I Was Hurt Going to or Coming Home From Work—Is My Injury Covered by Alabama Workers Compensation?

I Was Hurt Going to or Coming Home From Work—Is My Injury Covered by Alabama Workers Compensation?

Understanding Alabama’s Going and Coming Rule and Its Important Exceptions

A common questions injured workers ask is: “If I was hurt driving to work or coming home from work, is it covered by workers’ compensation?”

The general answer in Alabama is: Usually not.

Under what is commonly called the Going and Coming Rule, injuries that occur during an employee’s ordinary commute to or from work are generally not considered to arise out of and in the course of employment. Alabama courts have applied that rule for decades.

But that is only the starting point.

There are important exceptions, and whether an accident is covered often depends less on where you were going and more on why you were traveling and what you were doing for your employer at the time.

Recommended Reading: What Does It Mean for an Injury to “Arise Our of and Occur in the Ordinary Course of Employment?”

Why Isn’t My Normal Commute Usually Covered?

Most employees have to travel to work, but ordinarily, the employment relationship does not begin simply because an employee gets into a car at home and starts driving toward the workplace.

Likewise, once the employee leaves work and begins an ordinary trip home, workers’ compensation coverage generally ends.

That is the basic idea behind Alabama’s Going and Coming Rule.

For example, suppose you work at the same factory every day from 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.  You drive your own vehicle from your home to the plant each morning.  On the way to work, another vehicle hits you.

Unless some exception applies, that is ordinarily considered part of your personal commute rather than part of your employment.

The same is generally true of the normal drive home after work.

But There Are Important Exceptions

Alabama courts have recognized several situations in which travel that looks like an ordinary commute may still be sufficiently connected to employment to be covered.

Those exceptions include situations where the employer furnishes transportation or reimburses travel expenses, where the accident occurs on or sufficiently near the employer’s premises during ingress or egress, and where the employee is performing a duty for the employer in furtherance of the employer’s business while traveling.

That means the real question is not always: “Was I going to or coming from work?”

It may instead be: “Was I doing something for my employer while I was traveling?” 

This is one of the most important exceptions.

Suppose your workday normally ends at 5:00 p.m.  As you are leaving, your supervisor tells you: “Before you go home, take these documents to a customer.”  You leave the office, make the delivery, and are involved in a collision.

Although you may eventually have been heading home, you were also performing a task for your employer.

Alabama courts recognize what is often called the special errand exception. A journey that ordinarily would fall outside workers’ compensation may become part of the employment when the trip itself is sufficiently connected to a special task or service for the employer.

Another example might be an employee who is called back to work unexpectedly after hours to handle an emergency.  The fact that the employee was technically “driving to work” does not necessarily answer whether the trip was part of the employment.

What If I Was Doing Something for My Employer on the Way to Work?

The same principle can apply in the morning.  Suppose your supervisor asks you to stop at a supply store and pick up equipment before reporting to the normal workplace.  You make the stop and then continue toward work.  An accident occurs.

That trip may no longer be an ordinary commute.

Alabama cases recognize an exception when an employee, while traveling to or from work, is engaged in some duty for the employer that furthers the employer’s business.

What If My Employer Pays Me for Travel?

Payment for travel can be extremely important.  Suppose your employer pays you for the time spent traveling from home to a remote job site, or the employer reimburses mileage or travel expenses as part of the employment arrangement.

Alabama courts have recognized employer-provided transportation and reimbursement of travel expenses as exceptions to the ordinary Going and Coming Rule.

Payment for travel is not necessarily the only factor, but it may be strong evidence that the journey itself was part of the employee’s service to the employer. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. Smallwood discusses the importance of travel time and the special-errand analysis.

What If I Was Riding in a Company Vehicle?

A company vehicle can matter, but it does not automatically determine coverage.

The important questions may include:

• Why was the employer providing the vehicle?
• Was use of the vehicle part of the job?
• Was the employee required to take it home?
• Was the employee transporting tools or equipment?
• Was the employee being paid for travel?
• Was the employee performing any task for the employer during the trip?

Simply driving a company vehicle does not automatically make every trip work-related.

Likewise, driving your own vehicle does not automatically mean the trip is personal.

The purpose of the journey matters.

What If I Travel From Job Site to Job Site?

That is usually very different from an ordinary commute.  Suppose an electrician finishes work at one construction site and is told to travel to another project.  An accident occurs between the two locations.

The employee is not simply going to or coming from work.

The employee is already performing work and traveling from one job assignment to another.  That type of travel may be covered by workers’ compensation.

The same can apply to:

• Home-health employees traveling between patients;
• Service technicians traveling between customers;
• Sales representatives visiting clients;
• Construction workers moving between projects;
• Inspectors traveling between work locations; and
• Delivery employees traveling their routes.

Recommended Reading: I Was Hurt While Riding as a Passenger for Work—Is My Injury Covered by Alabama Workers’ Compensation? The key question is usually why the employee was traveling—not who was driving.

What If I Don’t Have a Fixed Work Location?

Employees without a single fixed workplace may present different issues.

A construction worker may report to different projects.

A salesperson may spend most of the workday on the road.

A home-health worker may travel directly from home to patients.

A technician may begin the day by driving to the first customer’s location rather than reporting to an office.

In those situations, deciding where the personal commute ends and employment travel begins can be more complicated.  Courts look at the facts surrounding the employment arrangement rather than applying the Going and Coming Rule mechanically.

What If I Was Hurt in the Employer’s Parking Lot?

The Going and Coming Rule also has important premises-related exceptions.

Alabama courts have recognized that employment is not necessarily limited to the exact moment an employee clocks in or clocks out.

An employee may still be within the course of employment for a reasonable period while entering or leaving the employer’s premises.

Alabama courts have specifically recognized exceptions involving accidents on the employer’s property, public areas functioning as ingress or egress to the employer’s premises, and situations involving an employer-owned parking area across a public street.

So if you clock out, walk toward your vehicle, and suffer an injury in an employer-controlled parking area, the fact that your shift had technically ended does not automatically mean the injury is excluded.

Recommended Reading: Does It Matter Where My Job Injury Occurred? and Do I have a workers compensation claim if My Injury Occurred while I was in the Parking Lot?

What About Lunch?

Your older Going and Coming Rule article mentioned injuries occurring during lunch or other activities incidental to employment.

This area requires a little more precision.

An employee who leaves the employer’s premises for a purely personal meal ordinarily may not be covered simply because the employee intends to return to work afterward, but meal travel can become work-related depending upon facts such as whether the employee remained on the clock, whether the employer directed the trip, whether the employee was performing a work task during the trip, or whether the circumstances made the activity incidental to the employment.

In Union Camp Corp. v. Blackmon, the Alabama Supreme Court discussed how payment during a meal period and the circumstances surrounding the travel may affect whether the employee remained in the course of employment.

The key point is that lunch cases are fact-specific and should not be treated as automatically covered or automatically excluded.

Recommended Reading: What if I was Injured During My Lunch Break?

What If I Make a Personal Stop During a Work Trip?

Suppose you are traveling between job sites but decide to make a personal stop.  Maybe you stop briefly for coffee, or perhaps you drive several miles out of the way to visit a friend.

Those situations can raise the issue of a deviation from employment.

A minor activity incidental to travel may not necessarily remove the employee from the course of employment, while a substantial personal departure may.

The analysis may also change once the employee completes the personal errand and resumes the employer’s business.

Recommended Reading: I Was Running a Personal Errand When I Was Injured While Driving for Work—Am I Still Covered?

What If Another Driver Caused the Accident?

Even if the Going and Coming Rule prevents a workers’ compensation claim, that does not necessarily mean there is no legal claim at all.

Suppose you are simply driving home from work. Another driver negligently runs a red light and injures you.

The accident may not qualify for workers’ compensation because you were engaged in an ordinary commute, but you may still have a personal injury claim against the negligent driver.

On the other hand, if you were performing work duties when the collision occurred, you may potentially have both claims.

Recommended Reading: I Was Hit by Another Driver While Working—Do I Have a Workers’ Compensation Claim and a Car Accident Claim?

Why This Rule Can Be Difficult to Apply

The phrase Going and Coming Rule sounds simple-but real life usually isn’t.

Consider these differences:

An employee drives directly from home to the same office every morning.

An employee drives from home to a different construction project every day.

An employee stops at a supplier before going to the office because the supervisor requested it.

An employee is required to take a company truck home containing tools needed for emergency calls.

An employee leaves work but must deliver company documents before going home.

An employee travels between two customers.

All six employees are “driving,” but the legal analysis may be completely different in each situation.

That is why the question “Was I driving to or from work?” often does not provide enough information to determine whether an injury is covered.

The Law

Under § 25-5-51, Ala. Code 1975, a compensable injury generally must arise out of and occur in the course of employment.

Alabama courts have long held that injuries occurring during an employee’s ordinary commute generally do not satisfy that requirement. Ex parte Shelby County Health Care Authority, 850 So. 2d 332 (Ala. 2002), discusses the general Going and Coming Rule and recognized exceptions.

Recognized exceptions include circumstances involving employer-provided transportation or travel reimbursement, certain premises and ingress/egress situations, and travel during which the employee is performing a duty that furthers the employer’s business. Alabama also recognizes the special-errand doctrine in appropriate circumstances.

Whether a particular trip falls within the rule or one of its exceptions depends upon the specific facts.

The Bottom Line

If you are injured during your ordinary commute to or from your regular place of employment, Alabama’s Going and Coming Rule will generally prevent the injury from being covered by workers’ compensation.

But do not stop the analysis there.  Ask:

Was I performing an errand for my employer?

Was I traveling between job sites?

Was the employer paying for or furnishing my transportation?

Was I transporting tools, documents, or equipment for work?

Was I entering or leaving employer-controlled property?

Was I traveling because my employer required me to make a special trip?

Those facts can change the result.

The question is often not simply whether you were going to work or coming home.  It is whether, at the time you were injured, your travel had become part of your job.

Experience With Work-Related Travel Claims

At Powell & Denny, P.C., we have extensive experience representing injured workers in Alabama workers’ compensation claims and related third-party personal injury claims. When the same accident creates both claims, it is important to understand how they work together. Medical evidence, settlement decisions, workers’ compensation subrogation rights, and other issues in one claim can directly affect the other. Our experience handling both workers’ compensation and personal injury cases allows us to evaluate the entire case—not just one part of it—and work to protect all of the benefits and compensation available to our clients.

If you believe you have a workers compensation and also a personal injury claim against another party-don’t hesitate to contact and speak with one of the experienced  attorneys at Powell and Denny today for a free consultation. Appointments are available in person, or virtually via Zoom if more convenient.  Powell and Denny would appreciate the opportunity to help.  And remember, there is no fee unless you win.