Can You Receive Workers’ Comp If You’re Injured Outside Of Work?

Workers’ comp is pretty simple: businesses have this insurance and it helps cover injuries suffered in the workplace. For instance, falling and suffering a broken arm while stocking shelves means the injured employee will receive compensation for the medical bills and/or any lost wages.

However, many people wonder what if they’re injured outside of work what to do, and can they receive anything if they suffered an injury outside their workplace?

Today, we’ll explain workers comp’ in a little more detail, and by the end, you’ll be more familiar with the steps you should take after an off-the-job injury.

What injuries are covered by workers’ comp?

Although laws regarding workers’ comp vary from state to state, the injuries covered by this insurance are pretty much the same. Workers’ comp usually applies to legitimate workplace accidents and aims to protect employees from different financial issues that can result from long-term or short-term injuries.

According to the law, an injury will be considered work-related if it involves exposure to a work environment or an event that directly caused or heavily contributed to the injury, or in other cases, aggravation of the pre-existing ailment or condition.

Situations in which it's possible to get workers’ comp for off-the-job injuries

Answering the question of injured outside of work what to do is easy if your injuries fall under the course and scope rule. This means it’s possible to obtain benefits if your injuries occurred outside of work but happened within the scope and course of your regular work duties.

Let’s clear this up with a few examples:

• Employer requests

If an employer requested the employee to travel somewhere else and the employee got injured in the process, there is a high probability of recovering workers’ comp benefits. For instance, if you were asked to run an errand at a convenience store and were hurt on the route there, you are most likely covered.

• Workday travel 

If you were hurt in your regular commute to your workplace, you’ll be unable to recover any workers' comp benefits in the majority of situations. Per most state laws, the risk of regular commutes is something everyone experiences.

Yet, if your traveling or driving is a part of your normal work duties, you can recover workers’ comp if you get injured in an accident. 

Let’s say you work for a plumbing company and you’re driving a truck while you travel to your client’s location - your chances of getting compensated are quite high if an accident happens.

• Company-sponsored events

Employee events are quite common and may include a wide variety of activities, from taking a trip to picnics, and so on. 

If you get injured while out on such an event, you can recover compensation even though you weren’t actively working at the moment as the injury is classified as work-related.

For example, in Florida, the injuries sustained at an event will be considered work-related if attendance is mandatory. The same thing applies to voluntary events where employees are subtly forced to attend (the classic situations in which attendance is rewarded).

It’s also worth noting that your employer doesn’t need to host the event to be liable. This is common in cases in which clients and customers host events in which the employer made attendance mandatory.

• Business traveling

Business travel is typically compensable because an employee wouldn’t have been in the situation if their work didn’t mandate it. 

For instance, if you attend a conference in another city and get into an accident on the way, you are qualified for workers comp’ - plain and simple.

• Secondary workplace areas

In the event you’re injured in any areas your employer maintains outside of the primary workplace, such as parking lots or sidewalks, you can apply for workers comp’ regardless of whether a third party is in charge of maintaining those areas.

What if these scenarios don’t apply to you?

Since workers’ comp covers injuries that happened within the course and scope of a job, some events won’t fall into this category. 

So if you’re injured outside of work, what to do if the injury is in no shape or form connected to your work duties and you can’t perform said duties as you recover?

In that case, you still have options.

For example, you may be eligible to apply for other programs such as long-term or short-term disability, or even family medical leave.

You may also talk to an HR representative or the employer themselves about the situation. You may be able to use your PTO (paid time off) or the sick time option to recover. If this is not possible, you should talk to your employer about the possibility of getting alternate duties while recovering from your injuries.

Is it possible to lose a job because of an injury?

While it seems overly mean on the part of your employer (and quite frankly, it is), Florida is an at-will state. This means that employers, as well as employees, have the legal right to terminate an employment relationship without cause or notice.

If you were hurt during your work duties and were eligible for workers’ compensation, getting terminated because you filed for workers’ comp would be considered retaliation. Unfortunately, when you suffer an out-of-work injury, your employer has the right to let you go since you’re not able to perform your workplace duties.

Not everything is grim. You may be eligible to file for unemployment to get by, and if you suffered an injury due to someone else's negligence, you can file a claim against the negligent party. 

Why hiring an attorney is a must

The question remains: if you’re injured outside of work what to do? 

Regardless of the circumstances, you should hire an experienced workers’ comp attorney. Injuries that occur outside of work drastically increase the complexity of the case, and recovering workers’ comp may not be as straightforward.

Fortunately, the attorneys at the Law Offices of RITE are not only experts at complex workers’ comp cases, but they also have extensive knowledge and experience with handling personal injury cases.

Whatever happens - RITE attorneys have you covered and can help you get your life back on track after suffering an injury.

Call (904) 500-RITE (7483) or send a message to info@rite4justice.com. We’ll review your case free of charge and help discover the best path forward.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.