Minnesota Workers’ Compensation | Injuries Going to Work and Leaving Work

Workers’ compensation can cover work injuries occurring when leaving an employer or even going to work. Many of these types of cases are fact specific, but in general, an employer is required to provide safe travel to and leaving the employer.

Minnesota workers compensation covers injuries that arise out of and in the course and scope of the employment. What does this mean? Generally speaking, the employment must expose the employee to a “special hazard” to meet the arise out of requirment. To be in the course of employment it must be within a reasonable period beyond actual working hours if an employee is engaging in activities reasonably incidental to employment. Therefore, walking to or from an employer owned parking lot would fall within the definition.

Generally, injuries suffered while commuting to and from an employer are not covered. However, there are exceptions if the employee is a traveling employee. Those types of employees would fall under a different category. For purposes of this article, employees are within the protection of the workers compensation act during a reasonable period of time of ingress and egress when arriving or leaving work. In other words, coming and going .

Many times workers compensation insurers deny these types of work injuries claiming that the employee had not punched in, started that day, punched out or was no longer working. While that may be true it does not necessarily mean that it would not be covered under worker’s compensation law.

If you been denied workers compensation benefits or have questions about injuries you sustained leaving work, going to work, slipping in the parking lot, or even injured on the sidewalk, contact our office today for a free no hassle consultation.

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