• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

North Carolina Personal Injury & Workers Compensation Attorneys

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • linkedin

Call Us 919-240-4054

Main navigation

  • Workers’ Comp
    • Durham, NC
      • Brain Injury Lawyer
      • Burns and Explosions Lawyer
      • Chemical Exposure Lawyer
      • Construction Accident Lawyer
      • Durham Back Injury Lawyer
      • Healthcare Workers and COVID-19 Lawyer
      • Occupational Disease Lawyer
      • Union Member Lawyer
      • Workplace Violence Lawyer
    • Charlotte, NC
  • Bicycle Crashes
    • Charlotte, NC
  • Personal Injury
    • Durham, NC
      • Burn Injury Lawyer
      • College Campus Injury Lawyer
      • Car Accident Lawyer
      • Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
      • Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
      • Premises Liability Lawyer
      • Product Liability Lawyer
      • Truck Accident Lawyer
    • Charlotte, NC
      • Brain Injury Lawyer
      • Burn Injury Lawyer
      • Car Accident Lawyer
      • Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
      • Premises Liability Lawyer
      • Motorcycle Accident Lawyer
      • Product Liability Lawyer
      • Truck Accident Lawyer
  • Wrongful Death
    • Durham, NC
    • Charlotte, NC
  • Our Lawyers
    • Ann Groninger
    • Valerie Johnson
    • Drew Culler
    • Jennifer Segnere
    • Request a Speaking Engagement
  • Resources
    • Law Blog
    • Our Community
  • Contact Us
  • Español

January 6, 2014 By nicole

Workers with side jobs may risk workers’ compensation coverage

In these tough economic times, even the folks out there who are lucky enough to have jobs are often underpaid. And being the hard workers that they are, in order to make ends meet, those folks often seek out second jobs or side jobs related to their full-time employment. If you’re one of those people, you should be aware that, in some circumstances, you may not have workers’ compensation coverage for an injury sustained on a side job. The good news is there are steps you can take to greatly increase your chances of being covered.

A recent decision from the North Carolina Court of Appeals shows just how devastating the consequences can be when a hard-working person gets injured on a second job and doesn’t have coverage. In Morgan v. Morgan Motor Company of Albemarle, No. COA12-1485, decided on December 17, 2013, the plaintiff was a part owner of his family’s car dealership. The dealership also owned a building which it leased to another company that ran a restaurant. In addition to his duties with the dealership, the plaintiff worked on the restaurant’s finances.  While at the restaurant one day, the plaintiff decided to go up to the roof because he suspected there was a problem with the air conditioner. While up there, the plaintiff fell and suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Tragically, the plaintiff in this case was not covered by the restaurant’s worker’s compensation policy. The plaintiff was covered by the car dealership’s policy, but it was found – partly because the restaurant was contractually responsible for repairing the HVAC system – that the plaintiff was not entitled to coverage. The Court upheld the conclusion that his injury was not related to his employment with the car dealership.

Although nothing (especially in the law) is for certain, there are a couple of things you can do to make sure you don’t end up in the same terrible situation as the plaintiff in the Morgan case.

In that case, the Court of Appeals explained that the plaintiff could have been covered for his injury had he proven any of these four things about the full-time job in which he had workers’ comp coverage: (1) that his job duties included the activity that led to his injury, (2) that he was authorized by his employer to do the activity that led to his injury, (3) that his accident was the result of a risk inherent in his job, or (4) that he was acting on behalf of or for the benefit of his employer at the time of the accident.

Before deciding to take on a second job or a side job related to your full-time employment, please keep these four factors in mind. Doing so will go a long way toward making sure you have the insurance you need in the unfortunate event of an injury.

Related posts:

  1. Court of Appeals rules attendant care services compensable without pre-approval
  2. New workers’ compensation decisions from Court of Appeals
  3. Brief filed for police officer in workers’ compensation appeal
  4. NC Court of Appeals concludes unexpected injury not covered by workers’ compensation

Filed Under: Work Injury, Workers' Compensation Tagged With: NC Court of Appeals

Primary Sidebar

Primary Sidebar

Contact us

Occupation

  • Bus Drivers
  • Construction Workers
  • First Responders
  • Police Officers
  • Truck Drivers
  • State Employees Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in Charlotte
  • Experienced Union Members Attorneys in North Carolina

Injury

  • Asbestos Exposure
  • Durham Back Injury Lawyers
  • Burns and explosions
  • Chemical Exposure
  • COVID-19 and Healthcare Workers
  • Occupational Diseases
  • Workplace Violence

Free Legal Resources

  • Workers’ Compensation 101
  • 8 Questions to Answer Before You Are Ever in a Wreck
  • Essentials for Workers’ Comp Success
  • Help for Families of North Carolina Burn Victims

Locations

Durham Office

300 Blackwell St. #101,
Durham, NC 27701

Phone: (919) 240-4054

Fax: (888) 412-0421

Charlotte Office

1018 East Blvd. #6
Charlotte, NC 28203

Phone: (704) 200-2009

Fax : (888) 412-0421

Practice Areas

Workers Compensation | Bicycle Crashes | Personal Injury

OTHER PRACTICE AREAS

Crisis Management | Employment Law | Mass Torts | Camp Lejeune Water Contamination | Vaccine Injury | Resort & Recreational Activity Injuries | Workers Comp Wage & Hours Disputes | College Campus Injuries | Drunk Driving Injury victim | Industrial Accidents | Inadequate Security Claims | Workplace Injuries | Covid 19 – Business Interruption | Workplace Injury 3rd Party Claims

Copyright Johnson & Groninger PLLC