When William Gooden's bosse made th...

When William Gooden's bosse made the exhibit the decision was a simple united

Work a glutted day as a machine operator, he was told, or work barely a half-day, while spending the other half playing volleyball, football and the instigate toss at the annual company picnic.

Gooden like in the same manner many other employees at the Allstate printing plant in Wheeling, opt for the company picnic.

yet it was after the harass toss and during a volleyball game that Gooden said he felt tightness in his lower back.

He sat abroad the rest of the picnic and worked his half-day, further by the weekend, he said, the pain was too plenteous to bear.

A not many months later, he was undergoing back surgery

And while Gooden frisk abouted worker's compensation would pay for his medical bills and time missed from work, the Appellate Court of Illinois not long ago ruled against him.

The court said the injury wasn't related to his do job-work description, but Gooden argued that he was paid to play at the picnic and that whatever injuries he endureed should have been covered as a work- related injury.

"It was certainly an interesting argument," Allstate attorney Thomas Doell said.

The court, supporting a state ruling, agreed with Doell that Gooden was not required to participate in the employee picnic forward company grounds -- he could have worn out the day working -- in the way that his injuries shouldn't be defended

unless Gooden's attorney said employees had to notify supervisors of their intentions days in advance and because they were paid for a normal shift, the injury should be concealed

Gooden "had to be at this picnic or he had to be at work -- undivided or the other -- this was his piece of work for the day," lawyer Alan Blum said. "He couldn't walk home, he couldn't leave, the company told him he had a choice to work all day or walk to the picnic for half the day, if it were not that then when someone gets inflict injury upon they say, 'Well, you're in succession your own' -- that's just wrong"

Gooden of Calumet City, responded to work at the Allstate plant after the 2000 injury and 2001 surgery He paid the bills his insurance didn't defend

spatterson@suntimes.com

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