Cook County v. Industrial Commission

• Decision Date: 02 April 1973
• Docket Number: No. 45141,45141
• Citation: 295 N.E.2d 465,54 Ill. 2d 79
• Parties: The COUNTY OF COOK, Appellant, v. The INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Henry Leslie, Appellee.)
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

Page 465

295 N.E.2d 465

54 Ill.2d 79

The COUNTY OF COOK, Appellant, v.The INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION et al. (Henry Leslie, Appellee.)

No. 45141.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

April 2, 1973.

Edward V. Hanrahan, State's Atty., Chicago (Vincent Bentivenga, Jr., and Donald P. Smith, Asst. State's Attys., of counsel), for appellant.

Kane, Doy & Harrington, Chicago (Steven H. Shanok, Chicago, of counsel), for appellee.

UNDERWOOD, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal by the County of Cook from a judgment of the circuit court of Cook County affirming a decision of the Industrial Commission.That decision confirmed the arbitrator's finding that the claimant, Henry Leslie, contracted pulmonary tuberculosis as a result of his employment at Cook County Hospital, thus entitling him to compensation under the Workmen's Occupational Diseases Act.

The facts are undisputed.The claimant was employed as a pathologist's assistant in the autopsy room of Cook County Hospital for about 15 years prior to January 15, 1968, and was also employed during the same period as a laboratory technician and pathologist's assistant at the Chicago State Tuberculosis Sanitarium.He worked approximately 40 hours per week at each institution performing various duties which will be discussed later in this opinion.Every 90 days he was required to submit to routine chest X rays to determine the possible existence of tuberculosis.X rays taken in September, 1967, proved negative.However, X rays taken in January, 1968, revealed the possible existence of tuberculosis, which was later confirmed, leading to surgery for the removal of a portion of his left lung.

In his position as a pathologist's assistant at Cook County Hospital, the claimant prepared cadavers for diagnosis by opening the cadavers and sometimes removing organs.He testified that between September, 1967, and January, 1968, he prepared about 360 cadavers, of which approximately 35 were contagious due to the presence of tuberculosis.The normal attire for persons performing autopsies at Cook County Hospital included white trousers, a white gown and rubber gloves.No face mask was worn unless a case had been prediagnosed as contagious.The claimant testified, however, that tuberculosis was sometimes not diagnosed by the pathologist until the organs were exposed during the autopsy.In such instances, he would then put on a face mask to guard against contraction of the disease.

The Director of the Department of Pathology at Cook County Hospital, Dr. Paul Szento, testified from his notes that during the 5-month period in question there were 6 reported autopsies in which tuberculosis was diagnosed as the cause of death.However, he had no records as to the number of cadavers on which autopsies were performed in which tuberculosis was present although not the primary cause of death.He corroborated the claimant's testimony that persons in the autopsy room not wearing protective face masks were exposed to tubercular cadavers in cases in which the cause of death was not known and the presence of tuberculosis was not discovered until after removal of the organs.He further testified that the reason for wearing face masks after the discovery of the existence of tuberculosis was to protect against the inhalation of infections tubercle bacilli which escaped from the exposed tubercular organs and polluted the air.

At the Chicago State Tuberculosis Sanitarium, the claimant spent approximately two thirds of his time as a lab technician doing routine blood examinations in the biochemistry lab.The balance of his time there was spent in assisting with autopsies as a pathologist's assistant.He testified that from September, 1967, through January, 1968, he prepared no more than 3 tubercular cadavers, and that in accordance with the standard procedures for autopsies at the...