What Do You Think: Was Slipping on Stairs and Spraining Knee Work-related?

Ravenswood, WV (WorkersCompensation.com) -- In West Virginia, a workers’ compensation claimant generally must show that his physical injury arose from something about his job that increased the risk of harm.

But how significant does the increased risk have to be? Can a step on a staircase increase the risk of injury if it’s slippery? One recent appeals court case addresses that situation.

The worker for an aluminum products manufacturer in that case was walking down a staircase. He put his foot on a step that was, he said, less than standard width and slick from hydraulic oil. He slipped.

Right after he slipped, the worker said, he felt his left knee pop and lock. And he noticed that his left knee hurt and that it had limited range of motion. Shortly thereafter, a doctor diagnosed him with a knee sprain.

The workers’ compensation board found that the worker’s claim was compensable. The company appealed, arguing that the injury wasn’t attributable to the worker’s employment because descending the stairs was an activity of daily living and not unique to his employment.

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For an injury to be compensable, the court explained, the worker must establish, in part, that the injury was caused by some condition or aspect of employment that created or contributed to an increased risk of injury.

Did the board err when it found the claim compensable?
A. No. Because of the oil on the step, the worker faced greater risk than he would have in his daily life outside of work.
B. Yes. Walking down steps was not unique to his job; he would have engaged in the same activity outside of work.

If you selected A, you agreed with the appeals court in Constellium U.S. Holdings I, LLC v. Shank, No. 23-ICA-377 (W. Va. 02/08/24), upholding the compensability of the claim.

The court noted that the employee testified that the step that he slipped on was less than standard width and slick from hydraulic oil. The board didn’t clearly err, the court held, when it found that the employee’s testimony established that his job created a greater risk of injury than if he had been walking down a staircase at home. Thus, the worker, arguably, faced greater risk than had been engaging in an activity of daily living in a nonoccupational setting.

The court affirmed the board’s decision that the claim was compensable.

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