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Dodson v. The Industrial Commission9/29/1999
Claimant, Beulah Dodson, sought benefits pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) (820 ILCS 305/1 et seq. (West 1998)), for injuries sustained on March 23, 1996, while employed by Meadow Woods Country Club (employer). The arbitrator concluded claimant's injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment and awarded benefits. The Illinois Industrial Commission (Commission) reversed, and the circuit court of Clinton County confirmed the Commission's decision on administrative review. Claimant appeals to this court, and we affirm.
I. Background Claimant had worked for employer as a waitress and cocktail server for seven years.
On March 23, 1996, claimant, then age 62, finished her shift late in the afternoon. She had worked an additional half hour past her regularly scheduled time to help employer prepare for a reception that evening. Claimant clocked out and exited the clubhouse through the employee exit. Claimant proceeded down several steps of the concrete sidewalk leading to the employee parking area and, because it was raining hard, she left the sidewalk and walked across a grassy slope to reach the driver's side of her car. The stairs and employee's sidewalk were in good condition and were not blocked by any obstructions. Claimant testified she walked across the grass because it was the most direct route to her car door. She also testified that she and other employees walked across the grassy slope many times in the past with employer's acquiescence. This time, while walking on the sloping grassy path, claimant fell backwards on her right foot and broke her ankle. As she pushed herself up from her fall, she noticed ice on her hands.
In awarding compensation, the arbitrator reasoned that claimant was injured while she was leaving the employer's premises on a customary and permitted route within a reasonable time before or after work. The Commission reversed, concluding that the wet and icy grass was a hazard to which claimant would have been equally exposed apart from her employment and that claimant's choice of an alternate route to her car was a personal voluntary act outside the scope of her employment.
II. Analysis
The Commission's determination of whether an injury arose out of and in the course of employment usually involves a question of fact that will not be disturbed on review unless it is against the manifest weight of the evidence. " 'The test is not whether this or any other tribunal might reach the opposite Conclusion, but whether there was sufficient factual evidence in the record to support the Commission's determination.' " Divittorio v. Industrial Comm'n, 299 Ill. App. 3d 662, 671 (1998), quoting Beattie v. Industrial Comm'n, 276 Ill. App. 3d 446, 450 (1995). Because we are not bound by the Commission's reasons or findings supporting its decision, we may affirm the Commission's decision based upon any legal basis appearing in the record. Freeman United Coal Mining Co. v. Industrial Comm'n, 283 Ill. App. 3d 785, 793 (1996).
It is axiomatic that there are two elements within the requirement that an injury arise out of and in the course of one's employment. The "in the course of" element refers to the time, place and circumstances under which the accident occurred. Orsini v. Industrial Comm'n, 117 Ill. 2d 38, 44 (1987). Injuries that occur on an employer's premises within a reasonable time before and after work are generally deemed to arise out of and in the course of the employment. Caterpillar Tractor Co. v. Industrial Comm'n, 129 Ill. 2d 52, 57 (1989); Archer Daniels Midland Co. v. Industrial Comm'n, 91 Ill. 2d 210, 215 (1982).
Under the facts of this case, we believe that claimant's injurie
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