PA Employee Hurt at Work Getting into Work Truck, After Work Day, Not Entitled to Workers’ Comp Benefits
There are two situations when an employee hurt at work in Pennsylvania is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The first, which encompasses the vast majority of cases, is when the employee is “actually engaged in the furtherance of the [employer’s] business or affairs . . . .” This is true whether the injury takes place on or off the premises of the employer. On the other hand, the second is when the employee is not actually engaged in the furtherance of the employer’s business or affairs. In that situation, the analysis is one based on a 1977 Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court case called Workmen’s Comp. Appeal Bd. (Slaugenhaupt) v. United States Steel Corp (and generally known as the “Slaugenhaupt test”).
Under the Slaugenhaupt test, the injured worker must prove that he or she “(1) is on a premises under the control of the employer; (2) is required by the nature of his employment to be on such premises; and (3) sustains an injury or injuries due to a condition of the premises or operation of the business.” All three of these requirements must be met. Parking lot cases (so, before or after work) are always fact-specific, given this analysis.
A recent case decided by the Commonwealth Court of PA addressed this issue. In Lewis v. Lehigh Asphalt Paving & Construction Co. (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board), the employee felt some pain and weakness in his left calf and ankle while working. He finished his shift and clocked out. About 15 minutes after clocking out, he got into his work truck to go home. As he pushed off his left foot to get into the truck, he felt a pop in his lower leg (which was the Achilles tendon tearing). He sought medical care, and provided notice to his employer, that same day.