In Pennsylvania, to recover workers’ compensation benefits, you must show two things: that you suffered an injury and that you were working at the time. In the first part of this series, we looked at whether you could recover workers’ compensation benefits if you were injured while on a break during working hours. There are, however, other circumstances where you might have concerns about whether you meet the test set forth above. Is your injury work-related?
As a general rule, your travel to and from work is considered personal—any injuries sustained on your commute would not be covered by workers’ compensation, unless you detoured from your regular route to do something work-related and did so at the request of a supervisor. For example, if your boss asks you to pick up bagels on your way in to the office, you can recover workers’ compensation if you were hurt in an accident when you left your normal route to work.
If your work requires that you be on the road on a daily basis, you may be able to get workers’ compensation benefits for injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident on your way to your first account. However, any injuries sustained on your commute home would not be covered.
If your job requires that you travel, your eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits will depend on the nature of your activity when you were hurt. If you were on your way to a business meeting, or were engaged in work-related activities at the time, most injuries will be covered. However, if you were engaged in a wholly personal activity, you won’t be able to collect workers’ compensation benefits. Injuries sustained on the way to, from or during meals with prospective clients are generally covered, but an injury suffered in the workout room at your hotel is probably not covered.
At Metzger & Kleiner, our personal injury attorneys offer a free initial consultation to every client. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 215-567-6616 in Philadelphia, 610-435-7400 in the Lehigh Valley, or toll free at 866-847-4170.
We take all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. We will only bill you attorney fees if we recover compensation for your losses.
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