The case the court was asked to rule upon involved a man who had been employed as a driver technician, whose responsibilities included delivering furniture and medical equipment to locations found in several states including Pennsylvania. The man quit that job when his supervisor refused to accommodate his request that some stops be removed from his daily itinerary. The driver sought to have those stops removed because he had been on-call the previous weekend and was tired as a result of that work.

Unwilling to work under those conditions, the driver quit on the spot.

As the driver was retrieving his personal belongings, with his manager, who directed him to, as an escort, he tripped on a pallet jack. In the course of the fall he injured his left side. After being told several days later that he could not get a physician referral from his former employer since he no longer worked there, the driver first filed a civil lawsuit against his former employer. This was later dropped and he sought workers' compensation.

The matter worked its way throughout the workers' compensation system with differing outcomes at the various stated of appeal. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's three-judge panel determined that the man was entitled to be the benefits since at the time of the incident he was doing something under the direction of his employer, upon the employer's premises.

It can be discouraging when a workers' comp claim is initially denied. Appealing a denial of worker' compensation benefits as this man did, can be worthwhile however. Working with a lawyer who handles such matters is a great place to start.

Source: Business Insurance, "Injured worker who had just quit wins appeal for workers comp," Sheena Harrison, Aug. 12, 2014

The case the court was asked to rule upon involved a man who had been employed as a driver technician, whose responsibilities included delivering furniture and medical equipment to locations found in several states including Pennsylvania. The man quit that job when his supervisor refused to accommodate his request that some stops be removed from his daily itinerary. The driver sought to have those stops removed because he had been on-call the previous weekend and was tired as a result of that work.

Unwilling to work under those conditions, the driver quit on the spot.

As the driver was retrieving his personal belongings, with his manager, who directed him to, as an escort, he tripped on a pallet jack. In the course of the fall he injured his left side. After being told several days later that he could not get a physician referral from his former employer since he no longer worked there, the driver first filed a civil lawsuit against his former employer. This was later dropped and he sought workers' compensation.

The matter worked its way throughout the workers' compensation system with differing outcomes at the various stated of appeal. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's three-judge panel determined that the man was entitled to be the benefits since at the time of the incident he was doing something under the direction of his employer, upon the employer's premises.

It can be discouraging when a workers' comp claim is initially denied. Appealing a denial of worker' compensation benefits as this man did, can be worthwhile however. Working with a lawyer who handles such matters is a great place to start.

Source: Business Insurance, "Injured worker who had just quit wins appeal for workers comp," Sheena Harrison, Aug. 12, 2014