If you are hurt while traveling for work, you may receive benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law, which includes compensation for medical expenses as well as lost wages and other costs. Travel can mean driving from the office to a client site 15 minutes away or flying to another state for business. Your daily commute, however, is viewed as an activity outside of work. If you are injured on your way to or from work, you will likely not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

The criteria for receiving workers’ compensation is based on whether your travel was for the benefit of your employer and therefore considered work related. If you are injured on the way to a client site or business meeting or while you are there, you should qualify for Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. If you are injured while running errands for your boss, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because the errands were for the benefit of your employer. Other examples of when you may qualify would be if you were transporting work materials in your car or if you can show that you were being paid for the travel time to and from work.

You may also be covered even if you aren’t actually working when you get hurt. The criteria there is whether it’s ‘reasonably foreseeable’ that you would be doing what you were doing at the time you were injured. For example, if you slip and fall while leaving your hotel to go out for dinner with a client while on a business trip, you should be covered. Of course, if you become intoxicated at dinner and are injured as a result, you will likely not be covered.

There are examples where injuries sustained during recreational activities on a business trip actually still qualify for benefits. One well known example is that of an employee in Hawaii on business who was hurt while riding a bike in a volcano during his free time. He was entitled to workers’ compensation benefits because it was considered reasonably foreseeable that one would do some sight-seeing on off hours on a business trip in Hawaii.

What is considered a work-related activity or what is considered reasonably foreseeable is not always obvious. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you consult with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney. An attorney who has experience in this field can ensure that you get the benefits to which you’re entitled.