Whigham v. Jackson Dawson Communications

763 S.E.2d 420, 410 S.C. 131, 2014 S.C. LEXIS 367
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedAugust 27, 2014
DocketAppellate Case 2012-212258; 27440
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 763 S.E.2d 420 (Whigham v. Jackson Dawson Communications) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whigham v. Jackson Dawson Communications, 763 S.E.2d 420, 410 S.C. 131, 2014 S.C. LEXIS 367 (S.C. 2014).

Opinions

Justice HEARN.

Stephen Whigham was injured playing kickball during an event he organized for his employer, Jackson Dawson Communications and filed a claim for workers’ compensation. The single commissioner denied the claim because she found the injury did not arise out of or in the course of his employment, and that decision was affirmed by the full commission and the court of appeals. We reverse and remand, holding that under the facts of this case, Whigham is entitled to workers’ compensation because he was impliedly required to attend the kickball game he organized, and therefore, his injury arose out of and in the course of his employment.

FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Whigham was employed as the Director of Creative Solutions at Jackson Dawson, a marketing, advertising, and public relations company. As part of his employment, Whigham attended bi-monthly meetings wherein the managers discussed, among other things, the importance of team-building events. In accordance with the company’s desire to cultivate an enjoyable work atmosphere, Whigham conceived the idea of having a company kickball game. He proposed the idea to his superior, Kevin Johnson, who instructed him to move forward with it. Whigham proceeded to contact a rental facility and [134]*134designed T-shirts for the event. Johnson authorized Whig-ham to spend $440 of company funds for the rental, the T-shirts, drinks, and snacks.

Once the event was organized, Whigham used the company intranet to promote it and encourage attendance. The game took place on a Friday afternoon at 3:00 with roughly half of Jackson Dawson’s employees in attendance. Whigham was injured on the last play when he jumped to avoid being thrown out by the opposing team. He landed awkwardly on his right leg, shattering his tibia and fibula. He was taken away in an ambulance and eventually underwent two surgeries. His doctor later informed him he would need a knee replacement in the near future.

The single commissioner denied compensability on the grounds that the injury did not arise out of or in the course of Whigham’s employment. Specifically, she found he was neither required to attend the event, nor was there any benefit beyond general employee morale to the company. The full commission affirmed, essentially adopting the single commissioner’s order. The court of appeals affirmed in a memorandum opinion, citing cases involving the substantial evidence standard. Whigham v. Jackson Dawson Commc’ns, Op. No. 2012-UP-223, 2012 WL 10841376 (S.C. Ct.App. filed April 11, 2012). This Court granted certiorari to review the opinion of the court of appeals.

ISSUE PRESENTED

Did the court of appeals err in affirming the denial of workers’ compensation because the injury did not arise out of and in the course of Whigham’s employment?

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, this Court can reverse or modify a decision of the full commission only if the claimant’s substantial rights have been prejudiced because the decision is affected by an error of law or is not supported by substantial evidence in the record. Hutson v. S.C. State Ports Auth., 399 S.C. 381, 387, 732 S.E.2d 500, 502-03 (2012). “Substantial evidence is not a mere scintilla of evidence nor evidence viewed from one side, but such evi[135]*135dence, when the whole record is considered, as would allow reasonable minds to reach the conclusion the Full Commission reached.” Shealy v. Aiken Cnty., 341 S.C. 448, 455, 535 S.E.2d 438, 442 (2000).

LAW/ANALYSIS

In determining whether a work-related injury is compensable, the Workers’ Compensation Act is liberally construed toward providing coverage and any reasonable doubt as to the construction of the Act will be resolved in favor of coverage. Shealy, 341 S.C. at 455-56, 535 S.E.2d at 442. Pursuant to Section 42-1-160(A) of the South Carolina Code (Supp.2013), for an injury to be compensable under the Act, it must “aris[e] out of and in the course of employment.” An injury arises out of employment when there is apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of all the circumstances, a causal relationship between the conditions under which the work is to be performed and the resulting injury. Crisp v. SouthCo., Inc., 401 S.C. 627, 641, 738 S.E.2d 835, 842 (2013). In general, whether an accident arises out of and is in the course and scope of employment is a question of fact for the full commission. Pratt v. Morris Roofing, Inc., 357 S.C. 619, 622, 594 S.E.2d 272, 274 (2004). However, “[wjhere there are no disputed facts, the question of whether an accident is compensable is a question of law.” Grant v. Grant Textiles, 372 S.C. 196, 201, 641 S.E.2d 869, 872 (2007).

In finding a recreational or social activity is within the course of employment, this Court considers whether the activity falls within one of the following factors established by Professor Arthur Larson:

(1) [It occurs] on the premises during a lunch or recreation period as a regular incident of the employment; or
(2) The employer, by expressly or impliedly requiring participation, or by making the activity part of the services of an employee, brings the activity within the orbit of the employment; or
(3) The employer derives substantial direct benefit from the activity beyond the intangible value of improvement in employee health and morale that is common to all kinds of recreation and social life.

[136]*136Leopard v. Blackman-Uhler, 318 S.C. 369, 370-71, 458 S.E.2d 41, 41 (1995) (citing 1A Arthur Larson & Lex K. Larson, The Law of Workmen’s Compensation § 22.00 (1994) (currently at 2 Arthur Larson & Lex K. Larson, Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law § 22.01 (2013))).

Whigham contends the court of appeals erred in finding that his injury was noncompensable because it did not arise out of and in the course of his employment. Whigham argues his injury is compensable under both the second and third provisions of Larson’s guidelines. We agree that Whig-ham was impliedly required to attend the kickball game he organized and that it became part of his services; therefore, the event was brought within the scope of his employment. Although the event may have been voluntary for company employees generally, the undisputed facts unequivocally indicate Whigham was expected to attend as part of his professional duties. Accordingly, we hold Whigham’s injury arose out of his employment as a matter of law.1

The law is clear that when determining whether an employee is required to attend an event a directive is not necessary “if the employee is made to understand that he is to take part in the affair.” Larson, supra § 22.04[2]. Here, both Whigham and his superior plainly considered his presence vital to his job of executing the event. When asked whether Whigham felt the event was voluntary for him,

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Bluebook (online)
763 S.E.2d 420, 410 S.C. 131, 2014 S.C. LEXIS 367, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whigham-v-jackson-dawson-communications-sc-2014.