Can I Get Workers’ Comp While Working From Home?

Yes. Workers’ compensation insurance applies when you are injured in the “course and scope of your employment.” As long as your injury is work-related, you should be eligible for workers’ comp benefits. When you are working from home, however, you would need to show how your injury was work-related in order to have a successful claim.

What Is Work-Related?

Outside of remote work, employers and insurers may cover employees for injuries that occur during a break or occur outside the office, depending on the facts. If an employee is injured onsite during their lunch break, for example, they may be eligible for workers’ comp benefits if they can show that they were still acting in the course and scope of their employment. For example, if they were getting caught up on some paperwork while eating lunch. Similarly, an employee who is injured while running a work-related errand, such as taking mail to the post office, would also be eligible for workers’ comp.

In both situations, the employee is injured while doing something that benefits their employer.

If you’re trying to determine if your injury was work-related or not, you can ask yourself the following questions:

• Was your employer benefiting from your actions when the injury occurred?
• Did your employer require you to engage in the injury-causing activity?
• Did your employer approve of your off-site activity?

With these questions in mind, you may find that you are eligible for workers’ comp – no matter where you were working at the time of your injury.

Special Considerations for Working From Home

When you work from home you may be exposed to hazards you would not face at the workplace such as children’s toys left on the floor or the family dog getting in the way – both of which can be tripping hazards.

Additionally, many people who work from home mix work time with personal business. Workers’ comp might cover short detours (physical departures from work), such as bathroom breaks, but the insurance may not cover a frolic (or extended detour), like taking an extended break. The facts and circumstances of your accident are crucial to determining whether an accident that occurs at home may be a compensable work-injury.

If you were injured while working from home, you can file a workers’ comp claim, and our attorneys can help you answer the appropriate questions, gather any evidence that may be available, and sort through the facts that will be critical to your claim.

For help with workers’ comp, please contact Powers & Caccavale today. We have more than 35 years of experience and insight, and we are ready to work hard on your behalf.

Call us at (617) 379-0016 or contact us online to speak with an attorney now.