Sex on the road – compensable!

You’ve probably heard about this – an individual – traveling on employer business – was injured while having intercourse, filed a work comp claim, and will receive benefits.
I kid you not.
Now gifts like these show up in a blogger’s inbox rarely – if ever. Like all precious gifts, one has to be very, very careful handling them, lest the gift is squandered, crushed by heavy handling or allowed to slip thru one’s fingers. So, I’ll try to preserve this gift, giving it the care it so richly deserves…
So, you’re in the throes of passion, when the light fixture over the hotel bed comes crashing down, smacking you in the face hard enough to cause some significant injuries. Rather than allow this to kill the mood, you rejoice, knowing you’ll be able to stick your employer with the bill for this unfortunate event.
This actually happened, and no, it wasn’t in California…it was in Australia.
(and no, no Secret Service agents were involved…)
According to press reports, the unidentified woman (a human relations (!) worker) was traveling on business, called a gentleman friend, went out to dinner, came back, and one thing led to another. Well, rather than me trying to explain, let’s go right to the source (which in this case is a man referred to by the victim as an “acquaintance” she’d met a few weeks previously:
“the man said they were “going hard” and he did not know if they bumped the light or if it “just fell off”.
“I think she was on her back when it happened, but I was not paying attention because we were rolling around.”
Wait, did he just say he wasn’t paying attention? Was the telly on too?
This description came to light (pun intended) in testimony before one of several judges who’ve been involved in the case. After the initial judge ruled that the “victim’s” injuries were not compensable, the appellate judge demurred, determining
“If the applicant had been injured while playing a game of cards in her motel room she would have been entitled to compensation, even though it could not be said that her employer induced or encouraged her to engaged in such an activity,” he said.
“In the absence of any misconduct or an intentionally self-inflicted injury, the fact that the applicant was engaged in sexual activity rather than some other lawful recreational activity does not lead to any different result.”
With all due respect, one could argue that yanking a fixture off a wall while in the throes of passion is indeed a “self-inflicted injury”, especially if it results in injuries to the nose, mouth, and teeth, as well as a psychiatric injury, specifically an “adjustment disorder”. (Uh, what adjustment was disordered?)
We may well find out; the work comp folks have 28 days to appeal the ruling.
We’ll keep you posted.