the employee didn’t face a greater risk of injury than the general public after being startled by the rabbit. Therefore, he failed to prove he suffered an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment.
(Tillery v. McLean County Nursing Home)
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Tags: arising out of employment, bicycle, nursing home, startled by rabbit, Workers' comp
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August 15th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
Look, that rabbit’s got a vicious streak a mile wide! It’s a killer!
August 23rd, 2011 at 8:34 am
The rabbit made me do it. I don’t think he deserves it, He wasn’t told to leave work by a supervisor! He chose to leave on his own.
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:35 pm
I would be more afraid of civil liability than WC. If on company property, WC is often the cheaper course of action. Then again, I live and work in California and civil liability is one of our major industries.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:24 am
Reminds me of the “tree jumped out in front of my car” excuse. Would be interested to see if the biciclist had been listening to MP3 or talking on cell phone at time of incident. Distracted driving, not just for cars.
August 30th, 2011 at 11:17 am
Reminds me of the killer rabbit in Monty Python’s Holy Grail - “What’s it do… nibble your bum?”
This ridiculous employee had probably seen the movie and gotten a brainstorm. The extent to which people will go to get money quickly never ceases to amaze me. Special thanks goes out to U.S. liability lawyers for making all such dopey cases possible.
These cases are an insult to good safety efforts and also genuinely needed lawsuits everywhere.
September 16th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Some people on bicycles in the street are more dangerous than walking through a war zone. Just as active motel sex is mandatory at overnight conferences
The real story is he was on his way to meet the lady who wanted WC to pay as she got hurt during sex in a motel room. She was staying in the motel because she was due for a work conference the next day.
The conference topic was how to break up bowling balls with sledge hammers while waiting for real work. Also the rabbit was to be invited for cocktails and to witness the traumatic head injury
The rabbit was treated and has ongoing treatment for post tramitic stess from witnessing that above.
September 27th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
The rabbit should be drug tested you have to be crazy to jump in front of a bike at a nursing home.