Illinois Emergency Relief Commission v. Illinois Emergency Relief Commission — 9 Ill. Ct. Cl. 611

ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, No. 16. Payment of $100.00 advised. ARTHUR KRAUSE, Claimant, v. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, Respondent.

Case summary

Claimant sought compensation for a foot injury sustained while working in a shelter operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. The court approved a settlement agreement for $100.00 and dismissed the case, finding the accident arose out of and in the course of employment under the Workmen's Compensation Act.

Claim type: Personal Injury Negligence

Statutes cited: Chapter 23, Section 464, Illinois Revised Statutes, 1935 Edition; Section 8 (b) of the Illinois Workmen's Compensation Act

AI-generated summary from the opinion text — may contain errors. The opinion text and PDF above are the official record.

STATEMENT OF FACTS. Arthur Krause, 1105 West Washington Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, claims to have sustained an injury to his right foot while working in a shelter of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission at 116 South Green Street, Chicago, Illinois, on the 31st day of January, 1934. The General Assembly of the State of Illinois on or about the 6th day of February, 1932, created the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Chapter 23, Section 464, of the Illinois Revised Statutes, 1935 Edition, sets out the duties of said Commission, which are as follows: "Powers and duties. It shall be the duty of the commission until March 1, 1937, to provide relief to residents of the State of Illinois, who, by reason of unemployment or otherwise, are destitute and in necessitous circumstances. Such relief shall be provided by distributing funds or supplies and by any other means deemed desirable by the commission. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, the commission may make use of and co-operate with counties, townships, and any other municipal corporations charged by law with the duty of poor relief and with other local relief agencies." The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission has created many departments within itself since its creation through which relief is administered; such as maintenance department, furniture shops, mattress factories, canneries, work relief divisions, shelters and other divisions or departments too numerous to mention. Said maintenance department has charge of maintenance work in all buildings operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said work includes carpentry, plumbing, janitor work, engineering, and general repair work. Said furniture shops manufacture furniture which is used in relief offices throughout the State. Said mattress factories manufacture mattresses for relief recipients and for shelters operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said canneries preserve vegetables and fruits which have been grown by relief recipients on Illinois Emergency Relief Commission soil. Said work relief divisions furnish men to the State Highway Department, counties, townships, cities and parks for general maintenance work. Said shelters are operated by said commission for the benefit of transient men. These men are furnished two meals a day and shelter and some have opportunity to work around the building doing odd jobs. All of the above enterprises or projects use sharp-edged cutting tools, such as saws, chisels, mattocks and axes. Said buildings operate electric motors, elevators and boilers, all of which are governed by municipal ordinances. Claimant was working in the kitchen of the shelter at 116 South Green Street, Chicago, Illinois, on the day heretofore mentioned when one of the helpers in the shelter who was delivering goods throughout the shelter pushed his hand truck (a truck about two feet wide, four feet long, with a flat platform on top about two feet from the ground) against claimant's right foot. At the time of the accident, there was severe pain but the accident was not reported to Mr. James Kelley, foreman of the shelter, until the following day because claimant did not consider his injury serious. The following day claimant's ankle became swollen so he consulted Dr. Joseph, who was one of the attending physicians in the shelter. At this time claimant was instructed to apply hot applications to the injured foot and to rest. The injury did not respond to this treatment so on or about the 13th day of March, 1934, claimant was taken to the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, for an X ray picture. Claimant had been employed at the shelter as a butcher since the 15th day of January, 1934. His salary for his services was Three Dollars ($3.00) per week and maintenance. Maintenance consisted of two meals per day and lodging. The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission figures that the cost of maintenance for an individual in a shelter is Nine Dollars ($9.00) per month, so claimant's earnings at the time of the accident were Twenty-one Dollars ($21.00) per month. Mr. James Kelley, foreman at the relief shelter, died shortly after the accident occurred so there was no opportunity to secure a statement from him as to the cause of the accident. Other employees who were present at the time of the accident have since left the shelter and their whereabouts are unknown. Dr. Louis D. Joseph, formerly employed by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission to examine and attend shelter relief recipients, informed the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission that records show that claimant came to his office on or about the 3rd day of March, 1934, complaining of an injured ankle. Records further show that claimant stated that the injury was sustained while he was preparing a meal in the kitchen and that he had been struck by a hand truck which was operated by another employee in the shelter. The records of the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, were examined. They show that Arthur Krause came to the hospital on the 13th day of March, 1934, for an X-ray of his right ankle. The X-ray films showed no fracture. (See Exhibit 1.) In the course of claimant's work, sharp-edged cutting tools were used, such as knives, cleavers, also electrically driven motors which operate meat slicing machines and grinders. There were also two steam boilers in the building. Said building was used as a shelter by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission and was occupied by approximately fourteen hundred (1,400) men. Claimant's accident was in the course of, and arose out of, his employment. Further, the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission had notice of the accident and demand for compensation was made on his employer within six months after the accident. 634 KRAUSE v. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION. Section 3, Subsection 8, of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "In any enterprise in which statutory or municipal ordinance regulations are now or shall hereafter be imposed for the regulating, guarding, use or the placing of machinery or appliances or for the protection and safeguarding of the employees or the public therein; each of which occupations, enterprises or businesses are hereby declared to be extra hazardous * * *" Section 8, subsection (a), of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "The employer shall provide the necessary first aid, medical and surgical services, and all necessary medical, surgical and hospital services thereafter, limited, however, to that which is reasonably required to cure or relieve from the effects of the injury * * *" Section 8, subsection (e), of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "For injuries in the following schedule, the employee shall receive compensation for the period of temporary total incapacity for work resulting from such injury, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) and (b) of this section, for a period not to exceed sixty-four weeks, and shall receive in addition thereto compensation for a further period subject to limitations as to amounts as in this section provided, for the specific loss herein mentioned, as follows, but shall not receive any compensation for such injuries under any other provision of this Act." Claimant claims that he has been employed as a butcher for the past ten years and that his earnings over the past five years have averaged Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per week. As a result of the accident, claimant was not able to work for approximately six months. At the time of the accident, claimant had no children under sixteen years of age. Claimant has filed a petition in the Court of Claims which is known as Arthur Krause vs. State of Illinois No. 2389. Said case is now pending before the court although claimant has at this date filed a stipulation to dismiss the above entitled cause. A release and waiver has been secured from claimant by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission in which claimant agrees to dismiss the case now pending in the Court of Claims upon the payment of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00.) Said agreement has been sanctioned by claimant's attorney. ADVISORY OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE YANTIS. Pursuant to your request for an Advisory Opinion, based upon the foregoing statement of facts submitted by you in the matter of the claim of Arthur Krause vs. The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, the following opinion is submitted, based upon the aforementioned statement: We find that at the time of the accident in question, both employer and employee were operating under and bound by the provisions of the Illinois Workmen's Compensation Act; that said accident arose out of and in the course of such employment; that under the provisions of Section 8 (b) of said Act said Commission is liable to claimant for temporary total incapacity for the period of such incapacity, i. e. twenty-six (26) weeks; that a settlement by agreement of the amount of such liability in the sum of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars, is within the limit of liability fixed by the terms of the Workmen's Compensation Act; that claimant appears to have been advised by counsel and has been furnished by respondent such medical care as was required under the terms of said statute. We are therefore of the opinion that claimant should receive settlement on said claim from the I. E. R. C. in the sum of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars, and that such settlement should be subject to the following conditions, to wit: 1. That the case of Arthur Krause vs. State of Illinois, Court of Claims No. 2389, now pending in this court should be dismissed. 2. That payment of the above compensation shall be made by the I. E. R. C. out of any funds held by it and allocated for the payment of such claims.

ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, No. 16.

Payment of $100.00 advised.

ARTHUR KRAUSE, Claimant, vs. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION, Respondent.

Opinion filed May 11, 1937.

STATEMENT OF FACTS.

Arthur Krause, 1105 West Washington Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, claims to have sustained an injury to his right foot while working in a shelter of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission at 116 South Green Street, Chicago, Illinois, on the 31st day of January, 1934.

The General Assembly of the State of Illinois on or about the 6th day of February, 1932, created the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Chapter 23, Section 464, of the Illinois Revised Statutes, 1935 Edition, sets out the duties of said Commission, which are as follows: "Powers and duties. It shall be the duty of the commission until March 1, 1937, to provide relief to residents of the State of Illinois, who, by reason of unemployment or otherwise, are destitute and in necessitous circumstances. Such relief shall be provided by distributing funds or supplies and by any other means deemed desirable by the commission. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, the commission may make use of and co-operate with counties, townships, and any other municipal corporations charged by law with the duty of poor relief and with other local relief agencies."

The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission has created many departments within itself since its creation through [*612] which relief is administered; such as maintenance department, furniture shops, mattress factories, canneries, work relief divisions, shelters and other divisions or departments too numerous to mention. Said maintenance department has charge of maintenance work in all buildings operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said work includes carpentry, plumbing, janitor work, engineering, and general repair work. Said furniture shops manufacture furniture which is used in relief offices throughout the State. Said mattress factories manufacture mattresses for relief recipients and for shelters operated by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission. Said canneries preserve vegetables and fruits which have been grown by relief recipients on Illinois Emergency Relief Commission soil. Said work relief divisions furnish men to the State Highway Department, counties, townships, cities and parks for general maintenance work. Said shelters are operated by said commission for the benefit of transient men. These men are furnished two meals a day and shelter and some have opportunity to work around the building doing odd jobs. All of the above enterprises or projects use sharp-edged cutting tools, such as saws, chisels, mattocks and axes. Said buildings operate electric motors, elevators and boilers, all of which are governed by municipal ordinances.

Claimant was working in the kitchen of the shelter at 116 South Green Street, Chicago, Illinois, on the day heretofore mentioned when one of the helpers in the shelter who was delivering goods throughout the shelter pushed his hand truck (a truck about two feet wide, four feet long, with a flat platform on top about two feet from the ground) against claimant's right foot. At the time of the accident, there was severe pain but the accident was not reported to Mr. James Kelley, foreman of the shelter, until the following day because claimant did not consider his injury serious. The following day claimant's ankle became swollen so he consulted Dr. Joseph, who was one of the attending physicians in the shelter. At this time claimant was instructed to apply hot applications to the injured foot and to rest. The injury did not respond to this treatment so on or about the 13th day of March, 1934, claimant was taken to the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, for an X ray picture. [*613]

Claimant had been employed at the shelter as a butcher since the 15th day of January, 1934. His salary for his services was Three Dollars ($3.00) per week and maintenance.

Maintenance consisted of two meals per day and lodging.

The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission figures that the cost of maintenance for an individual in a shelter is Nine Dollars ($9.00) per month, so claimant's earnings at the time of the accident were Twenty-one Dollars ($21.00) per month.

Mr. James Kelley, foreman at the relief shelter, died shortly after the accident occurred so there was no opportunity to secure a statement from him as to the cause of the accident. Other employees who were present at the time of the accident have since left the shelter and their whereabouts are unknown.

Dr. Louis D. Joseph, formerly employed by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission to examine and attend shelter relief recipients, informed the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission that records show that claimant came to his office on or about the 3rd day of March, 1934, complaining of an injured ankle. Records further show that claimant stated that the injury was sustained while he was preparing a meal in the kitchen and that he had been struck by a hand truck which was operated by another employee in the shelter.

The records of the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, were examined. They show that Arthur Krause came to the hospital on the 13th day of March, 1934, for an X-ray of his right ankle. The X-ray films showed no fracture. (See

Exhibit 1.)

In the course of claimant's work, sharp-edged cutting tools were used, such as knives, cleavers, also electrically driven motors which operate meat slicing machines and grinders. There were also two steam boilers in the building.

Said building was used as a shelter by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission and was occupied by approximately fourteen hundred (1,400) men.

Claimant's accident was in the course of, and arose out of, his employment. Further, the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission had notice of the accident and demand for compensation was made on his employer within six months after the accident. [*613] 634 KRAUSE v. ILLINOIS EMERGENCY RELIEF COMMISSION.

Section 3, Subsection 8, of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "In any enterprise in which statutory or municipal ordinance regulations are now or shall hereafter be imposed for the regulating, guarding, use or the placing of machinery or appliances or for the protection and safeguarding of the employees or the public therein; each of which occupations, enterprises or businesses are hereby declared to be extra hazardous * * *" Section 8, subsection (a), of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "The employer shall provide the necessary first aid, medical and surgical services, and all necessary medical, surgical and hospital services thereafter, limited, however, to that which is reasonably required to cure or relieve from the effects of the injury * * *" Section 8, subsection (e), of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Illinois provides: "For injuries in the following schedule, the employee shall receive compensation for the period of temporary total incapacity for work resulting from such injury, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) and (b) of this section, for a period not to exceed sixty-four weeks, and shall receive in addition thereto compensation for a further period subject to limitations as to amounts as in this section provided, for the specific loss herein mentioned, as follows, but shall not receive any compensation for such injuries under any other provision of this Act."

Claimant claims that he has been employed as a butcher for the past ten years and that his earnings over the past five years have averaged Thirty Dollars ($30.00) per week.

As a result of the accident, claimant was not able to work for approximately six months.

At the time of the accident, claimant had no children under sixteen years of age.

Claimant has filed a petition in the Court of Claims which is known as Arthur Krause vs. State of Illinois No. 2389.

Said case is now pending before the court although claimant has at this date filed a stipulation to dismiss the above entitled cause.

A release and waiver has been secured from claimant by the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission in which claimant agrees to dismiss the case now pending in the Court of Claims upon the payment of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00.) Said agreement has been sanctioned by claimant's attorney. [*615]

ADVISORY OPINION BY MR. JUSTICE YANTIS.

Pursuant to your request for an Advisory Opinion, based upon the foregoing statement of facts submitted by you in the matter of the claim of Arthur Krause vs. The Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, the following opinion is submitted, based upon the aforementioned statement: We find that at the time of the accident in question, both employer and employee were operating under and bound by the provisions of the Illinois Workmen's Compensation Act; that said accident arose out of and in the course of such employment; that under the provisions of Section 8 (b) of said Act said Commission is liable to claimant for temporary total incapacity for the period of such incapacity, i. e. twenty-six (26) weeks; that a settlement by agreement of the amount of such liability in the sum of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars, is within the limit of liability fixed by the terms of the Workmen's Compensation Act; that claimant appears to have been advised by counsel and has been furnished by respondent such medical care as was required under the terms of said statute.

We are therefore of the opinion that claimant should receive settlement on said claim from the I. E. R. C. in the sum of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars, and that such settlement should be subject to the following conditions, to wit: 1. That the case of Arthur Krause vs. State of Illinois, Court of Claims No. 2389, now pending in this court should be dismissed. 2. That payment of the above compensation shall be made by the I. E. R. C. out of any funds held by it and allocated for the payment of such claims.