The short answer is that you will probably be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if you are injured while performing work-related duties at home. Keep reading for more details.
So many more people are working at home, either full-time or part-time, than ever before. Working from home can raise different issues for employees than working at an office. They will need to separate work time from personal time. They need to have a space where they can productively and comfortably work. This space should be ergonomic to avoid repetitive stress injuries. Many people find the rewards of working from home to outweigh any challenges that come with it. The flexibility, the time saved by not commuting, the ability to be home when children get home from school, and to perhaps dress a bit less formally – these can be valuable benefits to workers.
But what if you get hurt while working at home?
Just because you’re working remotely doesn’t mean you don’t have a viable workers’ compensation claim. If you’ve been injured while working, even remotely, contact the experienced workers’ compensation lawyers at Aversa and Linn to assist you with understanding your rights under the law.
Steps to take after a work injury
As with any work-related injury, if injured while working at home, you should:
- Report your injury or illness to your employer immediately.
- Seek medical treatment.
- Document your injuries.
- Consult an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
Special consideration for remote work injuries
Workers’ compensation is a system that reimburses employees for medical treatment and lost wages for work-related injuries and disease. This includes injuries and disease that occur while working remotely. However, there are some things you should consider when you are a remote worker.
1. Are you an employee?
Workers’ comp reimburses employees: Workers’ compensation is a system for employers to reimburse their employees. If you are an independent contractor, you will not be eligible for worker’s comp benefits.
2. Is the injury work-related?
In order to receive any benefits through the workers’ comp system, the employee must demonstrate that her injury or disease is “work-related.” This means the employee must have been injured during the course and scope of her employment. Whether or not something is work-related is very specific to each situation.
How do you know if an injury is work-related, if you were working at home?
A few questions to help determine if your injury is work related include:
- Were you doing something to benefit the employer at the time of your injury?
- Was the activity that caused your injury a required part of your job?
- Did the injury happen during work hours?
- Do you have a dedicated area in your home for remote work and did the injury happen in that area?
Whether or not a person has a valid workers’ comp claim depends on many factors, specific to their particular circumstances, which is one reason why you need an experienced workers’ comp attorney to analyze the situation with you.
Common injuries for remote workers
Some injuries that may occur when working remotely include:
- Repetitive stress injuries
- Car accidents
- Slip or trip and falls
- Back and neck injuries
Is Michael Scott’s injury work-related?
For an example, let’s look at one of the most famous episodes of The Office: “The Injury” (aka Michael grills his foot.) Michael calls into the office, very upset saying that he is injured:
Michael: I want to come to work. But I need you to come and pick me up. [Jim lunges across Pam’s desk and puts Michael on speakerphone]
Michael: OH GOD!
Jim: Hey, whoa, Michael…
Michael: Oh God!
Jim: It’s, okay, it’s Jim. Just say again, uh, really loudly what happened.
Michael: OK, buhhhh, I burned my foot very badly on my Foreman Grill and I now need someone to come and bring me into work.
Jim: You burned your foot on a Foreman Grill?
Michael: I enjoy having breakfast in bed. I like waking up to the smell of bacon, sue me. And since I don’t have a butler, I have to do it myself. So, most nights before I go to bed, I will lay six strips of bacon out on my George Foreman Grill. Then I go to sleep. When I wake up, I plug in the grill, I go back to sleep again. Then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon. It is delicious, it’s good for me. It’s the perfect way to start the day. Today I got up, I stepped onto the grill and it clamped down on my foot… that’s it. I don’t see what’s so hard to believe about that.
Let’s assume for this example that Michael was working remotely that day. We can ask a few questions to help determine if his injury might be considered “work-related.”
- Did the injury happen during work hours? It sounds like the injury happened when he first got out of bed in the morning, so it doesn’t seem like it happened during work hours. Most people need at least a little time between waking up and starting work, even if they are working at home.
- Was the activity that caused your injury a required part of your job? Grilling bacon next to his bed is not a required part of his job as boss of the office.
- Was he doing something to benefit the employer at the time of his injury? If he was working from his home office and the grill was on his desk and he was grilling the bacon while still working he might have a more viable claim because he could argue that he was injured while working for the employer’s benefit.
- Does Michael have a dedicated remote work space at home and did the injury happen in that area? The injury happened right next to Michael’s bed. That does not appear to be a dedicated work area.
If you have suffered a work injury or disease, contact the experienced workers’ compensation lawyers at Aversa and Linn to assist you with understanding your rights under the law.
