Howard v. Children's Network of Southwest Florida, L.L.C.

**Worker Loses Case Over Injury While Driving to Work** This case involved an employee who was injured while traveling to work and tried to get workers' compensation benefits for their injury. The employee argued that their injury should be covered even though it happened during their commute. The court ruled against the employee and upheld a decision to deny their workers' compensation claim. The court applied what's called the "going and coming" rule, which generally means that injuries that happen while traveling to or from work are not covered by workers' compensation. The court found that the employee's injury occurred on a public road during their regular commute and didn't meet any of the special exceptions that would make it covered. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling reinforces that workers typically cannot get workers' compensation benefits for injuries that happen during their normal commute to and from work. However, there are some exceptions to this rule - for example, if you're traveling for work purposes, using a company vehicle, or if your employer pays for your commute. Workers should understand that their commute is generally considered personal time, not work time, when it comes to injury coverage.