Am I Entitled To Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits If I Am Injured When Doing My Regular Job For My Employer?

This issue was addressed in Spencer v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2022).

In this case the injured employee’s position for his employer involved the construction of tires. On the date of injury, rubber was stuck in the machine the injured employee was working on and as he pulled to get it unstuck, the injured employee alleged he injured his shoulder due to this incident at work.

The employer denied the injured employee’s claim for Workers’ Compensation benefits. The employer alleged that there was not an “injury by accident” that resulted in the injured employee’s injury.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals noted that in order for an injured employee to prove that she/he sustained an “injury by accident” that there must be evidence of an unlooked for, unexpected or out of the ordinary event that resulted in the injury at work. The Court noted that anytime an activity occurs with some consistency at work, it becomes part of the employee’s normal work routine and therefore would not qualify for an “injury by accident”. In this case, there was evidence that the injured employee had to pull to get rubber unstuck from his machine 16-20% of the workday when constructing tires. Based on this evidence the North Carolina Court of Appeals determined that this activity was part of the injured employee’s normal work routine and therefore would not qualify as an “injury by accident”.

Should you have any questions about this or any of issues involving your work-related injury, please feel free to reach out to one of the Board Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialists at Cardinal Law Partners for a free consultation by calling (833) 444-4127.