When you get hurt on the way to or from work, you may wonder if you can receive workers’ compensation benefits. While workers’ compensation insurance does cover work-related injuries, commuting injuries usually do not count – with some possible exceptions.
The Coming-and-Going Rule
In general, Minnesota workers’ compensation insurance companies do not have to pay benefits to employees injured while travelling to work from home or travelling from work back to home. A limitation on coverage that lawyers sometimes call the “coming-and-going rule” excludes commuting time.
Workers can receive benefits for any injuries arising out of and in the course of their employment. Coming to and going from work is not considered to meet the “arising out of” and “in the course of” requirements. Most employees are not under their employers’ control during their commutes and do not have to perform any work-related tasks. They may do personal errands, take different commuting methods, or ignore safety rules that they would follow at work. For all of these reasons, workers’ compensation does not cover coming and going injuries.
Exceptions to the Coming-and-Going Rule
Fortunately for employees, there are some exceptions to the coming-and-going rule, including:
- Injuries to people who do not have a fixed office, such as salespeople, travelling nurses, repair people, and maintenance workers
- On-call employees
- Employees injured during business travel
- Employees who run work errands during their commutes
These exceptions may only apply under limited circumstances. For example, salespeople who check in or pick up supplies at an employer location before beginning their sales calls may not be covered during travel to that location. And while some on-call employees may be entitled to benefits for injuries during the commute when they are called into work, that may not be true for everyone. If you are an employee injured during your commute time – especially if you were performing any work-related activities at the time of the injury – talk to a workers’ compensation lawyer for help seeking benefits.
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.
