An accountant took work home for an annual report. The employee left work at the normal appointed hour and was not reimbursed for mileage. The employee was injured in an automobile accident at an intersection one block from home and his supervisor calls to tell you they found paperwork for the end-of-the-year report in his briefcase in the car. You should:

• A. Accept as an exception to the coming and going rule
• B. delay and investigate
• C. deny
• D. close the file

Answer: (A)

This question tests the going-and-coming rule and its exceptions in workers’ compensation. Generally, injuries that occur during a commute to or from work aren’t compensable. However, there are clear exceptions when the employee is performing work for the employer or carrying employer materials outside the workplace.

In this scenario, the accountant took work home to finish an annual report, and the supervisor later found paperwork for that report in the car. This shows the employee was handling employer duties and materials outside the office, effectively carrying out work on the employer’s behalf during travel. Because the injury occurred while engaged in work-related activity connected to the employer, it fits an exception to the standard rule and is compensable.

Delaying to investigate isn’t necessary given the evidence of work being done away from the office. Denying or closing the file would ignore the established exception and the employer’s involvement in requiring or permitting the work to be done at home.