LOIS Senior Associate Anthony Iler recently obtained a unanimous New York Workers’ Compensation Memorandum of Board Panel Decision, which disallowed a claim entirely as arising outside the course and scope of employment. The Claimant was a home health aide who alleged a workplace injury after being struck by a motor vehicle. The accident was stated to cause a loss of consciousness which lasted over 25 days, along with a host of other claimed bodily injuries. At the trial, the Law Judge found that the Claimant was an outside employee entitled to coverage during her commute to and from work. This finding was primarily based upon the fact that the Claimant reported directly to her client’s residence without stopping at a base or central location to “clock-in” for the day.
In his appeal, Iler successfully argued that the Claimant was not legally an outside employee entitled to “portal-to-portal” coverage. This argument was predicated on the fact that the Claimant testified to working a fixed schedule under which she cared for the same patient at the same location on the same two days every week for a prolonged period leading up to date of the accident. Accordingly, the Board Panel reversed the Law Judge’s decision and disallowed and closed the claim entirely, as the Claimant was not injured during the course and scope of employment. As a result, the Carrier is not liable for indemnity benefits and medical treatment.
