To be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you must sustain an injury that occurs during the course of work-related activities. This rule may seem fairly straightforward, but there are some gray areas that can occur when injuries happen while you’re away from your normal job site.
Business Travel Injuries
Injuries occurring during travel to work-related meetings, conferences, or other business trips would be covered under Georgia’s workers’ compensation law including work related car accidents. If you’re traveling to a location for several days, you’re considered to be acting in the scope of your employment for the entire duration of your trip.
For example, a doctor who works for Emory Healthcare may need to travel to San Francisco to attend a medical conference. If the conference lasts for one week from 9 am to 5 pm each day, injuries occurring in the early morning or evening hours would still be covered. Since he’s attending the conference as a condition of his employment with Emory Healthcare and is unable to return home each night, workers’ compensation law covers his activities for the entire duration of the trip.
Injuries Occurring During Training
Injuries that occur during required training for your current position or a promotion are covered under workers’ compensation law, regardless of whether they occur at your regular job site or at a secondary location. Training is considered a work-related activity.
Injuries from Company-Sponsored Events
Company-sponsored events such as picnics, retirement parties, or holiday celebrations generally fall under workers’ compensation law. Even though their purpose is primarily social and occur away from your regular job site, they are considered work-related because they are sponsored by your employer.
Commuting Injuries
If your injury occurred during your commute to or from work, it’s probably not covered by Georgia workers’ compensation law unless you were driving a company-provided car at the time. The primary exception to this rule is workers who have no fixed office location.
Most workers report to a specific job site each day, but people in certain occupations may travel regularly between locations and thus have no fixed office space. For example, a salesperson may work out of his car while traveling to meet clients, and a custodian working as a contractor for a cleaning service may visit multiple commercial buildings and work a few hours at each site. In cases like this, injuries occurring at each location of business or while traveling to the assigned location are considered eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
Lunch Break Injuries
Traveling off company property for your lunch break will typically result in your injuries being denied for workers’ compensation benefits. However, you might be covered if you were picking up lunch for your boss or meeting with clients while you were eating.
On-Call Injuries
If you work in a field that requires you to be on call for your employer, injuries occurring during this time period may be covered even if you’re not actively performing work for your employer at the time. Coverage will depend on your employer’s specific on-call policies.
Receiving Compensation for Work-Related Injuries
If you believe your injury qualifies you to receive workers’ compensation benefits, you must provide a notice of injury to your employer within 30 days. If you do not notify your employer within this time frame, your claim may be denied even if your injury would otherwise have been compensated.
Types of benefits you may be able to receive include:
- Medical treatment from a provider on your employer’s panel of physicians.
- Income replacement benefits in the form of Temporary Total Disability (TTD) or Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) payments.
- Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) payments for injuries resulting in permanent loss of function to a body part or the body as a whole.
If you’re having difficulty obtaining benefits on your workers' compensation claim, seeking legal representation can ensure that your case proceeds in a timely fashion. Rechtman & Spevak’s attorneys have extensive experience helping injured Georgia workers receive the compensation they need to move forward with their lives. Call today to schedule a free, no-obligation initial consultation.
