What Qualifies as a Work-Related Injury in California?

In California, employers are liable when employees get injured on the job if they sustain a ‘work-related’ injury. After an employee is injured, an inquiry is conducted into the circumstances that led to the injury to determine whether the employee is entitled to injury benefits from the employer.

Injuries are presumed to be work-related when they occur as a result of events or exposures in a work environment. Still, the presumption can be overcome if the injury occurs under excepted circumstances.

Work-Related Injury Defined

The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)¹ requires employers to consider an employee’s injury or illness work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness.

Work Environment

A work environment is any place where an employee works or must be present as part of their job. It includes more than the physical location and can also include the equipment and other materials the employee uses.

Significant Aggravation of a Pre-existing Injury or Illness

A significant aggravation of a pre-existing injury or illness occurs if any of the following would not have occurred but for the occupational event or exposure:

• Death
• Loss of consciousness
• Missed days of work, restricted duties, or job transfer
• Need for medical treatment

A pre-existing injury or illness is a condition caused only by an event or exposure outside of work.

Injuries that Occur in a Work Environment and Are Not Considered Work-Related

As with any general rule, there are exceptions. Not every injury that happens at work is work-related. The injury must be connected to work done for the employer.

Employee injuries that happen under the following circumstances are not usually work-related:

• The injury happens while an employee is traveling to or from work, with no benefit to the employer.
• The injury happens when an employee is in a work environment as a member of the public, not as an employee.
• Symptoms of an injury or illness appear at work but are caused only by events or exposures outside of work.
• The injury happens while taking part in an optional work event, such as a wellness program or recreational activity.
• The injury or illness happens while an employee is eating, drinking, or preparing food, unless the employer served contaminated food.
• The injury happens while an employee is doing personal tasks outside of normal work hours, unless the employee is traveling.
• The injury results from intentional misconduct or is self-inflicted.
• The illness is psychiatric, unless the work environment is the main cause.
• To determine if an injury is work-related, the key question is whether the employee was acting for the employer when the injury or illness happened.

Work-Related Injuries When an Employee Is on Travel Status

A traveling employee’s injury or illness is considered work-related as long as the employee was doing something the employer could reasonably expect. California’s commercial traveler rule² assumes that an employee is acting within the scope of their job for the entire business trip.

Work duties while traveling can include activities needed for the employee’s comfort, food, and safety. California courts broadly apply the commercial traveler rule and have found that some leisure activities can still be work-related, even when misconduct is involved.

However, an employee’s actions may not be work-related if they are a major departure from their job duties.

Work-Related Injuries When an Employee Works From Home

Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working from home will be considered work-related if they occur while the employee is performing work duties and are directly related to those duties rather than to the general home environment.

Is your injury work-related? Call the Northern California work accident lawyers at Curtis Legal Group.

Sources:

¹ https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/14300_5.html”>https://www.dir.ca.gov/t8/14300_5.html

² https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/wiseman-v-industrial-acc-com-29721/”>https://scocal.stanford.edu/opinion/wiseman-v-industrial-acc-com-29721/

³ https://curtislegalgroup.com/work-accident-lawyer/”>https://curtislegalgroup.com/work-accident-lawyer/