Case name: Dolecki v. City of Chicago, 12 ILWCLB 28
(Ill.Ind.Comm.2004).
Ruling: A
Commission majority awarded benefits to an administrative assistant who fell on
a sidewalk while delivering documents for her employer. Evidence indicated that the claimant was in
a rush and carrying a package and that the sidewalk was part of a sloping exit
from a parking garage.
What it means: An
employee who must traverse a sloping sidewalk/driveway on her regular delivery
route is exposed to a greater risk of falling than the general public.
Summary: The
claimant, an administrative assistant, was delivering documents for her
employer when she slipped on a sidewalk. She described the sidewalk as sloped
and part of a parking lot exit. The arbitrator awarded benefits, noting that
the accident occurred in the winter and that the claimant was in a rush. The
arbitrator further noted that although the area of the accident was part of the
sidewalk, it was also a driveway through which vehicles exit a parking
lot. The lot was slanted to allow the
vehicles to merge with the street level traffic. The arbitrator found that a person rushing past this incline
could easily slip and fall, especially in the winter. The arbitrator also found
significant that the claimant was carrying a package. The claimant was at a
greater risk than the general public because the sidewalk was not clearly
delineated as a driveway, was on an incline, was slippery, and was in an area
where the claimant would make most of legal document deliveries. Upon review, a Commission majority affirmed
and adopted the decision of the arbitrator.
As part of the claimant's
duties, she had to occasionally deliver materials to individuals requesting
information under the Freedom of Information Act. Some of these deliveries, as
in the instant case, are of an urgent nature in order to satisfy the timeliness
established by statute. Therefore, the claimant had to hurry to make these rush
deliveries.
