3rd District Court of Appeal Limits Application of the Special Risk and Dual Purpose Exceptions
Under the going and coming rule, an employee's injury while commuting to and from work is not compensable under the workers' compensation system, absent special or extraordinary circumstances. That's because long ago, the California Supreme Court believed that an employee going to and from the place of employment did not render any service for the employer. (Ocean Accident and Guarantee Co. v. IAC (1916) 173 Cal. 313, 322.) Although the going and coming rule remains, "It has generated a multitude of exceptions which threaten, at times, to defeat the rule entirely." (Santa Rosa Junior College v. WCAB (Smythe) (1985) 40 Cal. 3d 345, 348.) So, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) frequently finds injuries incurred while traveling to and from work to be compensable.