People commute to and from work every day and they are not on the clock when they do. So if you were to be in an automobile accident on your way to or from work, you wouldn’t typically be covered by workers’ compensation laws.
There are limited circumstances in which an injury sustained while commuting to and from work can be covered by workers’ compensation. Under the workers compensation laws of Minnesota, there is a general rule that work comp applies to injuries that are sustained while an employee is at the workplace. They also apply to situations where the services of an employee that the employer requires is carried out somewhere other than the place of work. For instance, construction workers work in many different places in the course of their work, but they are covered by workers’ comp laws because they are carrying out services for their employers.
The injury also has to happen during the hours an employee is performing the service that the employer requires.
The exceptions that exist include:
- When the employer provides the employee with transportation to and from the place of work and the employee is injured while in transport.
- When the employee is travelling between two locations on the work premises.
- When the employee performs part of their work at home and an injury occurs between the place of employment and the employee’s home.
In most cases, while an employee is commuting to or from work, an injury sustained in an accident will not be covered by workers’ comp. However, if you have been injured under any of the above exceptions, then your injury may qualify for workers’ compensation.
Furthermore, being injured under one of the above exceptions requires that you report the accident to your employer as soon as possible, seek medical treatment, and file your claim immediately. There is a limit to the amount of time that you have to file your claim and you can do so with the help of a work comp attorney.
