Hatfill vs. Industrial Commission, 202 Ill. App. 3d 547, 560 N.E.2d 369, 148 Ill. Dec. 67 (1990)

Plaintiff employee suffered injuries as a result of his performing an unsafe act in violation of company safety rules. The employee took a shortcut to get to a higher level of Defendant's employee parking area, jumping over a small stream onto a wet embankment, slipping, twisting his low back and suffering a herniated lumbar disk, requiring surgery. Defendant had provided safe walkways approximately 50 feet from where Plaintiff was injured.

The arbitrator, commission and appellate court all held that while violating safety rules while performing one's job duties does not constitute a defense in a workers' compensation case, violating safety rules or acting in a dangerous manner for the employee's personal benefit can result in a denial of compensability.