Katherine G. Pecora, an attorney in the firm’s Pittsburgh office, successfully obtained denial and dismissal of a Claimant’s workers’ compensation Claim Petition based on an asserted course and scope of employment defense. 

Specifically, Claimant argued that he was a traveling employee and, therefore, the motor vehicle accident that he was in with resulting injuries that occurred in Pennsylvania while traveling back to the Employer’s job site in Rhode Island constituted a work injury under the Act.  The Defendants successfully argued that there was no work injury as Claimant was not a traveling employee and had a fixed place of employment.  Therefore, the accident that occurred during his commute to work was outside the course and scope of his employment.

A critical issue in the case was whether or not Claimant was paid in any way by the Employer for travel time, as the Claimant claimed.  The Defendants argued and ultimately established through the presentation of the Employer’s pay records and Employer witness testimony that the Claimant was not in fact, paid for any travel time.  Ultimately, the Workers’ Compensation Judge found the evidence presented by the Defendants to be credible and found that the Claimant’s claims and testimony were not credible and denied and dismissed Claimant’s Claim Petition.

If you have any questions about this case, please contact Katherine Pecora at kpecora@c-wlaw.com or (412) 563-2500.