[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/can-you-get-workers-compensation-if-youre-hurt-during-a-break\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/can-you-get-workers-compensation-if-youre-hurt-during-a-break\/","headline":"Can You Get Workers\u2019 Compensation If You\u2019re Hurt During A Break?","name":"Can You Get Workers\u2019 Compensation If You\u2019re Hurt During A Break?","description":"An employee who is injured while on a scheduled break from work in Kentucky is likely to be denied workers\u2019 compensation benefits. But workers\u2019 comp law is complicated. Your eligibility for benefits should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. At\u00a0Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, we encourage you to contact one of our knowledgeable workers\u2019 compensation […]","datePublished":"2023-09-13","dateModified":"2025-04-11","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/author\/geraldvanoverjr\/#Person","name":"Gerald Vanover Jr","url":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/author\/geraldvanoverjr\/","identifier":12,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4e11f2c59f2b0dee3ed003fc217eba163c080079070f1746090ec1887f10863?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4e11f2c59f2b0dee3ed003fc217eba163c080079070f1746090ec1887f10863?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/18-mcy-logo-blue.png","url":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/18-mcy-logo-blue.png","width":300,"height":300}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Getting-hurt-during-a-break.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Getting-hurt-during-a-break.jpeg","height":720,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/can-you-get-workers-compensation-if-youre-hurt-during-a-break\/","about":["Workers' Comp"],"wordCount":1075,"articleBody":"An employee who is injured while on a scheduled break from work in Kentucky is likely to be denied workers\u2019 compensation benefits. But workers\u2019 comp law is complicated. Your eligibility for benefits should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.At\u00a0Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, we encourage you to contact one of our knowledgeable workers\u2019 compensation lawyers if you have sustained a workplace injury. We have recovered more than $400 million in workers\u2019 compensation benefits for hardworking Kentuckians. We would like to assist you, too, if possible. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation assessment of your work injury claim. If there\u2019s a path forward, we\u2019ll\u00a0fight for workers\u2019 comp benefits for you.Kentucky Court Rules on Break-Related InjuriesKentucky courts have ruled that an employee hurt while on break isn\u2019t entitled to workers\u2019 compensation benefits. A 2014 Kentucky Supreme Court decision was based in part on Larson\u2019s Workers\u2019 Compensation Law, which is considered the premier source for analysis of workers\u2019 compensation law. It is used by state workers\u2019 comp commissions across the country.Andrea Schrecker, an employee of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage in Owensboro, Kentucky, was entitled to an unpaid daily lunch break. One day, she worked through lunch because a co-worker was absent. When she left for lunch later, she was hit by a car while crossing the street at a point between two intersections where there was no crosswalk, according to the Court.Schrecker sustained several injuries and complained of symptoms related to a traumatic brain injury but was treated at the scene and returned to work. Eventually, she was terminated because, she said, she could no longer adequately perform her job duties following her injury.U.S. Bank appealed two prior approvals of Schrecker\u2019s workers\u2019 comp claim to the Kentucky Supreme Court. The bank argued that Schrecker was not within the course and scope of her employment when she was injured because she wasn\u2019t on the bank\u2019s premises when injured, she had temporarily left her job, and she took an unreasonable risk by crossing the street between intersections.In a 5-2 decision, the Court ruled that Schrecker was not within the course and scope of her employment when she was injured and, therefore, she wasn\u2019t entitled to workers\u2019 comp benefits.Larson\u2019s Actual and Incidental Job Duties and Workers\u2019 CompIn US Bank Home Mortgage v. Schrecker, 455 S.W.3d 382 (Ky. 2014), the Court\u2019s majority quoted Larson\u2019s Workers\u2019 Compensation Law, which says employment-related activities are divided into two groups:Operating acts, or direct performance of the precise tasks assigned\u00a0to the employeeIncidental acts, such as seeking personal comfort [lunch, bathroom breaks].The Court said that according to\u00a0Larson, the performance of job duties is always within the course of employment. However, incidental activities are not within the course of employment. \u201cAs to incidental acts and situations, including … personal comfort, … we find that a single test will also suffice: they are outside the course of employment if they are expressly or impliedly forbidden,\u201d\u00a0Larson says.Adopting that argument, the majority of the Court held that Schrecker\u2019s claim should be denied because she undertook a route to seek personal comfort [crossing between intersections] that exposed her to a hazard completely removed from normal going and coming activity and which was expressly prohibited by the Commonwealth and impliedly prohibited by U.S. Bank.Going and Coming Workplace InjuriesThe going-and-coming rule has been long established in Kentucky workers\u2019 compensation law. The general rule is that, in the absence of special circumstances, an employee injured while going to or coming from work is not eligible for workers\u2019 comp benefits. The theory for excluding workers\u2019 compensation coverage to employees while they commute to work is that they are not performing any service for their employer, and the risk they are exposed to is the same as for any member of the general public.Exceptions exist that an injury sustained while going and coming to work would be considered connected to work duties. They include the following:On-premises injury: Injuries that occur while on the employer\u2019s property \u2013 the place of employment \u2013 are covered, regardless of whether the employee is on the way to work or leaving or on break. The employee\u2019s presence there arises out of their employment.Company-directed travel: If the job requires an employee to travel, such as between company locations, between a company office and a client\u2019s location, an accident that occurs en route should be covered.Injury while performing some service of benefit to the employer: An employee who met with a client and discussed business, read a work-related report, or discussed work activities with a supervisor while on break should be covered if injured during that break. Work-related discussions with peer co-workers during a break would be less likely to be considered part of the course of employment.Injury causally related to a work-connected event: An injury that occurred while attending an employer-sponsored event or activity, whether on or away from company premises, should be covered.In U.S. Bank, the Court said cases involving injuries that occur on employee breaks must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.The factors to consider include:Whether the employee is paid during the breakThe length of the breakThe extent to which the employer limits the employee\u2019s activities during the breakHow far from the employer\u2019s premises the employee was when injuredWhether the hazard encountered by the employee flowed from employment or was part of normal going and coming activitiesWhether the employer prohibited the employee\u2019s activity.Consult An Experienced Workers\u2019 Comp Attorney in KentuckyIf you are employed in Kentucky, the workers\u2019 compensation attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer\u00a0can review the circumstances of an injury you suffered during a work break and your eligibility to pursue workers\u2019 compensation benefits. Since Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer was founded, our mission has been to stand up for Kentuckians like you who have been injured and need a trusted advocate to fight for their best interests. Let us help you demand the maximum workers\u2019 comp benefit available to you under Kentucky law.Our lawyers are known for having the Kentucky Courage\u2122 to stand up to insurance companies and demand justice for our clients. Contact us to set up your FREE consultation and help you negotiate with your employer and get the full compensation you are entitled to."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can You Get Workers\u2019 Compensation If You\u2019re Hurt During A Break?","item":"https:\/\/www.kentuckycourage.com\/blog\/can-you-get-workers-compensation-if-youre-hurt-during-a-break\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]