After the fire was out, Cini returned to his normal job, and at the end the shift, he went straight home. There, his wife noticed that he looked pale and his breathing was labored. He was also coughing up black phlegm.

Mrs. Cini called the doctor, who wrote a prescription to ease Cini's breathing. Unfortunately, the medicine didn't work, and Cini's condition continued to deteriorate. Mrs. Cini drove him to the emergency room, where he was given a chest x-ray. The x-ray showed only a mild bronchial problem. Cini was given a prescription and discharged. The next day, Cini called in sick and went to the doctor, who gave him an electrocardiogram that was normal.

Nevertheless, Cini continued to have breathing problems, and a couple of days later, his wife took him back to the hospital. This time he was diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia. Later that day he suffered a massive heart attack and died. Cini was only 44 years old at the time of his death. Cini had been a heavy smoker and had diabetes, both of which likely contributed to his heart condition and his early death.

But Mrs. Cini believed the real cause of death was smoke and fumes from the workplace fire. She found a doctor who agreed with her, and he testified before the state's industrial commission when Mrs. Cini filed for workers' compensation death benefits. Everyone at the plant sympathized with Mrs. Cini's loss, but management refused to accept the claim. "For goodness sakes," the company argued, "the man was seriously overweight and had a lot of health problems. That's what killed him. Not a little smoke from the fire."

When the commission sided with the employee's widow, the company appealed.

Decision

The widow should receive death benefits, ruled the Appellate Court of Illinois. Generally speaking, said the court, a death is compensable under workers' compensation law if the worker's job played a factor in the death. "The job need not be the sole, or even principal, causative factor," said the court. "There was ample evidence here from which the Commission could find that decedent died from problems arising from fighting the fire at employer's plant."

Comment

If you expect employees to fight workplace fires, either as part of a fire brigade or individually using a fire extinguisher, make sure they are properly trained and equipped. In this case, given the smoke from the fire, the employees should have been wearing appropriate respiratory protection. It's also important to make sure that employees who are designated as fire responders are in good health and physically capable of handling the strenuous, stressful task.

And also be certain they know when to get help from professional firefighters. For example, if a fire is large and spreading or is producing a lot of smoke and fumes, employees should be trained to evacuate and call the fire department for assistance rather than continue to place their lives at risk.

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