Commute injuries are compensable if the employment subjects the employee to what?

• A. Special risk
• B. Exclusive remedy
• C. Personal risk
• D. Commercial traveler rule

Answer: (A)

Commute injuries are compensable only when the employer exposes the worker to a special hazard as part of the job. Ordinary home-to-work travel is treated as personal risk, but if the job requires travel through dangerous routes, at unusual hours, or to perform duties away from the usual workplace, creating a risk unique to the employment, that "special risk" makes the injury compensable. The other concepts don’t fit this scenario: exclusive remedy describes the workers’ comp remedy itself, personal risk is not work-related, and the commercial traveler rule applies to certain kinds of travel in the job but the determining factor for commute injuries is whether the employment subjects the employee to a special risk.