Do I have a Workers’ Compensation Claim? Was I injured on the job?

DO I HAVE A WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIM?  WAS I INJURED ON THE JOB? ARE JUMPING JACKS ENOUGH TO FIND INDUSTRIAL INJURY?

Many workers have little or no experience with the workers’ compensation system.  They do not know what qualifies as a workers’ compensation injury.  In fact, many workers’ compensation claims are DENIED by the insurance company.  A denial is a very harsh reality for an injured worker and sometimes leads to that worker giving up on the claim.  Don’t give up on your claim as you may be eligible for medical care and disability payments!

For example, the California Court of Appeals found a correctional officer’s injury while doing JUMPING JACKS at his home to have arisen in the course of his employment per Labor Code section 3600.  Young v. WCAB (2015, 3^rd Appellate District) 22 Cal.App. 4^th 472, 79 CCC 751, 2014 Cal.App. Lexis 562.  The court applied a two pronged test to determine whether an injury was compensable.  This “reasonable expectancy of employment” test looked to (1) whether an employee subjectively believes his or her injury-producing activity is expected by the employer, and (2) the belief is objectively reasonable.  There must be a “substantial nexus” between the employers’ expectations/requirements and the off-duty activity the employee was performing.

In short, the court found that the correctional officer was required to be physically fit in order to properly perform the rigors of law enforcement work.  Thus, the injury while performing jumping jacks off-duty was an injury during the course of employment.

There are several other factors the courts will consider to determine whether an injury arose out of employment and in the course of employment.  An injury may be overlooked as non-industrial when it really was a workers’ compensation injury.  Determining compensability on complicated and denied cased requires detailed analysis of the law and facts specific to each case.  It may require a trial and judicial decision on the issue, but the point is to NEVER GIVE UP or you may permanently lose workers’ compensation benefits!