Lincoln University v. Narens

485 S.W.3d 811 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016)

Factual Background:

Claimant was an employee of Lincoln University. She suffered an injury after tripping and falling while walking along a sidewalk with a steep edge, on Lincoln University’s campus, on the way to her car.

Commission Decision:

The Commission found that “the risk or hazard from which [claimant’s] injuries came was traversing the crowded campus sidewalk with its steep drop-off.” The Commission clearly identified the risk source of claimant’s injury by looking at the particular activity that caused the injury—walking along a sidewalk with its steep edge on Lincoln's campus—and compared that particular activity to claimant’s normal non-employment life in order to determine that claimant’s injury did arise out of the course and scope of her employment. 

Analysis/Holding:

The Appellate Court agreed with the Commission’s decision. Specifically, they agreed with the idea that Claimant was injured because she encountered such a steep drop off while walking – a risk that she would not have been as likely to be exposed to outside of the workplace.

The Takeaway:

The fact that an employee is not performing his or her actual job duties at the time of the injury does not preclude a finding that the injury is compensable, if the employee was exposed to a risk or hazard that he or she would not have been as likely to be exposed to outside of the employer’s premises.