Hello, I had previously put a pic of palm trees as the head image because, we are in Ohio and it was freezing out. For me growing up in Ohio, seeing Palm trees was always this exotic thing. Indication to me that I was someplace “warm.” As a kid we’d always take these trips every summer to Florida. We didn’t fly, we drove. So to me the first indication that we were finally in Florida were the first palm trees.
Later in life I moved to Northern California. And I always thought “I am living someplace with palm trees, I’ve arrived.” Then I moved back to Ohio. Until global warming catches up, burns the rest of the world, and turns Ohio into a tropical paradise on the Great Lakes, I have to settle for pictures of palm trees.
I’m a Columbus workers compensation attorney not a landscape designer ( I did work as a character artist in my former life ) , so you’re reading for info about Ohio work injury claims, not about palm trees. So its Winter, yeah its cold! As a human being and a worker in Ohio what is the big thing we have to worry about in the winter? Slipping on ice and landing on our sassafras.
Slip and Fall Work Injury During the Winter
Okay so if you slip on snow or ice at work is this a work injury, do I need a workers comp attorney Columbus Ohio? You might think, “hey I clocked out for the day and slipped in the parking lot next to my work, surely this is not a Ohio workers compensation injury?” Oh but it is my friend. Lets break it down.
Okay, first even if you are not clocked in at work, are you walking to work, or walking from work. Are you at or in the vicinity of work for the benefit of your employer. If you’re walking to your place of employment to work, whether that’s an Amazon warehouse, or a construction site, or a law office, you are doing so to the benefit of your employer. Does not matter whether or not you have clocked in.
Now is the sidewalk or parking lot you have slipped on either owned or under the manner or means of control of your employer? For example, we do not own the parking lot next to our office. However we pay money to use the parking lot. So we don’t own it, but to the extent that we pay rent to use it, if I or one of my fellow employees slips and falls on the ice and sustains an injury I would have a workers comp claim. We don’t own it, but we pay rent, that money is used to plow the snow on the parking lot and keep it lit etc. If we see a problem, we talk to the person who does own the parking lot. He fixes whatever we are asking about.
Now if one of our employees for whatever reason decides to park in the dry cleaners parking lot. We neither own that or have any control over that parking lot. We do not direct our to park in that parking lot. So if one of our employees, parked there, slipped in that parking lot, sustained an injury, no workers comp claim.
Simple rule of thumb, is if the parking lot is next to, or close to your place of business. And if that is the place where your fellow employees park, then that parking lot is probably either owned or under the manner and means of your employer.
Pretty simple, pretty straight forward.
Be careful, watch where you step, don’t slip on the ice, come to a workers comp attorney columbus ohio at Malek & Malek we’ll help you get compensation and medical bills paid for your work injury.