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If you are injured while performing work duties in New Mexico, you will be qualified for workers’ compensation benefits. But how about if you are injured during your morning or evening commute?
New Mexico law has a “going and coming” rule, which means that injuries to any employee while on their way to assume their job duties or after leaving such duties are not covered by workers’ compensation. However, there are several exceptions to this rule.
The following are some situations where you may file a workers’ comp claim for an injury suffered during a commute or while traveling:
Special missions – A “special mission” is a work-related task performed outside of regular work hours. Common examples include picking up coffee for a morning meeting before you arrive at the workplace, driving to a work-related lunch during your meal break, or dropping off a package from your office on your way home from work.
Entering or exiting the workplace – If you are injured while going to or coming from your job site and you are on the employer’s premises, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation. For example, you are involved in a car accident in the company parking lot as soon as you arrive to work in the morning or attempt to leave the office for the evening.
Business trips – According to the traveling-employee exception to the going and coming rule, a worker who is required to travel for business purposes away from the employer’s premises will be covered by workers’ compensation from the time he/she leaves home until he/she returns. This exception applies through the entire duration of the trip, which means if a traveling employee is injured while he/she is not actually working, he/she may still receive workers’ comp benefits. However, the injury must arise out of and in the course of work-related duties, such as driving to a meeting with a client.
Traveling from one job site to another – If you are injured while going from work site to work site, your injuries are covered by workers’ compensation.
If you were recently injured while performing work-related duties in Albuquerque, contact Michael J. Doyle, Attorney At Law today at (505) 219-2176 for a free initial consultation. Backed by nearly 20 years of trial-tested experience!