Work From Home Injuries: Do You Qualify for Workers’ Comp or a Personal Injury Claim?

Getting hurt when you work from home can be a confusing issue: do you file a claim for workers’ compensation, or does this count as a personal injury case because you’re not at an office or other job site?

The workers’ compensation attorneys and personal injury lawyers at Lipsey & Clifford are here to explain the differences and what you should do if you get hurt while working from home.

Workers’ Comp Vs. Personal Injury: Key Differences

Both types of laws involve getting hurt due to an accident, either intentional or negligent. Here are the key differences to know:

• Workers’ comp: Applies to injuries sustained while performing work duties. This includes work-from-home employees who are injured while performing work-related tasks.
• Personal injury: This is the case for any non-work-related injuries you might sustain.

Which One Applies To You?

Whether workers’ comp or personal injury applies to your situation depends on the circumstances under which you got hurt. In Massachusetts, workers’ comp covers all work-related injuries, including those that didn’t happen at the worksite. If you got hurt during the course of performing your work duties, you’re eligible for workers’ comp.

However, if your injury results from something non-work-related, it falls under personal injury. Even if you get hurt during working hours, if the cause of your accident wasn’t work-related, you are not entitled to workers’ comp. For example, you work from home and use your lunch break to pick up your child from school. Should you get into an accident during that drive, you can’t file for workers’ comp because you were performing a personal errand, even during working hours.

Work From Home Injury Examples

• Repetitive strain injury/repetitive stress injury (RSI): RSIs include injuries common to people who sit and type all day, including carpal tunnel syndrome or “tech neck.” 
• Slip-and-falls: These might occur if you trip or slip while answering a work call or during a work call.
• Dropping heavy objects on yourself: For example, if you sell products from home for a larger company and you drop boxes on yourself and get injured, you qualify for workers’ comp.
• Car accidents: These count as long as your driving was work-related, like making deliveries.
• Getting sick: If your work-from-home job exposes you to hazardous materials and you get sick, you are entitled to workers’ comp.
• Eye strain: Staring at a computer screen all day for work can cause excessive – and damaging – eye strain.
• Stress-related diseases: If you lack a positive work-life balance, you may wind up suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease, or other stress-related physical symptoms.
• Mental health issues: Increased isolation, plus the lack of ability to distance yourself from work, can lead to depression or anxiety.

The Workers’ Compensation Lawyers You Need

Fighting for your benefits from a workers’ comp injury – even at home – can be overwhelming. Let Lipsey & Clifford, Attorneys at Law, fight for the money you deserve.