Can I Claim Workers Compensation If I Get Injured On the Way To Or From Work?

In some cases, yes, you can claim workers compensation if you get injured on the way to or from work, travelling for work during work hours or on your lunch break. If the motor vehicle accident in which you sustained your injuries occurred while working, during a break or on the way to or from the workplace, then you may be entitled to claim workers compensation for your injuries as a ‘journey claim’.

What Is a Journey Claim?

Under the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003, a ‘journey claim’ can be made by a worker who is injured in a car, motorbike or truck accident on their lunch break, on their way to work or on their way home. However, there are circumstances in which the insurer can reject claims for workers compensation. These circumstances include situations in which there has been a deviation or delay in the journey, either to or from the workplace, or they consider that you have subjected yourself to ‘abnormal risk’.

What Is Abnormal Risk?

If a journey claim is rejected due to abnormal risk, it is because the claimant was considered to have ‘voluntarily’ and ‘unreasonably’ chosen to submit him or herself to the risk of injury. This means that the injury resulted from a voluntary and unreasonable submission to an abnormal risk of injury than under ordinary circumstances.

For example, sustaining injuries due to being hit by a motor vehicle while crossing a busy road without waiting for the traffic lights could be considered abnormal risk and grounds to reject a journey claim. Another example would be sustaining injuries in a car or motorbike accident while returning to work after drinking at the pub and exceeding the alcohol limit.

Even if the accident was your fault, you still may be entitled to make a journey claim. If you have any questions about abnormal risk or lodging a workplace accident compensation or journey claim, contact Accident Law for a confidential discussion with one of our accredited work injury compensation lawyers in Brisbane or the Gold Coast.

What Is a Deviation or Delay in the Journey?

Insurers can also reject journey claims if they believe that there has been a substantial deviation or delay in the journey to or from work. For example, if you stopped off at the supermarket and then had an accident on the way home, the workers compensation insurer would likely seek to reject your claim on the grounds that the accident wouldn’t have occurred if you hadn’t deviated from your journey to go shopping.

The workers compensation insurer, usually WorkCover Queensland, will take into account the time and location to assess whether there has been a delay or deviation that would be grounds for rejecting the claim under the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003. Your work injury compensation claim lawyer can advise and help you to understand whether a delay or deviation in your journey is likely to affect your journey claim.

Are Employers Ever Responsible for Work-Related Motor Vehicle Accidents?

If an employer’s negligence contributed to the accident occurring then, yes, they would be responsible for the accident. To provide an example, the employer of a worker driving a work van that wasn’t properly serviced and maintained could be responsible for the accident if this contributed to the cause of the accident.

Another example could be an employer requiring a worker to work excessive hours without sufficient breaks which resulted in the worker suffering fatigue and falling asleep at the wheel and suffering an accident on the way home. However, this does not mean that you cannot claim for the contribution of the other driver to the occurrence of the accident.

What Am I Entitled to Under a Workers Journey Claim?

If you are entitled to make a workers journey claim then you are entitled to claim for the same benefits as if you were making a workplace accident compensation claim. These benefits would, therefore, include funding and reimbursement for:

• Medical and rehabilitation expenses for the treatment of your injuries
• Travelling costs for medical and other appointments relating to your injuries
• Paid care and assistance for your personal care, household chores, etc.
• Your wage or salary (between 80 to 100% of your normal gross wages)
• Statutory lump sum payments at the end of your workers’ compensation journey claim

The workers compensation insurer will fund the medical and rehabilitation treatment you need until your injuries are deemed stable and stationary by your doctor. Once this occurs, your workplace accident compensation claim will cease.

Will My Employer Be Affected by My Claim for Workers Compensation?

If you are worried that your employer will be significantly affected by your workers compensation claim, don’t be. If you were not at fault for the accident in which you were injured, the compulsory third party insurer of the at-fault vehicle is required to reimburse the workers’ compensation insurer for your claim.

Work Accident Lawyers Servicing Brisbane, Gold Coast and Queensland

Even if you think that you might have contributed to the accident in some way, you may still be due compensation. Our accredited work injury compensation lawyers can advise you on the feasibility of making a journey claim. Call Accident Law on 07 5531 4444 or complete our quick contact form at the foot of every page and we’ll call you back. By contacting a lawyer specialising in work injury compensation claims, you’ll know where you stand with your accident and be better informed to take the next steps.

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