Are off-site injuries covered by workers' comp in Oklahoma? It depends

Over the years we've seen a steady stream of cases involving employees who filed workers' compensation claims after being injured away from the employer's premises. Sometimes it was difficult to determine whether the off-site injury was compensable. Changes to Oklahoma's laws sought to clarify the question, and two recent cases provide more answers.

Driving to wind farm

Austin Brown lived in Texas but temporarily relocated to Oklahoma to work on a construction project building a large wind farm near Ponca City. In addition to an hourly wage, he received $100 per day from general contractor Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives (IEA) to pay for meals, lodging, and other incidental expenses.

IEA didn't provide transportation or lodging, and employees were required to report to the worksite by 7:00 a.m. every day. Brown and three coworkers carpooled to the job in a private vehicle each morning. During the commute, which typically took 30 to 45 minutes, it wasn't unusual for them to discuss work for the upcoming day.

One morning while attempting to turn off a state highway onto the worksite, the employees' car collided with an oncoming truck. Brown sustained serious injuries and sought workers' comp benefits from IEA.

An Oklahoma appeals court found the accident and resulting injuries weren't covered by workers' comp under the current law. The court pointed out the statute specifically excluded coverage for "an employee's transportation to and from his or her place of employment," which is commonly known as the "commuting" exclusion.