|
|
| |
| Wed, Dec. 3, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Worker injured on retreat entitled to benefits, court rules Thursday, Sep 21, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A woman who was injured on a work-related "team bonding" retreat with co-workers is entitled to injury benefits, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The decision overturned a ruling by the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission, which said the woman wasn't performing work for her employer when she was injured. Tina Engle was an executive coordinator for Thompson Murray Inc. in Springdale when she was ordered to organize and attend a 2003 retreat at Gaston's Resort and Bull Shoals Lake, according to the court record. The schedule of events included taking a pontoon boat and wave runners out onto the lake and going to a place where workers could climb rocks and jump into the water. Before the employees left for the retreat, company CEO Andy Murray congratulated and thanked them for their work and encouraged them to return with a refined sense of what it means to be a leader. He said the employees went to the event to "recharge," and "most importantly have fun," according to the ruling. While on the lake at the rocks, Engle watched her supervisor jump into the water and she followed. She fell, striking the rocks protruding from the cliff face below and was injured. She was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Springfield, Mo. The Workers' Compensation Commission later denied her request for benefits, saying that she was not specifically told to jump from the rocks, and that it was "obvious that this activity was neither directly nor indirectly necessary for her to perform her work." The commission also said the activity did not benefit the employer or advance Engle's interest. In a unanimous decision Wednesday written by Judge Terry Crabtree, the three-member Court of Appeals panel disagreed, saying the company hosted the event, considered it mandatory and paid employees to attend. "The purpose of the off-site meeting was for employees to bond, refresh, set new goals and have fun," Crabtree wrote. "As long as the participants were advancing the purpose of the meeting, they were furthering the interest of their employer." Crabtree said it "defies reason to assert that (Engle) was required by her employer to find a place from which to jump, but was not expected to participate in the jumping." Engle "was engaging in conduct permitted and participated by the employer; therefore, it was erroneous for the commission to conclude that (Engle) was not engaged in employment services because the employer did not expressly direct (Engle) to jump from the cliff," Crabtree wrote. Joining Crabtree in the decision were Judges John B. Robbins and Wendell L. Griffen. |
