Benson v. Industrial Commission

At 1 p.m. on Monday, September 13, 1976, an ordinary workday, Jack Benson collapsed and fell to the floor while at work cleaning a disc with a steel brush and kerosene. Artificial resuscitation failed to revive him, and he died shortly after being taken to a hospital. No autopsy was performed, and the precise cause of his death remained uncertain throughout this litigation. His widow brought a claim for workmen’s compensation. The arbitrator concluded that the injury was compensable, but the Industrial Commission reversed, finding no causal connection between Benson’s employment and his…