Injured While Driving for Work in NJ? When Workers’ Comp May Apply

You may spend part of your workday driving between job sites, visiting customers, or picking up supplies for your employer. If you’re injured in a car accident during one of these trips, you might expect workers’ compensation to cover your injuries.

But what if the accident happened on your way to your first assignment of the day? Or while you were driving from home to pick up equipment your supervisor requested?

In New Jersey, accidents during ordinary commutes generally aren’t covered by workers’ compensation. However, certain types of work-related travel can qualify for benefits, even when an accident occurs before you reach your regular workplace.

Whether you were commuting or carrying out job duties can determine if you’re eligible to pursue a workers’ compensation claim.

Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Car Accidents on Your Way to Work?

Generally, no. Under New Jersey law, employees injured during their regular commute to or from work typically aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

This principle is commonly called the coming and going rule.

For example, suppose you work at a warehouse in Cherry Hill. Every morning, you drive directly from your home to the same facility. If another driver causes a crash before you arrive at work, your injuries would ordinarily fall outside workers’ compensation coverage.

Under New Jersey law, employment generally begins when you arrive at your workplace and ends when you leave. Separate statutory provisions address certain work-related travel and employer-provided or designated parking areas.

But not every trip that begins at home or ends at work is an ordinary commute.

Under N.J.S.A. 34:15-36, several rules address circumstances in which travel or other activities away from an employer’s regular workplace can fall within the course of employment.

When Can Driving for Work Qualify for Workers’ Compensation?

The most important question isn’t simply where you were going. It’s whether your travel qualified as part of your employment under New Jersey law.

Several situations deserve closer examination.

Traveling Between Job Sites

Suppose you’re a technician who visits multiple customer locations throughout South Jersey. After completing an appointment in Mount Laurel, you drive to your next scheduled job in Voorhees.

If you’re injured during that trip, the accident could qualify for workers’ compensation because traveling between locations is part of your assigned work.

Running an Errand for Your Employer

What happens if your supervisor sends you somewhere other than your regular workplace to carry out an assignment?

An accident during an employer-directed assignment can qualify for workers’ compensation, even when the trip begins before your regular workday.

New Jersey recognizes what’s known as the special mission rule. It applies when an employee is required to be away from the usual workplace and is directly performing duties assigned or directed by the employer.

For example, if your supervisor sends you to deliver equipment to another location and you’re injured while carrying out that assignment, the circumstances could support a workers’ compensation claim.

The details matter. A routine trip to your workplace doesn’t automatically become a special mission just because your employer benefits from your arrival.

Driving a Company-Authorized Vehicle for Business

Using a company vehicle doesn’t automatically make every trip work-related.

New Jersey law distinguishes between ordinary commuting and operating an employer-authorized vehicle on business expressly authorized by the employer.

This distinction was central to an important New Jersey Supreme Court decision.

What Did the New Jersey Supreme Court Say About Work-Related Driving?

In 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed this issue in Keim v. Above All Termite & Pest Control.

The employee was a pest-control technician who drove an employer-provided vehicle between his home and customer locations.

On the morning of his accident, he had clocked in, received his schedule, and determined that he needed additional supplies to complete his appointments. His employer authorized technicians to stop at the company’s shop to replenish supplies when necessary.

While driving to that shop, the employee was seriously injured.

His workers’ compensation claim was initially dismissed on the grounds that he was commuting to work.

The New Jersey Supreme Court disagreed.

The Court determined that the employee was operating an authorized vehicle for business expressly authorized by his employer. He wasn’t simply traveling to work; he was obtaining supplies needed to perform his duties.

The decision established two requirements under the authorized vehicle rule:

• The employer must authorize the employee to operate the vehicle.
• The employee must be operating that vehicle for business expressly authorized by the employer.

The vehicle doesn’t necessarily have to belong to the employer. What matters is whether the employee was authorized to use it and was driving for an expressly authorized business purpose.

For injured workers, the decision highlights an important distinction: An accident before your first job-site appointment isn’t automatically excluded from workers’ compensation coverage.

Does Being Paid for Travel Time Make a Difference?

Yes. Under New Jersey law, an injury sustained while traveling to or from a job site can qualify for workers’ compensation when the employee is paid for that travel time. Whether this rule applies depends on the travel arrangement and the circumstances of the assignment.

But there’s an important difference between being paid for travel time and receiving reimbursement for mileage, gasoline, or other driving expenses. Reimbursement alone doesn’t establish workers’ compensation coverage.

Your pay records, employment agreement, travel policies, and the nature of your assignment can help determine whether the paid travel time rule applies.

What if the Accident Happened in Your Employer’s Parking Lot?

Not every accident involving an employee’s vehicle happens on a public road.

Suppose you’re injured in a collision after entering a parking area your employer provides or designates for employees, before your scheduled shift begins.

Under New Jersey law, workers’ compensation coverage can begin when you arrive at an employer-provided or designated parking area before reporting to work. The law also addresses injuries during direct travel between a designated parking area and the workplace when the two locations are separate.

That doesn’t mean every accident in a parking lot near your job is covered. Whether the employer provided or designated the parking area, where the accident occurred, and the circumstances of your travel all matter.

What Should You Do After a Work-Related Driving Accident?

If you’re injured while driving for your job, the steps you take afterward can affect both your recovery and your ability to establish that the accident was work-related.

Seek medical attention promptly and notify your employer about the accident, explaining what work-related duties you were performing when it happened.

Under New Jersey law, delays in reporting a workplace injury can affect your right to workers’ compensation benefits. Although the law generally requires notice to the employer or knowledge of the injury within 90 days of the injury, shorter periods can affect when benefits become payable and whether additional conditions apply to your claim.

Reporting the accident as soon as possible also helps establish when, where, and why the injury occurred.

It’s also important to preserve evidence showing why you were traveling, including:

• Work schedules, dispatch records, and assigned job locations.
• Text messages or emails containing instructions from your supervisor.
• Company vehicle policies and authorization records.
• Time sheets, pay records, and travel-related documentation.
• Police reports, photographs, and witness information.

These records can become particularly important if your employer or its insurance company argues that you were merely commuting.

New Jersey workers should also be mindful of filing deadlines. Generally, a formal workers’ compensation claim petition must be filed within two years of the injury or the last payment of compensation, whichever is later. Employer-authorized medical treatment can count as a payment of compensation.

You can review additional guidance through the New Jersey Department of Labor.

Can You Pursue a Personal Injury Claim After a Work-Related Crash?

Potentially, yes.

If another driver caused your accident while you were performing job duties, you could have both a workers’ compensation claim and a separate personal injury claim against the responsible third party.

Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system that can provide medical benefits, temporary disability payments, and other applicable benefits without requiring you to prove that another driver was negligent.

A separate personal injury claim against a negligent driver can provide an opportunity to recover damages that workers’ compensation does not cover, including pain and suffering when the circumstances of the accident and applicable insurance laws permit.

Pursuing both claims also requires careful coordination. Under New Jersey law, a workers’ compensation insurer can have reimbursement rights against money recovered from a responsible third party. Understanding those obligations is important when evaluating a potential settlement.

Injured While Driving for Work? DiTomaso Law Can Help

If you’ve been injured while driving for work, you shouldn’t assume that workers’ compensation is unavailable simply because the accident happened outside your regular workplace. Your employer’s instructions, the purpose of your trip, and the circumstances of the accident can all affect your legal options.

At DiTomaso Law, we help injured workers in Cherry Hill and throughout South Jersey understand their rights, address workers’ compensation disputes, and determine whether a separate personal injury claim may also be available.

Contact DiTomaso Law today to discuss your accident and learn what options you may have for pursuing compensation.

Disclaimer: The articles on this blog are for informational purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.