In what appears to be a liberal interpretation of the “going and coming rule” in workers’ compensation cases, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Wednesday that an off-site employee who was gravely injured while on a five-mile jaunt to a deli for coffee is eligible for full benefits.
Accidents “occurring during coffee breaks for off-site employees, which are equivalent to those of on-site workers, are minor deviations from employment which permit full recovery of workers’ compensation benefits,” the Appellate Division ruled in Cooper v. Barnickel Enterprises Inc., A-1813-08.
