Understanding North Carolina’s “Coming and Going” Rule in Work Injury Claims

When you’re injured in connection with your job, it’s normal to assume that workers’ compensation will kick in and cover your expenses. The system is designed to benefit employees and employers alike, providing employees with some compensation and protecting employers from personal injury lawsuits.

However, there are limits to workers’ compensation, and it’s important to familiarize yourself with these limits if you’re injured while working. Wondering if your work injury should be covered or not? Let’s talk. Call Price Petho & Associates, Personal Injury Attorneys today.

What is the “coming and going” rule?

Tons of potential workers’ comp scenarios have played out in North Carolina’s courts since the state adopted a workers’ compensation system. All of these cases have made it easier for attorneys and injured workers to determine when an injury is or is not covered. One long-standing principle that has been borne out in North Carolina courts is the coming and going rule. Basically, this rule states that injuries suffered during your routine commute to or from work are not covered by workers’ compensation.

The core of this rule comes from state law, which states that injuries arising out of and in the course of employment are covered by workers’ compensation. This led to the question: Is driving to and from work in the course of a worker’s employment? When this question made it to court, it was determined that driving to and from work is not actually part of your work. It’s part of your own personal life and thus is not paid out by workers’ comp insurance.

Some situations that would not be covered by North Carolina workers’ compensation include:

• A construction worker gets rear-ended by another driver on their way home from a job site
• An office employee gets hit by a car while leaving the drive-thru for coffee on their way to work
• A retail worker is involved in a fender bender while driving to their place of employment

In each of these examples, the employee is injured while they are traveling on their own time and not while carrying out a job task.

Key exceptions to the rule

Even though this rule exists, it’s important not to automatically assume that your accident is not covered by workers’ comp. The law recognizes that not all travel is entirely personal. In some situations, your commute may be connected to your job in a way that makes it part of your employment. These situations are some common exceptions to the coming and going rule:

• Job-related errands: If your employer asks you to complete errands or tasks on your way to or from work and you are injured during that time, your injuries may be covered by workers’ compensation. Consider, for example, an office worker who has to stop by a secondary office location to grab documents before they go to their regular office.
• Traveling employees: Travel is an inherent part of some jobs, and it would be unfair for injuries that happen during that travel not to be covered by workers’ compensation. Consider, for example, sales representatives who are expected to help customers in a given territory, truck drivers, service technicians, and travel nurses. All of these people are likely to go to multiple locations as part of their work, and they should be compensated for injuries that happen during those periods of travel as long as they are in the course of their employment.
• Employer-provided transportation: If your employer provides transportation or requires employees to use a specific form of transportation, a commute may be considered part of employment. This may include a company shuttle bus or an employer who requires employees to use a company vehicle to get to and from assignments.
• Injured at your place of employment: The coming and going rule stops at the edge of the employer’s property. If you are injured on your employer’s property—even if you have not yet clocked in—your injuries may be covered. This may include, for example, slipping on ice in the parking lot on the way out to your car or falling on uneven pavement in the company’s parking lot.

How this rule plays out in real cases

How this rule comes into play in real workers’ comp cases generally depends on the specific details of a case, which is why it’s so important to talk to a workers’ compensation lawyer in North Carolina before giving up on your claim. Consider these examples:

• Not covered: An employee is hit by a car and injured while driving home from a day at work. This is a clear example of the coming and going rule in practice.
• Covered: A nurse is struck by a reckless driver while driving from their regular hospital to another facility to provide coverage. This is a job-related errand and should be covered.
• Unclear: A worker slips and falls in the parking lot prior to checking in for the day. Here, there may be questions regarding the ownership and control over the parking lot.

These examples highlight why employees shouldn’t just assume that their injury during work travel is automatically excluded; on the other hand, they also show why employees shouldn’t automatically assume any work-related injury is paid for by workers’ compensation. In these cases, it often comes down to small details and the circumstances of the employee’s injury. If you have any doubt as to your workers’ comp claim or your employer is automatically claiming your injury isn’t covered, it’s time to talk to an attorney.

Wondering if your injury should be covered by workers’ compensation? Call us today

The team at Price, Petho & Associates can help you better understand how your injury fits into NC workers’ comp law. Let’s talk more about your injury and next steps—call us or contact us online now.