Workers' Comp for Sex on Business Trip: Court Rejects Appeal

It's official: You can successfully file for workers' comp if you're injured while having sex on a business trip.

Well, at least you can in Australia. Under very particular circumstances. And if the injury wasn't caused by sex. OK, so this "rule" won't work in every situation, but at least there's hope for people who go on a business trip, get a little action, and then get injured.

The injury happened in 2007 while an Australian woman was on a business trip. Five years later, the case has finally been resolved.

The woman, who hasn't been identified, was hurt when a light fixture fell on her face while she was ... ahem ... occupied on the bed, reports Fox News.

She was a government bureaucrat on a trip that required an overnight stay in a motel. But she later had to leave her job because of her injuries and the resulting depression.

Initially her workers' compensation claim was accepted by her insurer. But upon further investigation, her claim was rejected.

The case then went to an Australian federal court. A judge ruled that the woman's injury made her eligible to receive workers' comp. The judge noted that the woman's claim would have been covered if the same injury had occurred while she was playing cards in the room.

That may true in Australia, but the woman would likely have been out of luck if the same thing happened in the United States.

Under U.S. workers' comp law, an employee is only entitled to benefits if she's injured while carrying out the duties of her job.

On a business trip, the event itself and any working meals may be covered, but your dinner with friends or a slip in the shower is not.

Of course, there are other ways to recover under the law if you're hurt in a motel. You can make a claim against the establishment where you suffered your injury; just ask a lawyer how it works.

The Australian federal court is equivalent to a state supreme court in the United States, and the full bench hears appeals. In this case, the insurer's appeal was rejected by the full bench and the previous ruling, granting the woman workers' comp benefits, was upheld.

Related Resources:

• Workers' Compensation (FindLaw)
• Workers' Comp for Hotel Sex? Woman Injured on Business Trip (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
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