A man goes to his wife's work upset over a custody issue and shoots her. Is this compensable?

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Yes if there is a relationship to employment
• D. No if outside the course of employment

Answer: (B)

In California workers’ compensation, a claim is compensable only if the injury arises out of and in the course of employment. That means the injury must be connected to the duties of the job or occur within the zone of risk created by the work. Here, the shooting happened because of a private domestic dispute and the assailant is not acting as part of the employer’s work duties. Even though it occurred at the wife’s workplace, the cause is a personal matter unrelated to the employment relationship, so it does not reflect a work-related risk. Unless there were facts showing the employer created or amplified a job-related risk or the attacker was acting within the scope of employment, this injury wouldn’t be compensable.