Rockford & Moline Personal Injury Lawyers - Personal Injuries

Fewer Workplace Deaths in 2007

Nick Avgerinos — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:37:00 GMT

It was encouraging news for workers and companies as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently announced that in 2007, fewer workers were injured on the job. The AP reports that the number of workers killed on the job annually dropped to a historic low in 2007.

While the news of overall fatalities is a positive development, it was unfortunately the case that some areas of labor actually had increased worker deaths. These increases were most dramatic in the record number of workers who died from falls and with respect to the rate of homicides which saw an increase of 13%.

However, across the board, it seems that our nation’s workplaces are getting safer. Both the number of workplace deaths and the rate of fatal injuries were the lowest rates ever reported since such a census began in 1992. Labor secretary Elaine Chao attributes the lower rates as “evidence that the initiatives and programs to protect workers’ safety and health, designed by and implemented in this administration, are indeed working.” (For information about initiatives and programs, see the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) website.)

To see the BLS report on workplace deaths, follow this link.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Back to School Safety Tips

Nick Avgerinos — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:32:00 GMT

Now that summer vacations are over, and children are returning to school, a safety reminder is always welcomed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, (CPSC) has released a new guide of back to school safety reminders. While many of these are not groundbreaking, a yearly reminder is always a good idea to keep our children safe!

The report includes these tips:

CPSC approved bicycle helmets. For a guide of which helmets are approved or best for which activities, this link may be helpful.
Avoid Drawstrings. Hood or neck drawstrings can be a choking hazard, particularly on playground equipment.
For budding soccer stars, parents should make sure the goals are safe, as unsecured movable soccer goals can fall and injure or kill children.
Keep on top of recalled products through news sources and the CPSC’s website

Here are some other tips for back to school safety:

A child’s backpack should be well supported and not too heavy. It should have wide, padded shoulder straps, a padded back, and never weigh more than 10-20% of the student’s body weight.
Buckle up on the school bus if there are seat belts. If you school doesn’t provide seatbelts, encourage the school board to reconsider the minimal cost.

The following links may also be helpful: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/augschool.cfm; http://www.rd.com/back-to-school-safety-tips/article11221.html; http://www.redcross.org/article/0,1072,0_276_5556,00.html; http://school.familyeducation.com/back-to-school/safety/37951.html

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Hard to Call Slip-and-Fall: Workers’ Compensation for Working from Home?

Nick Avgerinos — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:35:00 GMT

Everyone’s talking about the struggle to fuel our nation: where to find the cheapest gas, techniques for getting the most out of your gas, what car to drive for the best mileage, etc. But some are taking it a step further; why pay for the fuel to get to work when you could choose to not pay for fuel at all.

While some companies are offering a 4-day work week with extended hours, others are giving employees the option to work from home. Telecommuting, already increasingly popular in our age of gadget gorging and emotion via email, has attracted a new branch of followers since gas prices hit $4 and continue to climb. Sure, everyone is announcing plans to harness wind energy and offer electric cars, but until these pie-in-the-sky dreams become affordable realities, working from home is one effective way to cope with money woes for those whose jobs are conducive to such labor.

But what if you’re injured “on the job” from home? It sounds oxymoronic, but it could easily happen nowadays. The same way that you could trip and fall moving from the copy room to your desk at the office, you might slip and fall on your trip from going to grab a file from your bookshelf to sitting down at your home computer. As anyone who works from home knows, just because you’re not at the office doesn’t mean you’re having a pajama party (not that working in one’s PJs isn’t an added bonus to the work-from-home routine). The point is that if you suffer an injury arising out of and in the course of your employment, your employer should compensate you.

Obviously, the particulars are going to be especially relevant in these cases. Did you happen to trip while carefully traversing the relatively clutter-free expanse of a home office; or were you juggling a latte, a personal call, and laptop while navigating your should-have-been-cleaned-two-weeks-ago apartment when you broke your arm after falling on top of one of your piles of clothes? It’s really the details that count here.

This sort of claim relates to the newest legal frontier: internet law. That means that many details are still sketchy. With more and more of us making the virtual commute, however, the color of work-from-home claims is slowly being added. I came across an interesting case involving an employee on his way back home (where he frequently worked) from an after-hours meeting with his supervisor. He was severely injured, involved in a car accident and then hit by another vehicle after stepping outside his car.

While one’s commute is generally not covered by workers’ compensation, two notable exceptions are the dual purpose doctrine and the mutual benefit doctrine. The ‘dual purpose doctrine’ allows that workers’ compensation covers an employee when her employment creates the necessity for travel, even if she is also serving some purpose of her own. The ‘mutual benefit doctrine,’ on the other hand, establishes that injuries suffered by the employee while she is performing some activity for the mutual benefit of herself and the employer is compensable when some advantage for the employer arises out of this activity.

The court in the Missouri case described above held that the plaintiff should be covered for his injuries because he was injured on his way from work, transporting documents that he needed to continue working at home. The court explained: "compensation for injuries while traveling home may be proper under the dual purpose doctrine when it can genuinely and not fictionally be said that the home has become part of the employment premises. In those circumstances, an employee fulfills a dual purpose by traveling home: the personal purpose of making a normal trip home, and the business purpose of reaching a second employment situs. An employee demonstrates this by showing a clear business use of the home at the end of the specific journey during which the accident occurred."

As you can see, technology is quickly changing the shape of our world. And that means changes to both work life and home life, and—for most of us—the blurry new intersection of the two. The case above illustrates that it’s the nature of our activity, rather than the location where we perform it, that categorizes our space for the future.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

R U 4 Real? Possible Texting Ban Recognizes Danger of Technological Trances

Nick Avgerinos — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:47:00 GMT

We love to multi-task. And companies are responding with gadgets that allow us to do more things with less time. The biggest culprit for blurring the home-work divide: the Blackberry. But it’s not just professionals under the point-and-click spell; rather, kids are blurring the public-private divide with a constant stream of texts from friends.

Adults and kids have one thing in common, though; a resultant technological trance that makes them relatively oblivious to the tangible world. Our minds are busy engaging in virtual communication, but our bodies are thrashing about in the real world. The result: people ambling across streets without paying attention. Our eyes are all fixated on a screen. That means that they’re aimed downward. With our eyes turned downward and our feet (or vehicles) going forward, the potential for head-on collisions is apparent.

And now, Illinois lawmakers are taking note. As Chicago Tribune reported, Illinois General Assembly bill, HB 4520, was introduced by Rep. Ken Dunkin in January. He explained, “This legislation is not laughable. On the surface it's like, 'Oh wow, what is this?' But it's becoming more and more of a common problem with people haplessly crossing an intersection and almost killing themselves."

In fact, text-related injuries are more prevalent than you might think. The chief of emergency medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, James Adams, confirms that it happens all the time right here in Chicago; he states, “We always see someone [who was] texting or calling, who would not have been in that accident had it not been for the phone.”

People are tripping over curbs, grates, and each other, tumbling to the ground. Apparently, we don’t consider the damage we can do by being an inattentive pedestrian. Perhaps it’s because we don’t need a license to walk. More likely, it’s because we don’t have the threat of rising insurance costs if we cause an accident. Newsflash: you’re still liable for your actions. And, although I haven’t heard about a text-walking lawsuit, it could certainly happen. With ever-evolving technology, we’re inventing new ways to injure ourselves; text-walking is a relatively recent development, but it’s everywhere. As Dr.Adams noted, "It's an emerging trend and one that has not anywhere near peaked."

In any case, if HB 4520 does pass, you’ll be slapped with a $25 fine and misdemeanor charge if you’re caught using a wireless device while crossing the street. Until then, avert your eyes from your favorite wireless device and try actually engaging with the world. Just think: multi-tasking is hardly productive if its leads to personal injury.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Worker Wellness: Offensive Approach to Safety Proves Worthwhile for Employers

Nick Avgerinos — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:47:00 GMT

Workers’ compensation is an inevitable issue for some companies. When your employees do certain motions day after day, year after year, it’s going to wear down their bodies. But maybe not; maybe it’s just a matter of proper maintenance. After all, we take our cars in regularly, with the cars that acquire more miles quickly being checked out more often. So why don’t we give the same treatment to our bodies?

Well, most of us just don’t have the time. And many of us sit at a desk all day, leaving our body parts more vulnerable to falling asleep than falling apart. But for those in jobs where arduous physical exertion is part of the job description, it makes sense that one’s body needs frequent tune-ups. One Nebraska company, Lincoln Industries, has taken matters into its own hands, instituting an independent wellness program.

In fact, the company employs 3 people devoted entirely to managing its workers’ wellness. Some of the perks: optional pre-shift stretching and on-site massages. Not bad, huh? The company also conducts annual blood, hearing, and vision screenings, and requires quarterly check-ups that measure weight, body fat, and flexibility. The workers are then given a fitness rating, ranging from ‘platinum’ to ‘non-medal.’ In order to achieve platinum status, the worker must be a non-smoker.

Although this might all seem a little ‘Big Brother’ to some people, it appears to benefit employers and employees alike. No one is forced to be healthier, but those interested in improving their fitness scores are helped along the way. The company offers classes on health and nutrition, as well as healthy snacks in its vending machines. They’ll also help with gym memberships and exercise equipment.

And what’s the payoff for the employer? Lower healthcare costs…a lot lower. As CNN reports, “The company pays less than $4,000 per employee, about half the regional average and a savings of more than $2 million. That makes the $400,000 Lincoln Industries spends each year on wellness a bargain.” And workers’ compensation claims have dropped, too; the company reports that increased fitness has pushed workers comp costs down from $500,000 five years ago to less than $10,000 thus far in 2008.

Let’s hope that this marks a trend toward smart employment practices, keeping business going well by keeping employees healthy and happy. And for those of us without vigilant employer programs, perhaps it can inspire us to take control of our own fitness regimens. From a legal standpoint, frequent check-ups are certainly helpful, not only for keeping your body in good shape, but for documenting the changes that your body undergoes over time. Causation is always a key issue in workers’ compensation claims. So, take care of yourself and don’t ignore your body’s signs of trouble. We may not need an oil change every 7,500 miles, but we do need to go see a doctor every so often.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Mistakes Were Made: 5 Tips for Avoiding Medical Malpractice

Nick Avgerinos — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:22:00 GMT

Early this July, the CEO of large hospital in Boston posted a blog entitled: “The message you hope never to send.” Talk about a jarring headline for anyone with loved ones at the hospital. What was in the message? A post that admitted to a glaring mistake; doctors operated on the wrong side of a patient.

While, for understandable reasons, the details of the procedure are scattered, it’s enough to know that someone went in for an elective procedure on one side and came out with the procedure done to their other side. In other words, right procedure, wrong body part. (Thankfully, the patient is okay.) And while this is a frightening notion to anyone going under the knife, the CEO’s message was also reassuring.

Along with his admission of error came an apology. The hospital didn’t wait for the error to be discovered, and they didn’t try to shirk responsibility. Instead, it was a gracious, ‘I’m sorry,’ and an explanation of how they will try to be better in the future. The CEO admitted: “We learned that when teams are busy and distracted, it makes it easier to overlook something. We learned that key safety steps, like the ‘time out,’ need to occur every single time, since even one failure can be serious. We learned that serious events rarely relate to the performance of any single person. We learned that we have vulnerabilities that we were not even aware of, and that there are surely others out there.”

The message is, of course, disturbing, but also surprisingly refreshing. I recently wrote about the fiscal benefits that apologizing seems to have for doctors. And with this flesh-and-blood example, you can see why. A simple ‘I’m sorry’ injects humanity into an otherwise horrifying situation.

Going to the hospital is humbling for all of us. You have to trust the medical expertise of your doctors because they have the requisite training and, hopefully, know what’s best. And while the above-referenced error is the exception rather than the rule, CNN compiled these tips from surgical error experts to tip the odds in your favor:

1. Check out your doctor and hospital

Specifically, ask your doctor how many times he or she has done this procedure, and compare that with other physicians.

You can check out the hospital by going to HealthGrades or The Leapfrog Group, which rank hospitals by specialty. (For example, you can find good places to get hip surgery in Topeka, Kansas, or to have a baby in New York.) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has detailed information about procedures performed at different hospitals.

2. Tell everyone who you are and why you're having surgery.

You may feel like an idiot, but tell all the nurses and doctors your name, your date of birth, and what surgery you're having (for example, "I'm John Smith, I was born 10/21/70, and I'm having arthroscopic surgery on my left knee."). This can help prevent you receiving a surgery intended for someone down the hall. (Of course, if your name really is John Smith, you might want to give your address, too).

3. Make sure your doctor initials your site

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons urges its members to sign their initials directly on the site before surgery (shown in the group's public service ads, like the one pictured above). Make sure your surgeon -- not somebody else -- does the signing and that it's in the right place.

4. Confirm the surgery site with the surgeon right before the procedure

You may have already told the nurses, but it's the surgeon who's doing the actual cutting, so you need to tell him or her directly, says Dr. James Beaty, past president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

"You should say, 'I'm not going back to surgery until I see my doctor and we confirm that this is the right site,' " he said.

5. Train someone to be your advocate

Don't just bring a friend or family member to your surgery; train them to advocate for you. You're likely to be anxious and a little addled before the surgery (not to mention asleep during it), so you'll need help.

"Equip them with the information they need," advised Ilene Corina, president of PULSE of New York, a patient advocacy group. For example, your advocate can help you check the initials on the surgical site or help you contact your surgeon.

It’s important to remember that doctors are regular people, too. By following these tips—consider them a common courtesy—you can help ease the stress of our overburdened medical system. Hopefully, doctors and patients can increasingly exchange such kindnesses and thereby lessen the sting of an already painful experience.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Hard Hitters: Crippling Injuries Now Common in Kids

Nick Avgerinos — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:55:00 GMT

Summer means a lot of things for kids: no school, no homework, and (they hope) a later bedtime. But all of that free time needs to be filled. And, for many, it fills up with camp upon camp, often to hone the kids’ skills in their sport(s) of choice during the off-season. These camps can be a lot of fun, and in an increasingly competitive world, seemingly necessary to stay on top of their game. But is it all just too much? Where do we draw the line between too much freedom and too many expectations?

If the apparent epidemic of youth injuries is any indication, we need to draw some sort of new line somewhere. As Americans, we’re driven to work hard and succeed. And we try to instill those values in our children. But this striving for success has shifted from helping with homework in the evenings to layering sports training upon music lessons upon service hours. We’re starting to become concerned about what kids look like on paper long before the first college pamphlets come rolling in the mail. The result: a hypercompetitive environment. Perhaps the easiest place to spot this amped up ambition is in the sports arena.

Kids today aren’t just playing little league to fill up their summer afternoons; they’re seeking scholarships. ‘Try your best’ is replaced by ‘be the best’ and former friends are now close competition. That’s not to say participating in youth sports doesn’t have its benefits, especially for those kids with a true love for the game. But it sure makes it a heck of a lot harder to just try something out. The ‘just for fun’ kids get sneers from their competitive comrades who loathe the equal field time often mandated in park district play.

Playing sports is no longer just fun; it’s a pretty big risk. As CNN reported, more and more young kids are facing grown-up injuries: torn ACLs or meniscuses, stress fractures, and cartilage damage. Some of these injuries don’t just put the kids out of commission for a game or a season, but put permanent restrictions on the rest of their lives. Kids’ young bodies don’t respond to the treatment for grown-up injuries the same way because they’re still growing. Their bodies aren’t built to endure these types of injuries.

“Tommy John” surgeries to repair elbows blown out playing baseball are on the rise, tripling in the past decade according to the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center. The Center reports a five- to six-fold increase in serious shoulder and elbow injuries as a result of baseball and softball since 2000. Little League Baseball, at least, is recognizing its role in this alarming increase and taking steps to reverse the trend. The organization is mandating rest for players based on their age and the amount of pitching that they do.

It’s important that parents and kids do their own monitoring, too. In a sports world with a ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy, it’s important to step back and remember that chronic pain in not normal and merits medical attention. I know that most kids don’t want to slow down or admit that they should take a break, but with the intensity of today’s youth sports, the kids don’t always get three strikes before they’re out…for good.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Grown-Up Gaming: More than a “Wii” Personal Injury Liability

Nick Avgerinos — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:12:46 GMT

Most parents lament the passage of bygone days where kids played freeze tag and rode bikes till dusk in the summer; nowadays, there’s more inside play, focused around television, video games, and the computer. Sure, you can try to impose time limits on these gadgets, but once they’re out of your house, it’s hard to enforce those rules with his friend Jenny’s Nintendo DS or Justin’s Xbox 360.

And as if you don’t have enough to worry about with flips on your trampoline or dives into your pool, along comes the amazingly interactive Nintendo Wii. Parents seem to like the Wii, not only because of its entertainment factor, but because it gets kids up off the couch. Along with the relatively recent line of ‘Wii Fit’ games, most of the Wii games give the player some exercise because they require actual bodily movement, rather than the good old thumb workout. The problem: more interactivityàmore movementàmore injuries. Not always, but often enough to make a parent worry. If Justin hurts his wrist slicing up sushi while playing “Cooking Mama,” or Jenny slips and falls while doing a kick, playing “Dancing with the Stars,” are their parents coming to you for compensation? And would they have a case?

Well, it depends. Obviously, there’s some merit to those concerns; Nintendo introduced a wrist strap (which you can obtain free of charge) to add to controllers in order to guard against their propensity to go flying, endangering players and televisions everywhere. The company faces product design claims and you could face premises liability issues. The claims that have been brought thus far focus upon the company.

Before you start to breathe easier, though, take a look at Nintendo’s newest line of games from JV sports: Frat Party Games. One game in the series, ‘Beer Pong,’ has already been renamed ‘Pong Toss’ due to public disapproval. Sure, the name has changed, but the game is the same. The rating? It’s suitable for your children aged 13 and older. Maybe Nintendo didn’t see the latest statistics, but underage drinking is a serious problem, and I doubt introducing drinking games to a 13-year-old will do anything to help matters.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board President, Patricia Vance, defends the game’s rating, writing: “Despite being premised on a drinking game, the game's content involves essentially nothing more than tossing pingpong [sic] balls into plastic cups.” And while it might be true that the game doesn’t explicitly reference alcohol, the origins of the game aren’t exactly a secret. Even kids who don’t yet get the reference will be fully apprised with a quick Google search.

It’s a good reminder, though, that we should keep kids aware of the dangers of underage drinking—and drinking in general—because you never know where else they’re getting their information. And sometimes influence comes from the least likely of places. That’s why it’s up to us to be consistent examples of responsibility.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Look Out Below: Potholes Prevalent and Seemingly Permanent

Nick Avgerinos — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:19:00 GMT

We have certain traditions for summertime in Chicago: the Crosstown Classic, the Taste, and construction. We all know about construction season in the city, and while most of us mark it by standstill moments with our bumper-to-bumper fellow motorists, it is also concretely marked by potholes dotting the roadways.

Potholes give us a reason to welcome construction work. Given their potential for causing dangerous accidents for both cars and bikes (and everything in between), potholes merit immediate attention. Unfortunately, they are often ignored as “more pressing” matters take precedence. But as something that doesn’t just cause expensive damage to our vehicles, but can also prompt accidents (and therefore injuries), potholes are more than a cosmetic problem.

If you suffer damage to your vehicle as the result of a pothole problem, you are entitled to compensation. The Chicago Tribune recently pointed out that, if your damage occurred on the city streets, you have up to one year from the date of accident to file a claim with the city clerk’s office; you can obtain a claim form here. When reporting the damage, it’s important to give specifics, including a description of the damage, how it occurred, and a police report. Photographs of the damage are also helpful. Your claim will be investigated, and if deemed valid, the city will pay half the cost of repairs up to $2,000. Why shouldn’t all of your damage be covered? Finance Committee spokesman Donal Quinlan claims, “The logic is the driver may have had some chance to avoid the damage.”

So, how big of a problem are potholes for the city? According to the Chicago Reporter’s analysis, the Chicago Department of Transportation spent $10 million on pavement maintenance projects in 2007 and filled more than 270,000 potholes. That’s a lot of pavement. What many of us don’t realize, however, is how great an expense it is to fill these potholes. With skyrocketing gas prices, everyone needs to cut back, and that includes the city.

CNN reports that many local governments have to scale back on services in order to make ends meet; road repair is a prime example. In a recent survey by the National Association of Counties, 81% of counties reported that public safety is the area most affected by rising fuel costs. Beyond the pressure of higher gas prices, it also costs more to repair the roads. Why? Because asphalt is made largely from oil, and the price for its main component has ballooned more than 90% since last year.

Translation: expect more dangerous roadways. As a result, be extra aware of your surroundings, your fellow motorists, and construction workers toiling to fix the problem. There may be more potholes in your path, but that doesn’t obstruct your ability to exercise good driving habits.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos

Something to Chew Over: Are You “On-the-Job” During Your Lunch Break?

Nick Avgerinos — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:41:00 GMT

Workers’ compensation is probably something you don’t know a whole lot about, until you or a close friend suffers an on-the-job injury. Then it comes at you all too quickly.

What’s the difference between workers’ compensation and personal injury ? (If the word ‘tort’ makes you think of a tasty pastry, it’s worth your while to click around on that site.) For you, it might be a big difference in terms of the number of zeros in your award.

In Iowa , for example, workers’ compensation claims have scheduled injuries. In other words, forget everything you’ve ever been told about not being able to put a price on your life and health. Simply put, in most instances, your mangled hand is worth a specific dollar amount. Same goes for a leg, a foot, an ear, etc. The doctors provide impairment ratings which are then used to determine the value of one’s permanent condition or, the ratings set the boundaries for the value of the case. The who, what, where, when, and why is irrelevant so long as you injured a specific body part on-the-job. (Assuming no other concurrent or pre-existing injuries or conditions, the chess player and the soccer player may well end up receiving the same amount for loss of use of a foot.) However, for injuries affecting the whole body , such as back, neck, internal, neurological, and mental health to name just a few, the limitations of the scheduled injury analysis I have discussed do not apply, as these injuries are not classified as scheduled. Confused yet?

In Illinois , workers’ compensation injuries are not scheduled as they are in Iowa . In establishing case value, Illinois does not apply the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment , including the 5^th or 6^th Editions. The Illinois system is based on precedent ; that is, compensation for permanent disability is based upon what the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has awarded in the past for similarly situated individuals.

With personal injury claims, on the other hand, specifics are very important. Were you in any way at fault? How much were your medical bills? Can you continue to work? How does the injury affect your personal life? You’re the victim and yet you’re left to prove that you deserve compensation. Doesn’t seem fair, but it’s the way the system works. The best thing you can do is be upfront and honest. It’s up to you to report your injury early and seek legal advice regarding how to proceed.

You’d think that determining what constitutes a workers’ compensation claim would be pretty straightforward. Well, you’d think wrong . The injury must arise out of and in the course of employment . Sounds redundant, doesn’t it? But often Employers escape liability by saying that an employee was technically “on-the-job,” but sustained an injury as a result of behavior not related to the job. In other words, injuries are often deemed to be sustained out of---but not in the course of---employment.

So, what about lunch breaks? As with most questions, the legal answer is “it depends.” A recent New York workers’ compensation case provides an interesting example. Like Illinois , New York Workers’ Compensation law requires that the injury arise both out of and in the course of employment. In this case, a cab driver was parked in a parking lot, eating his lunch, when approached by another motorist for assistance in jumping his car. The cab driver graciously agreed, but the battery exploded as he was securing the jumper cables, resulting in the cab driver losing his left eye. He filed for workers’ compensation….but he was on his lunch break when the injury occurred.

The case ended up in the New York Court of Appeals , which agreed with the employer that meal breaks are generally not compensable. They ruled, however, that this case was an exception. Testimony showed that drivers routinely took 15-20 minute breaks with the express permission of the employer at a location convenient for the employer. Reasoning that the general rule doesn't apply when the nature of the job dictates the time and place of the meal and the employee is still “on-the-job” at the time the break occurs. Thus, the court determined that the cab driver was injured in the course of employment.

But did his injury really arise out of employment? The New York Court of Appeals determined that if an employee is injured while involved in an activity that benefits the employer, while in the course of employment, then that employee has a workers’ compensation claim. But the cab driver here was just being a Good Samaritan , right? Wrong. The court ruled that, because the cab was clearly marked with the employer's name, the assistance created a good-will benefit to the employer. In other words, the cab driver was providing free advertisement for the employer.

As you can see, the world of workers’ compensation can be very confusing, but a good attorney can help you navigate through the details. Hopefully, you never have to deal with an on-the-job injury; but this should give you some helpful information to digest on your own lunch break today, just in case.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Nick Avgerinos