GQ Corner

Q. Does a SIBs claimant, who is otherwise eligible and entitled to SIBs, ever permanently lose entitlement to SIBs or is he paid SIBs until his death?
 
A. Rule 130.106 states that an injured employee permanently loses entitlement to SIBs upon the expiration of the 401-week period calculated pursuant to Labor Code §408.083. If the claimant has not otherwise permanently lost entitlement, you are required to send two notices to the claimant prior to the expiration of the 401-week period if the claimant has submitted a SIBs application during the 12 months immediately preceding the expiration of the 401-week period. The Rule states that the notification shall be sent (1) no later than four months prior to the expiration of the 401-week period and (2) one month prior to the expiration of the 401-week period.

Q. The claimant was out of town on a business trip (in Texas) when she decided to eat her lunch at a nearby restaurant. While walking in between her hotel and the nearby restaurant, she tripped and fell, injuring her bilateral knees. Is this considered a compensable injury in Texas even though she was out of town and on her way to lunch?
 
A. Yes, this would be considered a compensable injury. The general rule in Texas is that injuries sustained while traveling overnight for business are compensable. Injuries suffered while the employee is traveling for business will be compensable unless there is a deviation from or abandonment of the course and scope of employment. Because eating is a reasonably foreseeable event that an employee would engage in while on an overnight trip, injuries resulting from travel to and from the restaurant are generally compensable, absent extenuating circumstances or other affirmative defenses.