WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS MAY BE DENIED IF EMPLOYEE DETOURS AND DEVIATIONS FROM BUSINESS TRIP

Employees may be called upon by their employer to travel for a business purpose. Such travel is generally considered to be in the course of employment and, if injured, the employee will be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. However, if the employee deviates from the business trip route for a personal reason, he will likely not be covered by workers' compensation. Notably, if the deviation is basically inconsequential, the employee may still recover benefits if injured on the minor detour.

It is immaterial that the employee intends to deviate from the business route once he reaches a certain point. The question of compensability and the analysis of the facts focus on where the employee was injured. In other words, just because the employee intended to take a detour to visit a friend, if he was injured before he reached the point of departure from the business route, his injuries may still be covered by workers' compensation.

If you are injured while running an errand for your employer, please do not hesitate to contact Attorney Matthew Noyes at 727-796-8282.