If you are injured at a work party, you might not be eligible for workers’ compensation. Take, for instance, the following case. A North Carolina court affirmed the decision to deny a woman’s workers’ comp claim after she was injured at her annual holiday work party in 2013.
The woman, Melissa Lennon, suffered a fall while at her annual holiday work party. She sustained serious injuries including fractured bones and muscle tears. She filed a claim to cover her missed time from work and permanent partial disability. You might think that she has a fairly good case, seeing as she was injured while attending a work function.
However, the court decided that she was not eligible for these benefits. One of their biggest reasons was that, as far as they could tell, she was not required to attend the function — many of her coworkers didn’t attend the function at all. What’s more, the party was not funded by her employer, rather by some of the employees.
In this case, the ruling was not in Ms. Lennon’s favor; however, that’s not to say that there aren’t some circumstances in which an injury at a work party might be covered by workers’ compensation. If you were injured at a mandatory event, or if the event was sponsored by your company, it’s possible your claim won’t be denied.
Workers’ compensation is designed to protect people who are hurt on the job. However, when someone gets hurt at a work party, it can be hard to know whether he or she should file a claim with the state. Here are some things to consider:
A lot of parties are held during the holiday season, but only certain ones are mandatory.
When someone gets hurt at a work party, it’s important to understand what kind of party it was. Some events are mandatory, meaning everyone must attend. Others are optional, meaning attendance isn’t required.
Some companies pay for their own holiday parties, while others rely on employee contributions. It’s important to note that even if the employer pays for the party, it doesn’t mean that the worker will automatically receive workers’ compensation benefits. The reason being that the party wasn’t “required” by the employer.
Some people go to work-related functions just to socialize, but others do so because they need to perform a specific task. For example, a janitor may be cleaning up trash at a party, but he or she wouldn’t necessarily be performing a janitorial service.
Sometimes, people get hurt at a work party because they’re participating in a dangerous activity. For example, a construction worker might be using a ladder to hang decorations, but he or she would probably not be doing so if the ladder broke.
Sometimes, people get hurt at work parties because they’re trying to help another person. For example, a coworker might trip over a chair while helping his or her friend move furniture.
It’s important to keep in mind that injuries at work parties are different than those sustained at work. If someone has a preexisting medical condition, such as diabetes, then he or she might not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits if he or she got hurt at a work party.
It’s also important to remember that sometimes, people get hurt at parties because they’ve broken the law. For instance, a drunk driver might run into a tree after leaving a bar.
After considering all these factors, it’s time to decide whether or not to file a workers’ compensation claim. If you think you’re entitled to benefits, talk to a lawyer about your options. This way, you can make sure that you don’t miss out on the benefits that you deserve.
At Oxner + Permar, we’re always excited to support a good cause. We like to do our part to give back to the community when we have a chance. I want to take this opportunity to tell you about one of the groups we work with, to try to get the word out, and bring some attention to a good cause.
Rock and Wrap It Up is a very impressive organization that we partner with. They take unused food from schools and distribute it to the hungry.
More than 50% of children in Guilford County are on free or reduced-cost lunch programs. This means all too often these children can’t afford to bring snacks for later on in their day. Rock and Wrap It Up saves unused packaged items from school breakfast so that these children can have them later in the day. Food that would otherwise be thrown away gets eaten, and children who would otherwise go hungry get to eat. It’s a win-win!
As part of a 25-year-old nonprofit, Rock and Wrap It Up works hard to discover and vet agencies who are able to recover wholesale food and redirect it to those in need rather than sending it to landfills.
They are diligent about following the USDA and Health Department of North Carolina’s guidelines to ensure that the food is safe and stored under the correct conditions in order for it to be passed along to those in need. The organization also hosts the School Wrap program, which encourages students to get involved with saving food and sending it to those in need. This program has served more than 100,000 meals.
At Oxner + Permar, we’re always looking for opportunities to give back to the community. So this month we thought we’d spotlight a couple of the charities that we support. They’re wonderful causes, very deserving of attention.
The first charity we’re highlighting is NC MedAssist. NC MedAssist is a great program devoted to helping North Carolinians be able to afford the medical care that they need. Even with health insurance, certain medical treatments and medicines can be very expensive. That’s why NC MedAssist is devoted to ensuring that everyone has access to the care that they need.
They believe that no one should have to choose between purchasing food or affording medication. One way they help is through their Free Pharmacy Program. The current eligibility requirements for this program are:
NC MedAssist also has a senior care program that works to provide alternate options for seniors whose Medicare Part D prescription benefits run out during the year.
Their Over the Counter (OTC) Medicine Program provides free OTC medicines to families in need — it’s essentially like a food bank but for medicine!
To find out more about any of these programs or about how you can contribute, visit the NC MediAssist website. This is a really great program that’s close to our hearts. We sponsor one of their giveaway days every year, and we encourage you to get involved if you’re able!
At Oxner + Permar, we’re devoted to ensuring our clients receive the best service possible. To us, this means that you get our full time and attention. We’re not the kind of attorneys who make you wait a week before we get back to you. We take your calls, listen to your questions and concerns, and do our very best to keep you informed during every step of your workers’ compensation claim.
Your time is valuable to us, and we know that dealing with a workers’ comp claim can be stressful. We don’t want our clients anxiously waiting for an attorney to make time to answers to their questions. That’s why, if you call our office, and don’t get a call back by the end of the day, lunch is on us! We’ll send you a gift card in the mail.
In the off chance that we’re unable to return your call on the same day you reach out to us, we’ll make it up to you! We don’t want you to feel like your time isn’t valued, or that you’re just one of many clients in our system. All of our clients are important to us. Every one of our attorneys takes great care with each case they take on.
I recently had a client ask me, “What’s so special about Board Certified attorneys? Aren’t all attorneys board certified?” Interestingly enough, not all attorneys are Board Certified. Board Certification has nothing to do with certification to become an attorney. It is, in fact, an additional achievement that an attorney can strive for.
In order to become Board Certified, an attorney has to have a certain amount of experience. They have to have been practicing for at least five years in the area that they’re practicing. For instance, you wouldn’t be considered if you’d spent four years practicing family law and only one year practicing workers’ compensation. After they meet their experience requirements, they can apply to become board certified.
Their work will be reviewed extensively, and finally, they will have to take a day-long written examination. The idea behind Board Certification is continued education. The attorney must be committed to proving that they’re willing to continue learning and studying their field.
Attorneys who obtain Board Certification have to renew their certification every 5 years. This ensures that even once becoming Board Certified, an attorney’s education will continue.
So when you hire a Board Certified Workers’ Compensation specialist, you know you’re hiring someone who has been thoroughly vetted and is well educated in their field. You can bet that attorney is willing to work hard and tirelessly to make sure that your case is given the proper attention, and that a fair outcome is obtained. At Oxner + Permar, we’re proud to say that we have seven Board Certified attorneys on our team.
