Injuries at Company Outings | Injuries during Horseplay | Self-Inflicted Injuries
In Texas, if you have been injured on the job, you may have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim, provided your employer is a subscriber to the state’s workers’ compensation program. According to statistics gathered by the state of Texas, more than 70% of the state’s employers provide workers’ compensation coverage for their employees.
As a general rule, there are only two requirements to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits—you must have suffered an injury and you must demonstrate that the injury was work-related. There is no requirement that you demonstrate that your employer was negligent—workers’ compensation is essentially a “no-fault’ benefit.
Is Your Injury Work-Related—Injuries at Company Outings
You must, however, prove that your injury arose during the course of your employment. What if your company had a golf outing, softball game or other team-building event and you got hurt? What if the company had an incentive-based trip, where employees who hit their goals got a trip to a ball game or some other entertainment event? Suppose you are involved in a motor vehicle accident or you slip and fall in the bathroom at the hotel? You weren’t actually performing any of the duties of your job at the time of your injury. Can you still file a workers’ compensation claim?
Fortunately, the answer is most often yes. Work-related or sponsored events are typically considered part of work, whether attendance is mandatory or voluntary. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can do anything you want and the company will be responsible for any injuries sustained. For example, if you’re at a golf outing and you have too many cocktails, the company may not be responsible if you tip over a golf cart and break your leg. However, if the company provided the alcohol and did not monitor consumption, they may still be responsible.
Injuries Sustained during Horseplay at Work
Practical jokes and boisterous acts are fairly common in the workplace. What happens if you suffer an injury when involved in roughhousing or other physical activity that’s not a part of your job? That depends…did you instigate the horseplay or were you merely a victim of the goofing around? As a general rule, a person who initiates “horseplay,” defined in Black’s Law Dictionary as a “departure of the employee from the course of his employment and duties to the employer,” won’t be allowed to collect workers’ compensation.
Self-Inflicted Injuries
While fault is not typically a factor in workers’ compensation cases, it may be considered if the injury is self-inflicted. As a general rule, a worker may not collect work comp for injuries sustained as a result of willful misconduct or intentional self-harm. A worker may, however, qualify for workers’ compensation for an injury that was self-inflicted, but not intentional. For example, if a worker accidentally drops a pipe wrench on his foot, breaking his ankle, he may still collect benefits.
Contact the Experienced Workplace Accident Lawyers at Bailey & Galyen
At the law offices of Bailey & Galyen, we have extensive experience protecting the rights of people who have been injured at work. We will be your voice in all legal proceedings, as well as any dealings with workers’ compensation insurance companies, so we can maximize the amount recovered for your losses. Contact us by e-mail or 844-402-2992 call our offices at one of the convenient locations listed below. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
