Workers’ Compensation – Injury by Accident – Copier Repair – No Chair Available – Knee Injury – Short-Term Disability – No Credit

Lancaster v. Ikon Office Solutions (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-08-0576, 7 pp.) (Danny Lee McDonald, Commissioner) I.C. No. W85622

Holding: When repairing a copier, plaintiff usually sat in a chair and used the chair to pull himself up if he had to lie on the floor to do repair work. On April 12, 2010, no chair was available, and plaintiff walked around on his knees on a concrete floor to repair a copier. When he pushed himself up from the floor, without the assistance of a chair, plaintiff heard and/or felt his left knee pop and strain, and he experienced left knee pain, thereby sustaining a compensable injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment.

Plaintiff is entitled to temporary total disability benefits for the periods in which his knee condition kept him out of work.

Where plaintiff paid a portion of the cost of his short-term disability insurance, defendants are not entitled to a credit for the insurance benefits plaintiff received during his periods of disability.