German Court Rules That Fall During Walk From Bed To Desk Is Workplace Accident
Photo 55227326 © Katarzyna Bialasiewicz | Dreamstime.com
Woke up on the wrong side of the bed in Germany and slipped? Insurance might cover it.
In a bizarre ruling, a German court has sided with an unnamed man who fell on his way to his desk from his bed and broke his back, reaffirming that he is able to claim insurance on the grounds of it being a “workplace accident” and that he was “commuting.”
As statutory accident insurance covers only the first trip to work, the man is able to count this as a workplace injury as he claims to usually work “immediately without having breakfast beforehand,” the Guardian quotes—to his employer’s chagrin.
The man slipped during a walk on his spiral staircase to his home office.
Per the Guardian, two lower courts argued that this journey wasn’t a commute, but the higher federal social court overrules this.
In Germany, insurance would be claimable “to the same extent” wherever the insured activity occurs, even if it’s the client’s home. “The plaintiff suffered an accident at work when he fell on the way to his home office in the morning,” concludes the federal court.
[via The Guardian, cover photo 55227326 © Katarzyna Bialasiewicz | Dreamstime.com]
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