Worker given benefits in accident in employer’s vehicle
The Supreme Court of West Virginia ruled Wednesday that a worker was entitled to benefits for his injuries from a hit-and-run accident that happened while using his company car to get to a job site.
Kenneth Bailey worked for Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc. as a foreman. Kalkreuth provided him with a company vehicle, a 2015 Ford Transit that featured company signage, according to Kalkreuth Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc. v. Bailey, filed in Charleston.
In July 2019, Mr. Bailey left his home to drive to a work site in his company vehicle. En route, he was allegedly rear-ended in a hit-and-run incident with a pickup. Photographs of the accident showed significant damage to the rear passenger side of the vehicle.
A claims administrator for Kalkreuth’s insurer denied a workers compensation claim for Mr. Bailey’s numerous injuries. The Office of Judges later reversed, finding Mr. Bailey was on his way to work in a company vehicle and that the "going-and-coming rule" did not bar his claim because he was provided with a company vehicle in order to facilitate the company's business, which provides significant incidental benefits to the employer that are not common to ordinary public commuting trips. The Board of Review affirmed.
The West Virginia Supreme Court agreed, writing that the “essential evidence of record indicates that Mr. Bailey was on his way to work with a company vehicle when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident and that the physical damage caused by the collision is consistent with his incident report.”
“The Office of Judges correctly found that the preponderance of the evidence shows that Mr. Bailey suffered a personal injury in the course of and resulting from his accident,” the court wrote.
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