A woman who sustained injuries during a pre-employment physical examination is not eligible for workers compensation benefits, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled.

Michelle Rahla applied for a job at The Medical Center at Bowling Green, Kentucky, as a registration clerk, court records show.

After two in-person interviews, she received a written offer for the position contingent on passing a physical examination and a substance-abuse screen, according to records.

During the exam on Feb, 3, 2012, Ms. Rahla was asked to perform a functional capacity evaluation, lifting weights between 10 and 61 pounds, to determine if she could carry out the physical demands of the position, records show.

Ms. Rahla says she felt pain in her neck while lifting a heavy weight, but she didn't inform the person administering the examination, according to records.

She was officially hired after passing both the physical examination and the substance-abuse screening, records show.

Ms. Rahla reported for her first day of work about three weeks later, according to records. Soon after, she underwent neck surgery to correct the injury she allegedly sustained during the physical examination.

She missed a “considerable amount of work” while recovering from the surgery and, as a result, The Medical Center terminated her employment, records show.

The center denied her claim for workers comp benefits since she wasn't an employee at the time of the injury, and an administrative law judge agreed on March 21, 2013, according to records.

Ms. Rahla appealed to the Kentucky Workers' Compensation Board, which affirmed the judge's ruling. The Kentucky Court of Appeals on April 11, 2014, also ruled that Ms. Rahla was not a Medical Center employee during her physical examination.

Ms. Rahla then appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which on Thursday unanimously affirmed the appellate court's ruling, noting that “nothing in the record suggests Rahla was employed by the Medical Center when she participated in the physical examination.”

“We envision no scenario where Rahla could possibly expect payment for the physical examination, even absent the Medical Center's clear statement that passing the physical is prerequisite to official employment,” according to the state Supreme Court's ruling. “In fact, had she failed the physical examination and the Medical Center declined her employment, we doubt this claim would even exist.”