Recently, your coworker sustained an injury on the clock, but your employer says workers’ compensation does not cover the harm. Why?
In case you find yourself in a similar situation in the future, see what Insurance Business says about what circumstances workers’ comp does not cover. Learn when you may have to file a claim through your health insurance policy.
Workplace antics
If you hurt yourself while horsing around at work, your employer does not have to cover your injury because you were not performing regular job duties when the injury occurred. That said, if your coworkers engaged in shenanigans while you worked and you sustained harm because of their antics, workers’ comp covers your injuries.
Coming-and-going rule
If you get into a car accident on your way to the office or on the way home from the office, you must file a claim with your auto insurance carrier rather than your company. If you work outside the office, travel away from your work site for business purposes or run an errand for your boss and become injured, you have grounds to file a workers’ comp claim. You also qualify to make a claim if you hurt yourself while walking from the office parking lot to or from your vehicle immediately before or after a shift.
Intoxication
Employees who drink on the job and become injured because of their inebriated state should not expect a successful workers’ comp claim. That said, an intoxicated employee sitting in the passenger seat with a sober coworker taking them on a work-related errand qualifies for comp coverage, along with the coworker behind the wheel, if a drunk driver hits and injures them.
