Injury claims must be work-related
Our knowledgeable claims team successfully verified the validity of three claims where employees were unaware of what injuries qualify for workers’ compensation.
Two claims managed by our Senior Claims Analyst, Kim Kendall, involved employees on their break who got hurt in the parking lot. One stepped on a rock, rolled an ankle and fell. The other was on her phone when she sustained injuries after tripping and falling.
State laws specify that injuries sustained in the parking lot are not covered unless the employee was performing work duties, such as sweeping or making a work-related repair.
In both cases, our analyst raised relevant questions to ensure our members understand how state law works when workers are injured on the parking lot while on a break. Upon receiving additional details of the claims with additional facts uncovered by Kendall, Labor & Industries rejected both claims. Retail Services sympathizes with the employees and advises that such injuries are most probably covered by private health insurance.
In the third case, the employee was, unfortunately, hit by a car when taking a break in a parking lot. Nancy Barnes, our Manager of Claims Administration, helped validate and brought forth facts to Labor and Industries. This is another example of a situation where the incident could be covered by private health insurance and/or the vehicle’s auto insurance, but it is not a valid workers compensation claim.