Chuites v. Swift Transportation

Outcome: Prevailed on behalf of claimant

Description: Lost wages and medical bills were awarded to my client, plus attendant care benefits to her husband. The two were a team as over the road drivers. The wife sustained what she believed to be a spider bite while sleeping in the truck's cabin. Because she was not working at the time, and could not easily identify the cause of her injury, the claim was denied. The bite was rather serious, requiring her to be hospitalized in Colorado. Their employer terminated them when they refused to return to work due her being hospitalized. There is an exception in worker's compensation law for people who are considered traveling employees. If someone meets the criteria necessary to be considered a traveling employee, they are deemed to be in the continous furtherance of the employer's business. There are exceptions, but sleeping in order to take the next shift driving, is not a deviation from the scope of my client's employment substantial enough to prohibit her entitlement to benefits.