Airport worker due comp benefits for amputated leg
Reprints
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Wednesday affirmed a state Workers Compensation Appeals Board ruling that found a woman’s amputation to be compensable even though she was not engaged in a work activity at the time of her injury.
According to court documents, the woman was working as a luggage cart driver at the Pittsburgh International Airport on Sept. 2, 2014 when her menstrual period began during her shift. She contacted her mother to deliver money and feminine hygiene products. En route in an airport vehicle to meet her mother at a separate terminal, the woman overturned the vehicle, sustaining an injury that caused her to eventually lose her leg.
Her employer denied comp benefits, arguing that the injury was not in the scope of her employment and providing testimony from co-workers who stated that one had offered to lend her money, that there were feminine product available at work, and that she had been driving her vehicle too fast.
In January 2015, an appeals board awarded her comp benefits, claiming that she would not be able to perform her job without feminine products. According to documents, the board determined that “temporary departure from performing work to administer to her personal needs did not take her out of the course of her employment.”
A three-panel judge, citing case studies, found that the employer failed to provide adequate legal grounds for not paying workers compensation.
Read Next
-
Injured undocumented worker due comp benefits
A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed an insurer’s request to forgo payment of workers compensation benefits for an undocumented landscaper’s injury.
Related Stories
Most Read in Workers Comp
-
1. Zurich ordered to pay $80 million in suit over employee incentives
-
3. Marsh McLennan sees rate hikes slowing; reports revenue growth
-
4. Travelers sees rate hikes continue; Q1 profit up over 15%
-
5. DeSantis signs legislation prohibiting local workplace heat protections
-
6. AI not a ‘substitute,’ but can benefit insurance industry: Experts
