Deborah Dean v. Access Nurses, Inc.
Sep 29, 2009OUTCOME: Decision of the Admin. Judge reversed, recommitted
This is a case in which I wrote the brief of the employee to the Reviewing Board of the Department of Industrial Accidents. This case involved a traveling nurse who was injured while on assignment, bu ... t not while at the job site. Instead, she was injured as she left the employer-provided apartment on her way to work one morning. The administrative judge dismissed the claim based on the so called "going and coming rule." On appeal to the Reviewing Board, I argued that the going and coming rule does not apply in this case, as the employee was residing in an apartment complex at the convenience of her employer. As such, it was an expected and necessary condition of her employment. The Reviewing Board agreed with my analysis, finding that "the going and coming rule has little, if any, applicationwhen a traveling employee is injured." In this case, the "employer-provided lodging - incidental to her employment - brought the employee in contact with the risk of injury." The board therefore reversed the decision of the adminstrative judge, and recommitted the case for further findings.
