Are workers' comp benefits available to employees who must work offsite?

The Illinois Workers' Compensation Act protects workers who assume additional risks while traveling on business.

2013-04-27

April 27, 2013 (Press-News.org) Illinois workers' compensation benefits are available if an injury "arises out of and in the course of employment." A causal relationship must exist between the work duties and the injury. How does this apply to those workers in the construction trades or sales and event planning who frequently travel as part of their job duties?

In a recent case heard by the Illinois Worker's Compensation Commission, a worker was entitled to worker's comp benefits for injuries she suffered in a car accident on a work-related trip to the store.

In the case, the woman's job as director of investments' required that she market and promote her employer's business in the local community. In preparation for an annual business expo, she needed to purchase a rug for her employer's booth.

As she was on her way to the store to purchase a rug, the director was in a car crash. The arbitrator who heard her workers' compensation claim granted her workers' compensation benefits. The Workers' Compensation Commission agreed that the director's job duties required her to travel away from where she worked during business hours to participate in events for her employer.

No evidence suggested she was heading to the store for personal shopping or that the store was on her way home from work. The trip to the store was within the scope of the director's job duties and benefitted the employer.

Who qualifies as a traveling employee?

Traveling employees are those who need to leave their employer's premises to complete their jobs. This includes many professionals, including sales representatives and regional employees who travel frequently. The Workers' Compensation Act provides more protection as a way of recognizing that these employees assume additional risk while traveling on business.
When are work comp benefits available?

Car accidents may result in serious injuries for traveling employees. It can be hard to know when workers' compensation benefits may be available. In general, the analysis involves two questions:
-Did the injury to the traveling employee occur in the course of employment?
-Was the employee reasonably doing something that the employer might foresee?

Employees who must travel for work may receive workers' comp for injuries when a work activity was reasonable and foreseeable.

Often the workers' compensation statutes require that an arbitrator weigh the facts of an individual case to reach a decision. If injured while working for your employer, contact a local workers' compensation attorney who can assist you in building a strong case. If an arbitrator has denied your claim, a workers' comp attorney may also be able to assist with appeal to help you obtain benefits.

Article provided by Strong Law Offices
Visit us at www.stronglawoffices.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

In Southwest Tennessee, many seek bankruptcy debt relief early in 2013

2013-04-27

Bankruptcy can be a great way for consumers saddled with burdensome debt to get a fresh financial start. With the economy slowly gaining steam, bankruptcy filings in the U.S. are down overall in the early months of 2013. However, many areas hit particularly hard by the recession are still struggling. Tennessee had the highest per capita rate of bankruptcy filings in the country during the first quarter of 2012. In an analysis of data from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Tennessee, The Daily News found that many residents of Shelby County are still seeking ...

Arizona representative wants to update state's exemption laws

2013-04-27

Gilbert, Arizona representative and head of the House Judiciary Committee, Eddie Farnsworth, would like to overhaul the state's outdated exemption laws, according to the East Valley Tribune. The representative has made it clear that he's not attempting to change the way in which people can go about seeking the protection that bankruptcy can offer them -- he just seeks to update the sections that discuss what individuals are allowed to keep after filing for bankruptcy protection, particularly in the case of a Chapter 7 filing. What is Chapter 7 bankruptcy? Chapter ...

Airbag defect leads to manufacturer recalls

2013-04-27

A defective airbag part has lead to a global recall of more than three million vehicles manufactured by Honda, Toyota, Nissan and General Motors. Additional automakers are expected to announce similar recalls soon. The recalls affect vehicles manufactured between 2000 and 2004. Faulty canisters may explode At issue in the recalls are small, propellant filled canisters manufactured by the Takata Corporation of Japan. These canisters are installed in millions of vehicles all over the world and are essential components in airbag systems. When a car accident occurs, ...

Teen drivers are at risk

2013-04-27

Floridians with teenagers are right to be concerned when their children get behind the wheel. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statistics reported by the CDC indicate that about 3,000 teenagers died on America's roads in 2009. The problem with teen drivers The CDC says that drivers aged 16 to 24 have the highest accident rate. These young drivers have about 150 accidents per 1,000 drivers, compared to less than 80 accidents per 1,000 for all other age ...

Boston Medicaid Planning Lawyers to Provide Medical Planning Seminar

2013-04-27

Boston law firm Cushing & Dolan, P.C. is proud to announce, Medicaid planning attorneys Leo Cushing and Todd Lutsky will be presenting at the upcoming Medicaid Planning Update Seminar, sponsored by the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE). This program provides an overview of the current regulations and recent case law in Massachusetts. It will offer guidance to help you develop effecting Medicaid planning techniques. The seminar will discuss Irrevocable Trusts under Doherty and Guerriero, drafting Testamentary Trusts in light of Victor and much ...

Corcentric Explores How AP Solutions Have Gone Mobile

2013-04-27

Corcentric, a leading provider of Accounts Payable automation and electronic invoicing solutions, talks about the explosion in the use of mobile devices for business in their latest blog, focusing on the AP invoice approval process. The Corcentric blog is a knowledge center for accounts payable professionals to explore automation best practices along with the latest trends and news in financial process automation. This week, Corcentric reveals survey results showing how C-suite executives, globally, are dealing with the ubiquity of mobile devices in the workplace. The ...

Velvet Ice Cream's Ye Olde Mill Adds New Experience-Based Design

2013-04-27

Ye Olde Mill has been scooping its famous Velvet Ice Cream for almost 100 years, and this year the Mill underwent significant renovations designed to enhance its visitor experience. The updates continue to accent the Mill's vintage vibe, but give a nod to the beloved ice cream brand's new packaging and brand image. Ye Olde Mill serves as a tourism destination where Velvet Ice Cream is made, with opening day kicking off to the public at 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 1. With a special offering of 99-cent opening-day ice cream cones to mark Velvet Ice Cream's 99th birthday, Ye ...

Atlanta Georgia Mural Artist Corey Barksdale Art Paintings Are Like 'Gumbo'

2013-04-27

If the phrase life imitates art is true, then Atlanta Georgia mural artist Corey Barksdale is often imitated as he paints bold strokes across the canvas of life. African American artist Corey Barksdale represents a growing trend in a new era of the arts where artists combine styles and mediums in creating their own original pieces. My work is layered and very gestural, he says of his most recent paintings; his current work blends ceramic pieces with encaustic, a mixture of hot wax with oil paint, creating a new style in what has become unofficially recognized as mixed ...

The deVere Group Ventures into the Cayman Islands

2013-04-27

The deVere Group Caymans Ltd will mark the company's first office in the Caribbean and will be headed by Chief Executive Officer Mr Nigel Green and long-time deVere Executive, Mr Simon Pratt. The deVere Group Cayman Islands presence is expected to be established on West Bay Road in Grand Cayman - in the heart of the Cayman Islands' financial industry. The deVere Group Caymans Ltd will specialise in Insurance Brokerage, whilst delivering yet another promise to its clientele to be wherever they choose to live around the world. Nigel Green expects the 'final ...

Boosting the powers of genomic science

2013-04-26

As scientists probe and parse the genetic bases of what makes a human a human (or one human different from another), and vigorously push for greater use of whole genome sequencing, they find themselves increasingly threatened by the unthinkable: Too much data to make full sense of. In a pair of papers published in the April 25, 2013 issue of PLOS Genetics, two diverse teams of scientists, both headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, describe novel statistical models that more broadly and deeply identify associations between ...