If you were hurt while on a business trip for your job, you can be covered by workers’ comp. However, it’s important that you know that if you engage in any other activities that are unrelated to your work while on this trip and you are injured, you may not be covered for those.

According to Macon workers’ comp lawyer – Law Offices of Nathaniel F. Hansford, LLC, you should know what is and isn’t covered when traveling for your job. Injuries that occur during the course of your travels or during the business activities themselves can be covered.

Does Workers’ Comp Cover Travel?

In Georgia, workers’ comp covers your travels. Traveling for work is considered a part of your work. This means that it is covered as it would be for all other injuries that would happen on the job.

If you are hurt while on a business trip, workers’ comp should cover it as long as your injury occurs during the course of travel. This includes but is not limited to your time in the hotel, car accidents when conducting work-related activities, pedestrian accidents, and slip and fall accidents.

Gray areas arise with workers’ comp on business travels because quite often, many business travelers will have a little free time. Perhaps you will use this to visit a tourist destination, see a friend that lives in the city you’ve traveled to, or go out on the town. If you get hurt during these personal adventures, workers’ compensation may not apply.

The key thing to remember is that workers’ comp while you’re traveling for business will cover only what relates to your job duties and the travel to that work destination. It will not include anything you choose to do during your non-working time.

Will I Be Entitled to Benefits for an Injury on a Work Trip?

As long as the injury you sustained happened while you were doing the duties of your job or non-commuting travel time, you can claim workers’ compensation in Georgia. This will help you get the medical care coverage, disability benefits, and wage loss you incurred from your work-related injury.

Where Do I File My Workers’ Comp Claim?

Even if you are outside of the state of Georgia, you should file your claim in the Peach State, just like you would if the injury happened here. However, you need to notify your employer of this injury promptly, within 30 days of the accident.

Your claim will be processed in the same way as it would if your injury occurred in your home state. Delays may happen though if the workers’ compensation insurance company puts in a dispute on your claim.

Travel-related injuries for work can get tricky. That’s why you’ll want to speak to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. Take advantage of the free consultation to see if they can be of assistance in helping you obtain the benefits you deserve.

Things become even more complicated if your injury on the job while traveling was caused by someone unaffiliated with your company. A prime example of this is if you were injured by another driver. This would be a third-party claim which would entitle you to compensation beyond those workers’ comp benefits.

Every case is different and has unique factors. By talking to a workers’ comp lawyer, you’ll know how to proceed with your claim.