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Injured in Home Shop
Question:
A company needs an apparatus for their operations and pays a welding employee to build the apparatus in his own home shop while he is taking care of a sick family member. The company supplies the employee with spec material and parts for the build. While working on the apparatus, the employee drops a heavy part on his foot and suffers a bone fracture. Is it recordable?
Answer:
YES. The injury is a bone fracture and occurred at home while performing paid work tasks.
1904.5(b)(7) How do I decide if a case is work-related when the employee is working at home? Injuries and illnesses that occur while an employee is working at home, including work in a home office, will be considered work-related if the injury or illness occurs while the employee is performing work for pay or compensation in the home, and the injury or illness is directly related to the performance of work rather than to the general home environment or setting. For example, if an employee drops a box of work documents and injures his or her foot, the case is considered work-related. If an employee's fingernail is punctured by a needle from a sewing machine used to perform garment work at home, becomes infected and requires medical treatment, the injury is considered work-related. If an employee is injured because he or she trips on the family dog while rushing to answer a work phone call, the case is not considered work-related. If an employee working at home is electrocuted because of faulty home wiring, the injury is not considered work-related.