The Texas Supreme Court recently addressed an issue arising under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. Leordeanu v. Am. Protection Ins. Co., No. 09-0330 (Tex. Dec. 3, 2010), available at http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/historical/2010/dec/090330.htm.
The Court answered the question, “Is traveling from one workplace to another while on the way home in the ‘course and scope of employment’?” The Court answered in the affirmative.
The plaintiff left a company dinner in a company car. She intended to drop off company supplies at a company-provided self-storage unit near her home, but she had an accident midway there. The defendant denied her claim for workers’ compensation coverage because it found that she was not acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident. The plaintiff won a jury trial, but the appellate court reversed the verdict. The plaintiff appealed.
Generally, injuries are compensable if they are sustained in the course and scope of employment. The Court discussed the historical development of the laws regulating workers’ compensation coverage, the current statute and notable Texas cases. The Court then concluded that the plaintiff was acting in the course and scope of her employment at the time of the accident, and it reversed the appellate court’s decision.
To speak to a Dallas employment lawyer about workplace legal issues, contact the employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected].
