Can University Close Book on Tort Claim of Worker who Tripped Near Entrance?

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Cincinnati, OH (WorkersCompensation.com) -- An employee does not always have to get injured inside the building where he works to be covered by workers’ compensation benefits. One exception to the “coming and going rule” hinges on whether the employee was within the “zone of employment” when he sustained the injury. If the worker was within that zone, then the employer likely cannot be sued for negligence. 

A case involving a university employee who tripped and fell on a walkway on his way to work addressed that exception. He was on a walkway “a few feet away” from the front doors, and “about to walk in,” when he tripped, according to the employee. He had neither reached his workstation nor clocked in for the day.

The employee sued the university for negligence. The university asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that it had workers’ compensation coverage.

The court explained that under the coming and going rule, an employee is generally not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries that occur while travelling to or from the workplace. This is because the worker’s job and injury are not sufficiently connected.

Under the “zone of employment” exception, however, an employee injured in an area near, though not in, the workplace, may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The zone includes areas providing a means of entering and leaving the workplace that are under the employer’s control. 

Could the worker bring a negligence action against the university?

A. No. He was about to enter work when he was injured on a walkway very close to the entrance and under the control of his employer.

B. Yes. Because, at the time of the injury, he had not entered the building, clocked in, or arrived at his workstation, he was technically not at work and thus not covered by workers’ compensation.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Marzan v. University of Cincinnati, No. 24AP-203 (Ohio Ct. App. 09/26/24), which held that the employee was in the zone of employment when he fell.

The court rejected the employee’s argument that though he was within a few steps of the building where he worked when he fell, he was not within the "zone of employment" because he had not yet arrived at his workstation to start work. 

“[A]pplication of the zone of employment exception is not dependent on whether the employee is actively engaged in his employment duties, or ‘clocked in’ at the time of injury,” the court wrote.

The court noted that the employee tripped and fell on a walkway under the university’s control and near the campus entrance where he worked. He was about to walk inside when he fell and was just a few feet away. Further, this area was used for leaving and entering the building and was under the university’s control. All those factors demonstrated that the area where the employee injured himself was in the zone. 

Because he injured himself at work, and because the university carried workers’ compensation coverage, that coverage was the employee’s sole source of relief. Thus, he was not entitled to sue the university for negligence. 

The court affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the employer was immune to the lawsuit.

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