Lane v. HARTSON-KENNEDY CABINET TOP CO.

981 So. 2d 1063, 2008 WL 1947535
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMay 6, 2008
Docket2006-WC-02137-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 981 So. 2d 1063 (Lane v. HARTSON-KENNEDY CABINET TOP CO.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lane v. HARTSON-KENNEDY CABINET TOP CO., 981 So. 2d 1063, 2008 WL 1947535 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

981 So.2d 1063 (2008)

Howard LANE, Appellant
v.
HARTSON-KENNEDY CABINET TOP COMPANY, Inc. and Royal Indemnity Company, Appellees.

No. 2006-WC-02137-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

May 6, 2008.

*1065 James Kenneth Wetzel, Gulfport, Matthew Gordon Lyons, attorneys for appellant.

*1066 Stephanie Anne Taylor, attorney for appellees.

Before KING, C.J., ROBERTS and CARLTON, JJ.

KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Howard Lane appeals the decision of the Harrison County Circuit Court that affirmed the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission's (Commission) denial of a claim for compensation under the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Act. Finding error, we reverse the judgment of the circuit court and remand this case back to the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission for a determination of benefits.

FACTS

¶ 2. On November 18, 2003, at approximately 3:45 p.m., Lane suffered serious injuries as a result of an automobile collision with a drunk driver. The collision occurred several miles away from Hartson-Kennedy Cabinet Top Co., Inc. (H.K.), while Lane was in his personal vehicle on his way home from H.K. to take a shower.

¶ 3. Lane was a truck driver for H.K. who drove what the parties termed a "dedicated route." Essentially, he drove two delivery routes during the week and deviated off of those two routes depending on which customers required deliveries to their businesses. Lane's typical work week began on Sunday. He would drive his personal vehicle from his home to H.K. Once he arrived at H.K., he would leave driving H.K.'s eighteen-wheeler on the first route that Sunday. Then, he would return to H.K. on Tuesday, after all deliveries had been made. He would normally arrive back at H.K. between 10:00 a.m. and noon.

¶ 4. After Lane's arrival back at H.K., the eighteen-wheeler would be loaded for the next route to begin later that day, normally at approximately 4:00 p.m. While the truck was being loaded, Lane would complete some paperwork and turn in his expense receipts from the previous delivery route. After turning in his expense receipts, Lane would be off duty during the time that his truck was being loaded, and he was free to run whatever personal errands he wished. He would return to H.K. once the truck was loaded and begin his second delivery route on Tuesday night. After he completed all the deliveries on the second route, he normally returned to H.K. on Thursday night. He would then be off duty Friday and Saturday. Lane would then resume the first delivery route on the following Sunday. After each delivery route, Lane would leave the eighteen-wheeler at H.K. when he was off duty and drive his personal vehicle.

¶ 5. While on the delivery route, both parties agreed that Lane was a traveling employee. He was considered on duty for all of the delivery route, with the exception of when he was sleeping. He usually slept in the sleeper berth in the cab of the eighteen-wheeler. Jay Curtis, Lane's supervisor, testified that on-duty time included making deliveries, unloading the truck for a customer, eating meals, and taking showers. Curtis further testified that normally Lane received thirty minutes to eat a meal and thirty minutes to take a shower. The showers were normally taken at truck stops, and the cost of five dollars per shower was reimbursed by H.K. upon Lane's completion of the delivery route.

¶ 6. On the day the accident occurred, Lane was late in returning to H.K. from his Sunday-to-Tuesday route, due to an extra delivery. In fact, he did not arrive back at H.K. until approximately 3:00 p.m. After Lane completed the various paperwork and turned in his expense receipts, *1067 he spoke with Curtis and inquired when his truck would be loaded and ready to begin the second delivery route. Curtis responded that the truck would be loaded by 6:00 p.m. Then, Lane and Curtis discussed what Lane should do during the time that the truck was being loaded. They discussed three different options: (1) go to a nearby truck stop and take a shower; (2) wait at H.K. for the load to be completed and take a shower once on the delivery route; or (3) go home and take a shower and then return to H.K. Curtis told Lane to go home and take a shower since it would be cheaper for the company because H.K. would not have to reimburse Lane for the shower taken at his home. However, if Lane went to the nearby truck stop, H.K. would have repaid Lane for the expense of the shower. Further, Curtis thought it was pointless for Lane to sit around H.K. waiting for his truck to be loaded. Therefore, Lane got in his personal vehicle and began his thirty-minute trip home. About ten minutes after he left H.K., his vehicle was struck head-on by a drunk driver. Lane received substantial injuries as a result of the collision.

¶ 7. On January 14, 2004, Lane filed a petition to controvert, alleging that he suffered a work-related accident from the collision. H.K. denied compensation. After a hearing was held, the administrative law judge found that Lane was not within the scope of his employment when the accident occurred. Therefore, he found that Lane was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits. The Commission affirmed the decision of the administrative law judge and adopted his findings. Lane then appealed to the Circuit Court of Harrison County. The circuit court affirmed the Commission's decision to deny Lane benefits.

¶ 8. Lane then timely instituted this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9. In workers' compensation cases, the Commission is the ultimate fact-finder, and its decisions are accorded a deferential standard of review. Natchez Equip. Co. v. Gibbs, 623 So.2d 270, 273 (Miss.1993). Therefore, we will only reverse the decision of the Commission "where issues of fact are unsupported by substantial evidence, matters of law are clearly erroneous, or the decision was arbitrary and capricious." Duke ex rel. Duke v. Parker Hannifin Corp., 925 So.2d 893, 896(¶ 11) (Miss.Ct.App.2005) (citing Westmoreland v. Landmark Furniture, Inc., 752 So.2d 444, 448(¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App. 1999)).

ANALYSIS

¶ 10. Lane argues that the Commission erred when it found that he was not acting within the scope of his employment when he was struck by a drunk driver. The Commission found that Lane was not a traveling employee at the time the accident occurred. Further, the Commission found that the "going and coming" rule applied since Lane did not meet any of its exceptions.

¶ 11. Lane makes several arguments that can essentially be condensed to two issues. First, Lane alleges that he was a traveling employee for all of Tuesday. Second, Lane argues that he fits within one of the exceptions to the "going and coming" rule.

I. Whether Lane was a traveling employee at the time he was struck by a drunk driver.

¶ 12. "There is a long-standing rule in the law of workers' compensation that, in the case of an employee having a fixed place of employment, the employee and not the employer generally assumes *1068 the hazards associated with going to and from the place of employment." Hurdle and Son v. Holloway, 749 So.2d 342, 348(¶ 16) (Miss.Ct.App.1999). Therefore, injuries received while going to and coming from a job are generally not compensable under workers' compensation. Id. However, traveling employees are exempted from this rule. King v. Norrell Servs., Inc., 820 So.2d 692, 694(¶ 6) (Miss.Ct.App. 2000).

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