GQ Corner
Q. If an employee is at a company event during working hours and participates in a massage that was optional and sustains and injury. Would this be compensable? This was a safety training in the office during business hours. They had vendors set up and this employee chose to get a massage. It was in the same office building that she works at.
A. If they were allowed to interact with the vendors, and it was on their premises, during the safety training or a break during which they were allowed to interact with the vendors, it sounds like this could be compensable because it happened during work hours and on the employer’s premises. Or it happened during a break when the employer impliedly authorized the claimant to participate in things with the vendors. Like playing basketball during a break. This would be difficult to deny unless there is some evidence of deviation from the expected or allowed activities.
Q. I have a claimant who stepped on a nail. He sought care with a family friend who is a doctor. There will be no medical bill/notes and the doctor did not remove him from work. He works in pest control and is paid per job, he did not work for a few days due to his pain. Would he be owed benefits during that time?
A. If he can’t work due to the compensable injury, he is owed TIBs, assuming that his lost time exceeds the waiting period. Usually, we have medical taking the injured employee off work or releasing him with restrictions. In this case, he has no medical. If he can credibly prove that he was in so much pain that he could not work, he would be owed benefits. It comes down to his credibility. I do feel you would have a reasonable basis to dispute TIBs based on no medical. However, this does not mean you would win at a CCH.
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