Some injuries that occur outside of your workplace can still be considered a Connecticut workers’ compensation claim. Every situation is different and many times if you are clocked in at work and you get injured, even if you are not in your workplace, your injury may be considered something that is covered by your workers’ compensation. However, there are situations where you are co-workers with someone and even in the proximity of work and the injury does not constitute workers’ compensation.
A recent situation in Derby is a tragic example of when two co-workers could be involved in an accident, which led to the death of one of them and it did not constitute a workplace injury. In this case, the employees were working at McDonalds, but the injured person had already clocked out for the night and the person who was driving the vehicle which hit his co-worker had not clocked in for work yet. Even though the incident happened near the premises of the employer, in this case McDonalds, it does not rise to the level of a workplace injury that could be compensated through the Connecticut workers’ compensation system.
With that said, the accident which involved one pedestrian being hit by a vehicle and dying is of course serious and even though the driver fled the scene he is being held accountable by the law after an investigation led to his being found and tied to the scene of the accident.
So, why would this type of incident not be considered a workers’ compensation claim? The two who were involved were both co-workers. They both were working the night of the incident in question. The incident happened in the general vicinity of their place of employment. Shouldn’t this incident rise to the level of a claim being filed?
Again, the short answer is no. Here’s why.
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For an injury to be considered a workplace injury it must occur while a worker is performing duties that are related to his/her job. While the two who were involved in this incident were in fact co-workers and one of them was on their way home from a long day of work and the other was on his way in for an evening of work, they were both clocked out from their employer at the time of the incident. In some cases, a commute to work may be covered as a workplace injury, but in this case it would not.
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There are instances where employees could be considered injured on the job, even though she/he was not technically “on the clock” at their job, but in this case the workers would have been considered to have been on their own time and not their employers time. An example of when a situation might lead to a workplace injury even if the employee is not “on the clock” is when an employee is performing a duty while at home for her/his employer and is not technically clocked in, but has been given the green light to work on the project and given flexibility at a later date for time off. Even though the employee is not clocked in, she/he has an implied understanding with the boss that their time being spent will be compensated at a later date.
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This accident happened off of the company’s premises, which is another reason it may not rise to the level of a workers’ compensation claim. While it is true that some accidents that happen outside of the property of an employer may result in injuries that could lead to a claim being filed, this one was completely off the property and it did not occur as the result of an employee performing her/his role, therefore it would not be considered a workplace injury.
Every situation is unique and requires a clear look at all the facts before you may be able to say one way or the other if it does rise to the level of a Connecticut workers’ compensation claim. While this situation is absolutely tragic, as someone lost their life as a result of the accident, it is a situation that can be informative for future issues as they may arise. It is important for us all to learn from situations like this to help inform future cases that involve complex questions that may be similar.
When a true workplace injury does occur you may need to speak with an attorney who is board certified in the area of workers’ compensation. Contact our office and one of our experienced and board certified attorneys will speak with you about your particular situation and work with you to protect your long-term interests.
