In-home nurse may get benefits for injuries from accident while en route to client's home

Law Reporter, Dec 2004

Labadie v. Norwalk Rehab. Servs., Inc., 853 A.2d 597 (Conn. App. Ct. 2004).

A home health care worker is entitled to workers' compensation benefits for injuries from being struck by a motor vehicle while en route to an assignment, a Connecticut appellate court held.

Here, a home health care nurse was assigned to perform her duties in the homes of her clients. She took a bus to and from her clients' homes. Her employer reimbursed her for her traveling expenses, but it did not reimburse her for the fares she paid to travel from her home to the first assignment and from the last assignment to her home. After getting off a bus on her way to her first client's home, the nurse was hit by a car while crossing the street, resulting in severe injuries. She filed a claim for workers' compensation, which the commissioner granted. A workers' compensation review board then reversed the finding and denied her benefits, holding the injury did not occur in the course of her employment.

Reversing, the appellate court noted benefits are only given if an employee is injured during the course of employment, which means it has to be: (1) during the time of the employment, (2) at a place the employee may reasonably be, and (3) while fulfilling the duties of employment or something incident to those duties. An injury resulting from employment-related risk, or incident to it or to the conditions under which it is required to be performed, arises out of the employment, the court said.

Noting the coming and going rule provides that an injury sustained going to or coming home from work is generally not compensable, the court said there are exceptions. Those exceptions include if the work requires the employee to travel on highways and if the employee is injured while doing something incidental to the employment or for the benefit of the employer. In this case, plaintiff's travel to and from the homes of her clients was integral to the service defendant was offering its clients, making it a requirement of the job. The employer also paid some of her travel expenses and benefited from her traveling to the homes. Thus, her injury is an exception to the coming and going rule, and she is entitled to benefits.

Plaintiff's Counsel

*Gregory S. Kimmel, Norwalk, Conn.

Documents in this case are available through the Court Documents section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Kimmel.