Was Risk Management Company on Hook for Worker who Tripped on Nearby Sidewalk?

What Do You Think?

If an employee gets hurt on the way to work, or on the way home, the injury is generally not compensable.

But what happens when the employee is hurt on the sidewalk beside her employer’s premises? A case involving an employee for a risk management company who tripped on the way from the parking garage to her worksite highlights some of the factors judges consider.

The employee was walking on a sidewalk adjacent to her employer’s premises, but across the street and one block away from her worksite, when she fell, injuring herself. The city's code required the employer to maintain the sidewalks abutting its premises in a reasonably safe condition.

As to the garage, it was not the only place she could have parked. Her employer did not require her to park there and she did not have a dedicated parking space. She paid a daily parking fee to use the facility.

The workers’ compensation board denied the claim, finding that the injury didn’t occur in the course and scope of employment. The employee appealed.

For an injury to be compensable under the Workers' Compensation Law, it must arise out of and in the course of employment. 

Although an employee’s injury sustained while traveling to or from work is usually not compensable, a gray area arises when the accident occurs near the place of employment. In that situation, the resulting injury is compensable if there was:

(1) A special hazard at the particular off-premises point; and

(2) A close association of the access route with the premises.

Was the claimant’s injury compensable?

A. Yes. She was using the sidewalk to access her worksite.

B. No. There was no special hazard at the stop where she tripped, and the sidewalk was open to the public.

If you selected B, you agreed with the court in Ericson v. FOJP Service Corporation, No. CV-24-0499 (N.Y. App. Div. 10/09/25), which held that the accident did not occur in the course and scope of employment.

Looking for the full text of this case? Hit up Simply Research.

For an accident that occurs while travelling to or from work to be compensable, it must have essentially happened as a risk of employment. But that was not the case here.

The court pointed out that although the employee used the employer's parking garage, she was free to utilize other available parking locations. Also, the garage was open to the general public, she was not assigned a particular space there, and she paid the daily rate for using it.

Further, there was no evidence that there was a special hazard where the employee fell or she was accessing her worksite via an entrance which the general public also used.

“Indeed, the unidentified defect in the sidewalk that purportedly caused claimant's injuries was a risk shared by anyone who used the sidewalk,” the court said.

Finally, the fact that the city required the employer to take care of the sidewalk in front of its premises, such as by shoveling snow there, didn’t demonstrate that the employer controlled the sidewalk or that it served a business purpose. In addition, it did not relieve the employer from her obligation to show that  her injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment.

The court affirmed the workers’ compensation board’s denial of the claim.

Share This Article: