If you get hurt while running personal errands, you could have trouble receiving workers’ compensation. There are some limits on workers’ comp benefits in Minnesota, and doing personal activities often excludes you from insurance company coverage.
What Is Considered a Personal Errand?
In Minnesota, you can receive workers’ compensation benefits if your personal injury arises out of and occurs in the course of employment activities. While you do not have to be actively performing work when you get injured, you must be doing something related to work. For example, some have recovered benefits when they were injured during meal or rest breaks, while walking to their cars, or while at work-sponsored social events.
However, workers often take breaks from their day to run personal errands or complete personal tasks. You might drive to a store to pick up work supplies and then stop at the store next door for personal purchases. If you get injured while driving to and from the stores or while in either store, your eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits could come into questions.
What Will the Insurance Company Argue?
The workers’ compensation insurance company will likely deny a claim for an injury that could have arisen from personal activities. It will argue that the worker was not completing a task arising out of and in the course of their employment. To support this argument, the insurance company will gather evidence showing that the injury happened during personal time. It will look for examples of other times when the worker did personal errands while supposedly working.
How Can the Injured Worker Support a Claim for Benefits?
An injured worker facing the argument that his or her injury happened while running personal errands should speak to a lawyer. After reviewing the facts and circumstances, the lawyer might conclude that the worker does not have a good case. Or the lawyer might note some unique circumstances that made the injury compensable. For example, the worker’s boss might have instructed him or her to do the personal errand so that the worker could stay at work later. A lawyer will help an injured worker build a case and fight back against the insurance company’s arguments.
Need help getting workers’ compensation for your injury? Joe Osterbauer, Esq. and the Osterbauer Law Firm stand up for injured Minnesota workers’ rights. Joe’s 27 years of workers’ compensation experience and his team’s speedy service combine to get clients the results they need. To schedule a free consultation, visit Osterbauer Law Firm online or call Joe’s office at (612) 334-3434.
