In Pennsylvania, as is the case in other states throughout the nation, workers' compensation benefits are not a foregone conclusion after one is injured in a work accident. To obtain them, a workers' compensation claim must be filed and approved by the injured worker's employer's insurer. One of the issues that could keep a worker from recovering the benefits is the determination by the insurer that the employee was not hurt while performing a task related to his or her job or that the worker did not need to be at his or her place of employment when the injury was suffered.

Recently the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Appeal Board reviewed one such case. The case involved a woman who had been hurt while being paid by the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare to care for her son during the day, in her home. No one else provided care to her son and he lived with her.

One night as she slept, her son attacked her. She was stabbed multiple times and reportedly suffered soft tissue injuries in addition to psychological ones. She claimed that post traumatic stress disorder made it impossible for her to work. Accordingly, she filed for workers' compensation benefits.

The request for the work related injury benefits was initially granted. This was due to the fact that though she was not actually engaged in an activity furtherance of her employment, she was nonetheless required to stay at the house since he lived with her and she was the only one responsible for her son's care. The Workers' Compensation Appeal Board overruled the initial finding, however, denying the benefits. Its rationale disregarded the fact that her place of employment was her home stating that at the end of her work day, she was not required to remain at the residence of the person for whom she was working.

Source: Risk & Insurance, "After-hours stabbing, throat slitting not covered for home care worker," Dec. 10, 2012