{ "id": 2435786, "name": "CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY, Appellant, v. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Henry Swierenga, Appellee)", "name_abbreviation": "Chicago Housing Authority v. Industrial Commission", "decision_date": "1993-01-15", "docket_number": "No. 1\u201491\u20143917WC", "first_page": "720", "last_page": "724", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "241 Ill. App. 3d 720" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill. App. Ct.", "id": 8837, "name": "Illinois Appellate Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "37 Ill. 2d 139", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 2863959 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/37/0139-01" ] }, { "cite": "212 Ill. App. 3d 62", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. App. 3d", "case_ids": [ 2599864 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-app-3d/212/0062-01" ] }, { "cite": "143 Ill. 2d 542", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 5591947 ], "year": 1991, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/143/0542-01" ] }, { "cite": "45 Ill. 2d 203", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 2897468 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/45/0203-01" ] }, { "cite": "87 Ill. 2d 1", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill. 2d", "case_ids": [ 3031291 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1970, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "5" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill-2d/87/0001-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 580, "char_count": 10865, "ocr_confidence": 0.774, "pagerank": { "raw": 4.03580807328026e-08, "percentile": 0.08084930820291067 }, "sha256": "98d8dcb823dc81875df94ec8a3b407faf242c8cc9155b714bf17725698db806f", "simhash": "1:c5c7e9c72cd56b3e", "word_count": 1721 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T17:49:44.998173+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY, Appellant, v. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Henry Swierenga, Appellee)." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "JUSTICE WOODWARD\ndelivered the opinion of the court:\nClaimant, Henry Swierenga, filed an application for adjustment of claim pursuant to the Workers\u2019 Compensation Act (Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 48, par. 138.1 et seq.). Therein he alleged a head injury which arose out of and in the course of his employment with the employer, Chicago Housing Authority. After a hearing conducted on July 18, 1988, the arbitrator found that claimant had sustained a 45.5% loss of hearing in his right ear, a 15.1% loss of hearing in his left ear, a 15% loss of use of his right thumb and two weeks\u2019 disfigurement to his forehead over his right eyebrow. On November 30, 1990, the Industrial Commission (Commission) affirmed and adopted the arbitrator\u2019s decision. On November 22, 1991, the circuit court of Cook County confirmed the Commission\u2019s decision. This timely appeal followed.\nOn appeal, the employer raises two issues, namely: (1) that the Commission erred in finding that claimant\u2019s injury arose out of and in the course of his employment; and (2) the Commission erred in finding that claimant had established a causal connection between his injuries and his employment.\nClaimant testified that on October 7, 1981, he was working as a carpenter for the employer at Altgeld Gardens, a public housing project. He had been employed as a carpenter by the employer since 1975. He was repairing windows and doors in various apartments. At approximately 12:50 p.m., claimant walked toward his vehicle, which was parked in a lot adjacent to Altgeld Gardens, in order to get more tools. Whereupon, \u201csome young fellows behind the vehicle\u201d struck claimant behind the head, causing him to lose consciousness. He regained consciousness in the Altgeld Gardens supervisor\u2019s office. In the incident, claimant received cuts over the right eyebrow and at the base of his right thumb. Claimant was not robbed of any possessions.\nOn the same day, claimant was taken to St. Francis Hospital emergency room, where he received treatment. Over the next several weeks, he attended respondent\u2019s company clinic, the Clearing Industrial Clinic, on four occasions. Claimant returned to work on October 26,1981.\nClaimant testified that he began to experience hearing difficulties early in 1982. His family physician, Dr. Young, referred him to an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. Pradeep Keni, in June 1982. Finding that claimant had a substantial hearing loss, Dr. Keni prescribed a hearing aid for his right ear. At respondent\u2019s request, claimant was examined by Dr. Irwin Horowitz, an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, on May 10, 1983. In a letter to respondent\u2019s counsel, Dr. Horowitz stated that claimant had experienced a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in the amount of 45.5% in his right ear and 15.1% in his left ear. Without an audiogram showing claimant\u2019s hearing before the incident, Dr. Horowitz could not state if the subject trauma caused the hearing loss. He opined that several other factors could have contributed to claimant\u2019s hearing loss, namely, his infantry service in World War II, his work with power tools as a carpenter and the effects of aging.\nAt his attorney\u2019s request, claimant was examined by Dr. Hirshfield on March 8, 1984. Dr. Hirshfield found hearing loss in claimant\u2019s right ear, impaired mobility of his right thumb and a scar above his right eyebrow. Dr. Hirshfield did not give an opinion as to the cause of claimant\u2019s hearing loss.\nClaimant stated that as of the arbitration hearing his \u201chearing is gone\u201d and that he had never sought treatment for a hearing problem before the subject incident. Claimant also testified that since the subject injury he had experienced problems with dizziness, for which he was taking prescribed medication.\nRespondent initially argues that the Commission\u2019s decision that the subject injuries arose out of and in the course of his employment was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Respondent argues that claimant\u2019s testimony is not adequate to demonstrate whether the alleged attack took place in an area which presented a greater risk of criminal assault than that to which the general public is exposed. Respondent relies on Greene v. Industrial Comm\u2019n (1981), 87 Ill. 2d 1, and Associated Vendors, Inc. v. Industrial Comm\u2019n (1970), 45 Ill. 2d 203, to support his argument. In response, claimant argues that the Commission\u2019s decision regarding this issue is not undercut by Greene and Associated Vendors. We agree.\n\u201cArising out of\u201d employment, within the meaning of the relevant statute, refers to causal connection between employment and the injury. Causal connection is demonstrated if claimant establishes that the injury\u2019s origin lies in some risk related to employment. (Brady v. Louis Ruffolo & Sons Construction Co. (1991), 143 Ill. 2d 542.) Resolving disputes in evidence and drawing reasonable inferences and conclusions therefrom are the Commission\u2019s responsibility, and its findings will not be reversed on appeal unless they are against the manifest weight of the evidence. Riley v. Industrial Comm\u2019n (1991), 212 Ill. App. 3d 62.\nIn Associated Vendors, the claimant and his wife owned all shares of the respondent corporation, which was engaged in the installation of vending machines. On January 16, 1966, claimant received a request for the installation of a cigarette machine at 6201 South Cicero Avenue in Chicago. Upon arriving at the address at 1:30 p.m., claimant was assaulted and robbed by unknown assailants. He received serious injuries which required extensive medical treatment. The Associ ated Vendors court, taking notice of a report on Chicago crime in 1968, noted that the subject industry had been plagued by robberies and beatings for numerous years. The court, finding that it was reasonable for the Commission to assume that the nature of claimant\u2019s employment would expose him to the hazards of robbery or beating, held that his injuries arose out of his work.\nIn the appeal at bar, claimant was working as a carpenter for respondent. At approximately 12:50 p.m. on the date of the subject incident, claimant, while on his way to pick up some tools from his vehicle located in the project\u2019s parking lot, was assaulted by unknown assailants. This testimony was unrebutted. As in Associated Vendors, the Commission considered all the facts, drew rational inferences and conclusions therefrom and determined that claimant\u2019s employment substantially increased his exposure to the hazards of beating or robbery.\nIn Greene v. Industrial Comm\u2019n (1981), 87 Ill. 2d 1, an unknown assailant stabbed and murdered James Greene, a service technician for Orkin Exterminating, Inc. At about 7:30 a.m. on March 3, 1978, Mr. Greene\u2019s body was found in the Orkin parking lot lying near his service vehicle, which was prepared for service. The engine was running, and the lights were on. The truck\u2019s interior had not been disturbed, and nothing appeared to be missing from Mr. Greene\u2019s person. The Orkin plant was located in an area of Aurora which contained residential, commercial and light industrial property. The court noted that in the year prior to Mr. Greene\u2019s murder, there had been some minor thefts in the Orkin parking lot. There was no record of attempted break-ins at the Orkin plant in the prior 10 years.\nThe Commission denied compensation to Mr. Greene\u2019s widow, finding that his death had not arisen out of his employment. Our supreme court, in upholding the Commission\u2019s decision, stated:\n\u201cHere the decedent\u2019s death is susceptible to the inference that it resulted from a purely personal risk, from a risk common to the public at large, or from a risk incidental to the decedent\u2019s employment.\u201d 87 Ill. 2d at 5.\nThe Greene court noted that the Orkin plant was untouched, decedent\u2019s personal belongings were intact and nothing was missing from the service vehicle. The court determined that the brutal murder was not necessary to effectuate a possible theft from the Orkin plant or Mr. Greene\u2019s person and, thus, upheld the Commission\u2019s finding that the injury did not arise of his employment.\nHere, unlike Greene, the Commission found that claimant\u2019s injury resulted from a risk incidental to claimant\u2019s employment. In so doing, the Commission rejected the idea that claimant\u2019s injury resulted from a purely personal risk or a risk common to the general public. The evidence before us supports its decision.\nWe find that the Commission\u2019s decision as to whether claimant\u2019s injury arose out of his employment is not against the manifest weight of the evidence.\nRespondent\u2019s other argument is that the Commission erred in finding that claimant\u2019s condition of ill being is causally connected to his accident. Respondent downplays claimant\u2019s unrebutted testimony that he had no hearing problems prior to the assault, after which he experienced substantial hearing loss. Instead, the employer points to Dr. Horowitz\u2019s medical report, which indicated that several other factors could have contributed to the hearing loss suffered by claimant. Dr. Horowitz noted the possible effects of aging and the service in the infantry during World War II, and exposure to a \u201cnoise polluted\u201d environment. Dr. Horowitz concluded that a causal connection between the trauma and hearing loss \u201ccan only be speculated upon.\u201d Respondent asserts that there is no physician\u2019s testimony supporting claimant\u2019s contention.\nIt is well established that the causal connection between an accident and a subsequent condition of ill being can be established without a physician\u2019s testimony. Union Starch & Refining Co. v. Industrial Comm\u2019n (1967), 37 Ill. 2d 139.\nIn the appeal at bar, the claimant testified that prior to his work-related accident on October 7, 1981, he had no hearing problems and that he received no treatment for this condition. Subsequent to said injury, claimant experienced substantial problems regarding same. The record contains medical reports which substantiate claimant\u2019s testimony. The reasonable inference from these unrebutted facts is that claimant established a causal relationship between the injury and his condition of ill being. Moreover, Dr. Horowitz\u2019s ambiguous opinion as to causation is not dispositive of the issue. Accordingly, we find that the Commission\u2019s decision regarding this issue is not against the manifest weight of the evidence.\nThe judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.\nAffirmed.\nMcCULLOUGH, P.J., and RAKOWSKI, STOUDER and RARICK, JJ., concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "JUSTICE WOODWARD" } ], "attorneys": [ "Roddy, Power, Leahy, Guill, Zima & Gifford, Ltd., of Chicago (John H. Guill, of counsel), for appellant.", "Koutsky, Boudreau, Lassen & Mason, of Chicago (Brian D. Lassen, of counsel), for appellee." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY, Appellant, v. THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Henry Swierenga, Appellee).\nFirst District (Industrial Commission Division)\nNo. 1\u201491\u20143917WC\nOpinion filed January 15,1993.\nRoddy, Power, Leahy, Guill, Zima & Gifford, Ltd., of Chicago (John H. Guill, of counsel), for appellant.\nKoutsky, Boudreau, Lassen & Mason, of Chicago (Brian D. Lassen, of counsel), for appellee." }, "file_name": "0720-01", "first_page_order": 740, "last_page_order": 744 }