Can You Get Workers’ Comp in Pennsylvania if You Quit Your Job?

It is important to note that remaining eligible for workers’ compensation benefits after quitting a job will not apply in every situation, and is very dependent on the specific circumstances in each case. These facts will be examined under an analysis of whether “[the injured person’s] presence is required by the nature of his or her employment, and he or she is injured due to the condition of the premises or due to the operation of the employer’s business or affairs.”

So, can you receive Workers’ Compensation benefits for an injury that happened after you quit your job?

In some specific instances, the answer is yes.

Man Who Fell After Quitting is Eligible for Workers’ Comp

In a recent case decided by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, a worker argued that he should obtain benefits for injuries that happened after he quit — and the court agreed.

The issue: In order to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, a worker must have been within the scope of employment at the time of the accident or injury. The question in this case was whether the worker was within the scope of employment when he had just quit.

According to an article in Business Insurance, the man was a driver who made deliveries for a health care firm. He had been on call over weekend, and asked his manager to reduce the number of stops when he came to work that morning. She refused, and he quit. The manager escorted him to a truck to get his belongings. As he walked with her after getting them, he tripped, fell and injured his left side.

The worker initially called a couple days after the accident to request a physician referral. According to a news article, he was told that the company only provided physicians for active employees. In 2007, the worker filed a civil lawsuit to seek damages for his fall. The company then argued that the man was working at the time of his injury. Workers who are eligible for workers’ comp are generally unable to file civil lawsuits.

In response, the worker filed a workers’ comp claim. A workers’ compensation judge awarded benefits to the man, but the company appealed — twice. It argued that the injuries shouldn’t have been covered by workers’ compensation because the man quit his job before he fell. Finally, the matter came before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

The court recently ruled that the man is eligible for workers’ comp benefits. It said the employer used inconsistent arguments when it said that the man was not able to file a civil suit because workers’ compensation was the exclusive remedy, but that he should also not receive workers’ compensation because he had quit. The court’s ruling: termination will not prevent a worker from receiving benefits if the worker is under following the employer’s direction on the employer’s property.

Another Example

When a medical equipment delivery driver who had quit his job – but was injured while retrieving his tools and preparing to leave the premises – filed a lawsuit, how did his employer defend against the claim? By asserting that the driver was still in the course of his employment when he was injured – even though he had just quit his job.

While this at first sounds counterintuitive, consider this: if the driver was hurt in the course of his employment, it is likely that workers’ compensation benefits would be his only remedy for his injuries. Otherwise, he could potentially be eligible for more significant damages.

Of course, the employer followed up its assertion that the man was only eligible for workers’ compensation by denying his application for benefits. The matter was then brought before a workers’ compensation judge (WCJ), who awarded benefits to the injured driver. The employer challenged the award in the Commonwealth Court, but the court held that “Although [the driver] quit before he was injured, he was still within the scope of employment because he was acting at Employer’s direction, and thus furthering Employer’s interests.”