I Was Injured Commuting to or From Work. Am I Covered Under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act?

The general rules is, you will not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits if you were commuting to or from work at the time you were injured; however, there are a few exceptions to this rule.

In Minnesota, the general rule is that workers’ compensation benefits are available to employees who sustain injuries “while engaged in, on, or about the premises where the employee’s services require the employee’s presence as a part of that service at the time of the injury and during the hours of that service.”  Minn. Stat. § 176.011, subd. 16.

One exception to what is often referred to as the “coming and going” rule is the responsibility of the employer to provide its employees with a safe ingress to or egress from the employment premises. To fall within this exception, an employee must show that the injured occurred within the following criteria:

1) Before or after the workday
2) On an area that is considered a party of the employer’s premises
3) Within a customary route of ingress and egress

For example, if an employee falls, and is injured due to snow and ice the employer’s parking lot a few minutes after clocking out, this injury would likely be compensable. If the same injury occurred on the state-owned sidewalk in front of the employer’s premises, this injury would likely not be compensable.

One other factor that courts take into consideration is whether the employee was “engaged in activity reasonably incidental to her employment” at the time of the injury. For example, if a bartender clocks out but chooses to “hang out” at the bar, have drinks and socialize for an hour before leaving and sustaining an injury in the employer’s parking lot, this would not be a compensable injury because the employee was no longer engaged in an activity reasonably incidental to his or her employment.

The second exception to the “coming and going” rule is employer-furnished transportation. When the employer regularly furnishes transportation to employees to and from the place of employment, and the employee is injured during transport, the employee’s injury is compensable under Minnesota workers’ compensation laws.

The third exception to the “coming and going” rule is travel between two work places. One of these work sites could be the employee’s home if a portion of the employee’s work is performed at home. Therefore, situations may arise in which an injury that occurs during the trip between the employee’s home and his employer’s premises falls within the scope of workers’ compensation coverage. The most important factor when analyzing this exception is whether the employee’s conduct at the time he or she sustained an injury was connected with the demands or obligations of his or her employment.

Lastly, if the employment requires travel, injuries sustained by the employee may be compensable if the injury occurs in the course of a business trip. The portion of this exception that is often the subject litigation is: “What does it mean to be in the course of a business trip?” To prove an employee was in the course of a business trip, the employee must show that the trip furthered the employer’s interest, the employee received complete or partial reimbursement for travel expenses or the employee received wages for the time spent traveling. However, if the employee deviates from the employer’s business during the course of the trip and engages in a “personal mission,” workers’ compensation benefits can be denied. An example of a personal mission is visiting a romantic partner or watching the football game at a bar for recreational purposes.

Don’t wait to get an attorney involved if you have a Minnesota workers’ compensation claim. As this article illustrates, this area of the law is nuanced and complex. The attorneys at Meuser Law Office, P.A. will help ensure that you receive all the benefits to which you’re entitled. Contact Meuser Law Office, P.A. for a free no-obligation consultation and claim evaluation. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Ashley Biermann
More posts by Ashley

Mounted Police Officers and Workers’ Compensation Injuries

In the state of Minnesota, the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth maintain mounted patrol units. The Minnesota Sheriff’s Mounted Posse Association (MSMPA) is comprised of volunteer and reserve units of mounted deputy sheriffs across the state who assist the County Sheriff whenever appropriate. Mounted patrol units help with crowd control, crime control, search and rescue, and community outreach. It is estimated that one mounted police officer has the effect of ten officers on foot. Horses provide size, weight, and every officer is 10 feet tall on horseback, enhancing visibility. Mounted police officers can travel quickly to places that squad cars cannot travel.

Unfortunately, while performing crowd control duties on horseback can increase safety for officers and the public, horseback riding is still a dangerous activity. Although the horses used in mounted patrol units are chosen for their temperament and suitability for the job, horses are still animals who can react unpredictably in unknown situations. Even the sweetest most docile horse can trip, fall to the ground and inadvertently crush a rider.

To ensure safety, officers should follow certain precautions:

• Safety equipment. Wearing a helmet can prevent very serious head injuries. There’s no excuse for not wearing a helmet while riding.
• Wearing a helmet when working with horses while on the ground is also important. Loading and unloading horses into a trailer can be a very dangerous situation. While horses in the mounted patrol unit may be loaded and un-loaded multiple times a week, working with a 1,100-pound animal in a small space is hazardous. Turning out a horse at night back into the herd can also be dangerous. Some horses like other horses better than others and if you turn out into a group of horses standing near the gate and another horse bites the horse you are working with he may kick out and may even hurt you.
• Wearing a helmet while walking out to the pasture to catch a horse is also a smart precautionary measure. Sometimes horses may gather around you and get pushy, hoping the human has a treat or looking for attention. A horse could nip another horse and then someone could kick out or knock you down out in the field. Horses can strike out with their front or back hooves.
• Wear proper footwear around horses. Getting stepped on in boots versus flip flops is an entirely different experience.
• Don’t stand directly behind a horse. Talk to the horse when you are working with him or her to let the horse know where you are standing and to prevent startling the horse.
• Don’t loop a lead line, reins, or lunge lines around your hands. If the horse runs away you could become caught and dragged.
• Properly lead a horse into its stall. When returning a horse to its stall don’t just unclip the lead line from his halter, lead the animal into the stall, walk around the stall, turn him to face the stall door and then back out. This prevents you from getting crushed or kicked in a confined space.
• Tack and groom in the same way each time. This creates a pattern so it is less likely a crucial step is forgotten. Check and re-check girth tightness before you mount. Girths should be tightened slowly and each time the horse should be walked around before moving up an additional hole.

If you sustain an injury, even one which may seem minor at the time, it is important to report the injury to your supervisor. Waiting a few days after what seemed to be a sprain or strain and then reporting the injury may give the workers’ compensation insurance carrier an excuse to deny your claim.

Contact an attorney early in the process. At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we field calls from many police officers and deputy sheriffs injured in the line of duty who may just need a few questions answered. Call us today at 877-746-5680 for a free no-obligation consultation with an experienced Minnesota personal injury, PERA disability, and workers' compensation attorney.

For more information on mounted patrol units in Minnesota check out the following websites:

• MSMPA www.mnmountedposseassn.com/home.html
• St. Paul www.stpaulmountedpolice.org/index.htm
• Minneapolis www.minneapolismountedpolicefoundation.org/home.html
• Duluth www.facebook.com/DPDMOUNTEDPATROL

by Mary Beth
More posts by Mary Beth

Will I Be Offered a Settlement on My Workers’ Compensation Case?

Individuals who suffer a work injury in Minnesota often wonder if or when they will receive a settlement. In fact, there are “work comp settlement calculators” on the Internet that mislead people into thinking that punching a few numbers into a form will give them a settlement estimate.

In Minnesota workers’ compensation is a “pay as you go” system, meaning that work comp benefits are paid on an ongoing basis, as long as you remain entitled to benefits. There is no such thing as an automatic “settlement” for your injuries.

That being said, settlement is a very common practice in Minnesota workers’ compensation cases, particularly where:

• There is a dispute over benefits
• The person will be eligible for ongoing work comp benefits for an extended period of time

An experienced Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney can help you decide whether a settlement of your case is in your best interest. With the guidance of an attorney, whether or not to settle your case is ultimately your decision. If you are considering settlement of your workers’ compensation case, you and your attorney will typically discuss the settlement process, which includes:

• Making a settlement demand
• Settlement negotiations
• Strengths and weaknesses of your case
• Approximate settlement value of your case

When calculating the settlement value of a Minnesota workers’ compensation case, there are several factors that are taken into consideration, including past owed wage loss, future estimated wage loss, rehabilitation and/or retraining benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, and outstanding medical expenses. Once the attorney has calculated a settlement demand, with client authorization to do so, the attorney will then send that demand to the defense attorney or the insurance adjuster. From there the defense attorney or adjuster will respond with an offer, and the parties negotiate back and forth, ultimately arriving at a number that is acceptable to both sides.

Beyond the numbers in a Minnesota workers’ compensation case, your lawyer will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your case, and he or she will give you recommendations of the likelihood of success. The relative strength of a given case plays a huge role in the settlement value of the case. For example, if there is a case where the past and future wage loss is potentially worth $200,000, but the client only has a 25% chance of succeeding at trial, the case is worth far less than the potential past and future monetary value of the case.

Minnesota workers’ compensation settlement negotiations can take a variety of forms. Often, negotiating is an informal process of phone calls or emails back and forth. At times settlement discussions occur at a Settlement Conference at the Office of Administrative Hearings, and frequently, Meuser Law Office, P.A. utilizes a form of alternative dispute resolution called mediation in negotiating on a case. A mediation involves the services of an individual who is a third-party neutral to facilitate settlement discussions between the injured worker and the employer/insurer.

In addition to a dollar figure, the parties will also need to reach an agreement as to terms of the settlement. Is it a “to-date” settlement, meaning that the settlement only pertains to past owed benefits? Or is it on a full, final, complete basis, meaning that the settlement is for past and future benefits? Are future medical expenses open or closed – in other words, is the workers’ compensation insurer responsible for future medical expenses relative to the work injury? Who is responsible for paying any outstanding medical expenses or third party reimbursement claims, such as unemployment or short/long-term disability, the injured worker or the employer/insurer? These are all issues that need to be worked out in addition to the settlement amount.

Once you have reached a settlement on your workers’ compensation case, it typically takes a few weeks before things are finalized. You will ultimately sign a Stipulation for Settlement, which is a contract between you and the employer and their workers’ compensation insurer setting forth the terms of the settlement. Depending on the complexity of the case, it is not uncommon that it can take several weeks for this paperwork to be finalized. After the paperwork is signed by both sides, it is submitted to the Office of Administrative Hearings for approval. Once a judge has reviewed and signed off on the settlement, the Court will issue an Award on Stipulation, which is simply a Court Order approving the settlement. The workers’ compensation insurer has 14 days from the date of the Award on Stipulation to issue payment.

If you would like to discuss potential settlement of your Minnesota workers’ compensation case, contact Meuser Law Office, P.A. to schedule a free, no-obligation legal consultation. Our knowledgeable attorneys will help you understand the often-confusing Minnesota work comp law and ensure you receive the full benefits to which you are entitled. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Jen Yackley
More posts by Jen

FAQs: Timing of Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Payments

At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we are committed to ensuring our clients are kept informed during the Minnesota workers’ compensation claim process and they know what to expect each step of the way. The process can be complex and confusing with many questions along the way. Here are some of the frequently asked questions:

How long does the workers’ compensation insurer have to pay my medical bill?

This is a question the attorneys at Meuser Law Office, P.A. are asked often. The answer is, it depends.

Per Minnesota Statute, the insurer must make payment for your medical bills within 30 days of receiving the bill. Notably, the thirty-day time period does not start to run until the insurer actually receives the medical bill. The relevant date is not the date of service for the appointment.

If the insurer choses to deny a bill, or a portion of a bill, the insurer must provide the employee and the health care provider with written notification of the denial, providing the basis for the denial. The denial must be issued 30 days from the insurer’s receipt of the bill.

When is my wage loss payment considered “late”?

Under Minnesota workers’ compensation law, the insurer must admit or deny liability for a workers’ compensation claim within 14 days of the employer receiving notice of the injury. Wage loss benefits begin three days after an injury occurs, but if your injury takes you out of work for more than ten days, wage loss will be due from the date your disability began (i.e., you will receive compensation for the first three days you missed work). If an insurer does not admit or deny liability within this prescribed period or start your wage loss benefits within 14 days, the insurer is at risk for a penalty.

Once wage loss benefits start, an employee is paid every week or every other week, depending on how frequently the employee was paid when he or she was working. Penalties are available if the employee can provide proof that more than three benefits payments were issued more than three business days late. Unfortunately, there is no penalty for late payments unless it occurs more than three times and each of these late payments were more than three business days late. In terms of “proof,” the following is sufficient to prove you are entitled to an employer-paid penalty:

• A copy of your compensation check stubs (temporary total disability benefits); or
• Documentation of the date on which the wage loss documentation was sent to the insurer (temporary partial disability).

The amount of the penalty is determined by the length of the delay and the amount of the benefits delayed. The amount of the penalty ranges between six and thirty percent of the amount delayed, and the percentage is based upon the length of time that the payment is delayed.

Can I request direct deposit (i.e., electronic funds transfer)?

One way to avoid late payments is to request direct deposit in lieu of paper checks for your weekly or biweekly workers’ compensation payments. One benefit of direct deposit is that you do not have to worry about national holidays or inclement weather slowing down the mail. In addition, you will be able to easily track and monitor the timing and amount of your payments.

The Minnesota State Legislature requires that employers set up direct deposit (or an electronic funds transfer) within 30 days of the employee making the request. If the employer-insurer does not have the electronic funds transfer system established, the employer-insurer must make efforts to establish the electronic funds transfer arrangement within 14 days of the employee’s request, and the insurer must make payment within 30 days of the request being fulfilled. 


Contact Meuser Law Office, P.A. for a free, no-obligation case evaluation and consultation. If you have questions regarding a Minnesota workers’ compensation insurer’s late payment of your medical or wage loss benefits, the attorneys at Meuser Law Office, P.A. will take the time to explain the laws that apply to your case and will make recommendations about how to proceed. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Ashley Biermann
More posts by Ashley