Was Out-of-State ATV Crash in Course of VP’s Home Improvement Co. Job?

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Philadelphia, PA (WorkersCompensation.com) -- To be compensable under a workers’ compensation act, an employee’s injury must occur in the course and scope of employment. Sometimes, an employee’s claim that his injury occurred during work stretches the bounds of credulity.

Take the case of a home improvement company’s vice president of operations for the Philadelphia region. He took a few employees on an ATV trip in West Virginia, where he was seriously injured and paralyzed. 

 “Wining and dining” employees was part of the company culture. To that end, the company took employees to soccer games, football games, Mexico, and the Poconos. The majority of the VP’s job involved identifying and recruiting current employees for leadership positions within the company.

The VP forgot to take his company credit card on trip. So, he used his personal card for expenses, planning to seek reimbursement from the company.

When he sought workers’ compensation benefits, the company claimed the injury did not occur in the course and scope of employment. It pointed out, among other things, that:

• The injury occurred outside of the workplace; and
• The VP used his personal credit card during the trip.

The court explained that a claimant is only eligible for workers' compensation benefits if his injury occurred in the course of his employment.

Did the ATV trip injury occur in the course and scope of the VP’s employment?

A. No. He went on the trip for pleasure and the injury occurred far away from his place of work.

B. Yes. The trip aligned with the company’s culture and the VP’s job duties

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Power Home Remodeling, Inc. v. Hess, No. 1303 C.D. 2023 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 10/08/24), which held that the injury occurred in the course and scope of employment.

The court pointed out that an injury may occur in the course of employment in two situations:

1. Where the injury occurs while the claimant is furthering the business or affairs of his employer, regardless of the location of the injury; and 
2. Where it occurs on the employer's premises and the claimant is required to be there.

The court pointed out that the company had a culture of wining and dining employees to identify and recruit potential leaders. Further, carrying out that policy was a major part of the VP’s job.

 It was reasonable, therefore, to find that the VP arranged and attended the trip with existing employees to identify those who would be able to help lead the company in the future, and to help them climb the corporate ladder.

“[W]e have previously found morale boosting or leisure activities to further the business of the employer where the activity at issue was aligned with some objective or requirement of the claimant's employment,” the court wrote.

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