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Personal Injury Lawyers » Actions Outside the Scope of Employment

Behaviors and Actions That May be Considered Outside the Scope of Employment about a Workplace Injury

If you have been injured at your place of work, your employer will often try to get out of paying for your work accident. They will often claim that you were acting outside the scope of your employment at the time you were injured in order to avoid liability. Not all the actions that an employee takes constitute “work;” some actions fall outside their assigned tasks or the scope of their employment. The activities you were conducting at the time of your accident are factors that will ultimately determine whether the employer will be liable. Pennsylvania law holds that an employer is not liable for their employees’ injuries when said employees do something they are not instructed to do. To protect yourself from employers attempting to avoid liability by unfairly arguing that you were acting outside the scope of your employment at the time of your work injury, it is important that you contact an attorney to ensure that your rights as an employee are protected. More information here

What is Considered Work?

Work is considered to be the tasks that you perform that are within the scope of your employment. The scope of employment is not just limited to your job description. The scope of your employment is generally considered conduct that furthers the interest of your employer. As such, so long as your actions are legitimately benefiting your employer, it becomes difficult for your employer to argue that you were acting outside your employment scope.

Potential Hypotheticals

Imagine a scenario in which two men are wrestling or participating in what is commonly called horseplay while at work. These actions are not in anyone’s job description and certainly do not further the interest of their employer. As a result of the horseplay, one man gets injured, and even though the activity may have occurred at work and on the clock, the employer will most likely not be liable for the injuries the man sustained. While this example seems easy, they are not always so simple. Another hypothetical would be if a man works at a construction company that builds skyscrapers, he answers a call on his cell phone, and then while speaking on the phone he trips over a tool belt and falls, resulting in serious injuries. The man’s employer tries to avoid having to pay for the man’s injuries by claiming that the man was acting outside the scope of his employment by taking the phone call while on the job. Would this be considered an action that falls outside the scope of employment? What if the man received a call from his doctor to reschedule an appointment around his work schedule? Would this change the argument? Certainly, his taking that personal call in order to work around his work schedule resulted in greater availability to work and, therefore, help his employer.

The main thing that you need to take away from this topic is that there is no shortage of opportunities for your employer to try to skirt liability in your work injury case. Employers will try to use the slightest misstep to avoid responsibility for the injuries of their employees.

Employer’s Defenses

We are fond of saying that the job of a defense lawyer, the lawyer who represents your employer, is to “throw everything at a wall and see what sticks,” which is to say that they will try every defense, no matter how off the wall, that could potentially help their clients.

Did You Know?

Our Pennsylvania attorneys have won hundreds of work injury cases. Call us today to discuss your case.

Many defenses that an employer’s attorney uses are not used to prove fault in the case, but to limit the amount of damages their client may have to pay. In other words, they don’t have to beat you flat-out; they just have to form arguments that cause your case to suffer in some manner or another.

Our Law Office will protect your rights; we know what arguments the defense will likely make and are ready to defeat them. The attorneys at Our Law Office have more than 20 years of experience in handling personal injury matters just like this; they can help you maximize the recovery that you deserve. Call to schedule your free consultation.