Miles v. Brown Transport Corp.
| Citation | 294 S.E.2d 734,163 Ga.App. 563 |
| Decision Date | 16 September 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 64366,64366 |
| Parties | MILES v. BROWN TRANSPORT CORPORATION. |
| Court | United States Court of Appeals (Georgia) |
James Elkins, Jr., Columbus, for appellant.
John W. Denney, Miller P. Robinson, Columbus, for appellee.
Summary Judgment. Sara Miles was employed by Brown Transport Corporation. Her duties were as a general clerk, including dispatch duties, dock duties and work in and around the warehouse area. She worked from 9:00 a. m. until finished. This might require her to work a 30-hour week or a 70-hour week, but she was guaranteed only a 40-hour pay period. Mrs. Miles was allowed a lunch break each day and that break was taken at whatever time the work load permitted. She often did not leave the premises and simply ate a sandwich on the job. On occasion she would perform employer-related activities while on her lunch break although this was a rare requirement.
On March 12, 1980, Mrs. Miles was at work. She started to leave the premises on her lunch break. Her purpose was to go see her daughter who was in the hospital awaiting a tonsillectomy. While exiting the building, a heavy wooden door (one of two similar double doors) which was standing open was caught in a gust of wind. As Mrs. Miles was starting to descend a flight of about four steps, the door swung into Mrs. Miles causing her to lose her balance and fall to the pavement below the steps. Mrs. Miles suffered injuries which caused her to lose approximately six months of work. Initially Brown disputed that the accident was subject to the Workers' Compensation Act because Mrs. Miles was on her lunch break. However, subsequently Brown paid certain medical bills and charged the cost to its workers' compensation insurance. There is no indication that Mrs. Miles was aware of that payment, and no other payments were ever made to Mrs. Miles under the workers' compensation coverage. Apparently, however, up to as much as 80% of her medical expenses were paid under a group insurance plan.
Mrs. Miles brought the present complaint alleging that by its tortious negligence in failing to secure the door in question, Brown was responsible for Mrs. Miles' injuries. Brown moved for summary judgment asserting that the injury presumptively was work-related as it occurred upon the work site and out of her employment and therefore Mrs. Miles' sole source of recompense was under the Workers' Compensation Act rendering Brown immune from a suit in tort. Code Ann. § 114-103; Fox v. Stanish, 150 Ga.App. 537, 258 S.E.2d 190. The trial court granted summary judgment to Brown. Mrs. Miles brings this appeal enumerating the grant of summary judgment as error. Held:
An injury to an employee occurring during working hours and on the employer's premises ordinarily and presumptively will be considered as arising out of and in the course of employment and as such, the employee's sole course of action is against the employer under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act. Code Ann. § 114-103. Fox v. Stanish, supra. An exception to coverage, however, has been carved out for injuries occurring during a regularly scheduled lunch break or rest break and at a time claimant is free to do as she chooses. Where these two facts concurrently exist, i.e., "regularly scheduled" and "freedom of action," the injury does not arise out of and is not in the course of employment even though within working hours and on the employer's premises. Twin City Fire Ins. Co. v. Graham, 139 Ga.App. 318, 228 S.E.2d 355. Freedom of action alone is not...
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Frett v. State Farm Emp. Workers' Comp.
...cannot be construed as an altogether personal pursuit, as is the case during scheduled breaks"). See also Miles v. Brown Transp. Corp., 163 Ga. App. 563, 563, 294 S.E.2d 734 (1982) (exclusive workers’ compensation remedy applied to employee who was injured during her lunch break while on he......
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Frett v. State Farm Emp. Workers' Comp.
...and is not compensable.(Citation omitted; emphasis supplied.) Id. at 24 (1), 202 S.E.2d 208. See Miles v. Brown Transport Corp. , 163 Ga. App. 563, 564, 294 S.E.2d 734 (1982) (scheduled break exception did not apply to employee’s injury sustained on employer’s premises while employee was le......
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...will be considered as arising out of and in the course of employment[.]” (Citations omitted.) Miles v. Brown Transport Corp., 163 Ga.App. 563, 564, 294 S.E.2d 734 (1982).4 Under the deviation rule, “[w]here [an] employee breaks the continuity of [her] employment for purposes of [her] own an......
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Dixie Roadbuilders, Inc. v. Sallet
...because they all involve employees who were at their workplace when they were injured during the break. See Miles v. Brown Transport Corp., 163 Ga.App. 563, 294 S.E.2d 734 (1982) (an employee who fell on stairs at her workplace as she was in the process of leaving to take a lunch break had ......
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Workers' Compensation - H. Michael Bagley, Daniel C. Kniffen, and John G. Blackmon, Jr.
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