Generally, an injury occurring during an employee’s routine commute is not considered to be work-related pursuant to the Going and Coming Rule. However, an injury may be considered work-related under the Special Mission Exception when the employee is “engaged upon a mission which incidentally or indirectly contributed to the service and benefit of the employer.” Shell Oil Co. v. I.A.C. (Byrd) (1962) 27 Cal. Comp. Cases 27.
Legal Update: The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board recently issued a noteworthy Panel decision in Kong v. City of Hope National Medical Center, (2020) Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 118, finding that the employee sustained a work-related injury to his lower extremities, left shoulder and low back as a result of being struck by a vehicle while walking home from work on his day off to fulfill his supervisor’s request to prepare data for a presentation the next day. The Board found that the injury sustained while commuting to work on a Saturday qualified as a work-related injury under the Special Mission Exception to the Going and Coming Rule.