by Jennifer M. Smith, Esq.

An employee slips and injures herself while walking on the sidewalk in the office complex where she works. She just finished lunch and was on her way back to work when she fell. The company she works for is the primary tenant in the office complex, however there are other small businesses who occupy space in the complex as well. Is this a compensable claim?

The answer can be a bit tricky. For purposes of the Workers’ Compensation Act, a compensable injury must arise out of and in the course of employment. Although accidents occurring while an employee is traveling to and from work are typically not included (i.e. if the employee is in a car accident at the traffic light just before the employer’s building / parking lot), the period or course of employment generally includes a reasonable time for going to and coming from the place of work while on the employer’s premises. This is known as the Ingress and Egress Rule. But what is considered the “employer’s premises?” For the Ingress and Egress Rule, as well as the Parking Lot Rule, “employer’s premises” is generally classified as property which is owned, controlled or maintained by the employer. As the Court of Appeals indicated inHarrison v. Winn Dixie, 247 Ga.App. 6 (2000), where an employee is going to and from parking facilities provided by the employer, the Ingress and Egress rule is applicable. The Parking Lot Rule is applicable when an employee is injured in, or going to and from, a parking lot which is owned or maintained by the employer.

Whether the area is owned maintained or controlled by the employer may or may not be easy to determine. For instance, does the maintenance company contact the employer when conditions are icy and salt needs to be put down in the parking lot and on the sidewalks? Is the employer the one leasing office space to the other tenants and therefore maintains the common areas? These are the types of questions to ask to determine whether a parking lot, sidewalk or common area is considered the “employer’s premises.” And even if the employer does not own, maintain or control the area in question, the area may still be considered the “employer’s premises” depending on the circumstances. In the above example, if the employer is merely a tenant and does not own, control or maintain the sidewalk, the next question would be whether the portion of the sidewalk the employee slipped on leads exclusively to the designated entryway for employer. If so, the sidewalk would likely be considered “on the employer’s premises” and the claim would be compensable.

Although the Court has provided guidance with both the Ingress and Egress Rule and the Parking Lot Rule, many claims regarding injuries coming to and going from work on property leading up to or near the employer are not clear cut and will need the specific circumstances evaluated to determine compensability. For questions concerning this or any other workers’ compensation matter, please contact your Ken David & Associates attorney.