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Is a Pre-Hire Injury Compensable?
An applicant sought employment with the Medical Center at Bowling Green as a registration clerk. She sat for two face-to-face interviews and received a written job offer contingent on passing a physical examination and a drug screen. The medical center was clear that she would not be hired until she completed these.
Two days later, the applicant submitted for the physical examination. As part of the exam, she was asked to perform a functional capacity evaluation to determine whether she had the capacity to carry out the physical demands of the position.
During the FCE portion of the exam, she was asked to lift weights ranging from 10 to 61 pounds. She claimed that while lifting the heavier weight she felt pain in her neck but did not inform the individual administering the examination.
The applicant ultimately passed the physical examination and the drug screen. The medical center officially hired her in the following days.
Three weeks after the physical examination, she reported to work and the neck pain lingered. She underwent neck surgery for the injury that she allegedly sustained during the physical examination. She missed a considerable amount of work, and the medical center terminated her.
The applicant filed a workers’ compensation claim for the injury she sustained during the physical examination. The medical center denied the claim on the ground that she was not an employee at the time of the injury. The administrative law judge agreed with the denial of the claim. The Workers’ Compensation Board affirmed. The applicant appealed.
Was the ALJ correct in denying the applicant’s claim?
- A. No. The applicant’s completion of the physical examination was a service in the course of the medical center’s business.
- B. Yes. The applicant was not an employee of the medical center at the time of the physical examination.
- C. No. The preemployment physical examination was considered part of the employment.
How the Court Ruled
A is incorrect. The court said that it did not consider the physical examination “work” in furtherance of the medical center’s business. The applicant offered the medical center no material benefit, and it was of no consequence to the medical center whether she completed the examination or not.
The court also found that the applicant could not expect payment for the physical examination, even absent the medical center’s statement that passing the exam was a prerequisite to her employment. The court doubted that the claim would exist if the applicant had failed the exam and the medical center declined her employment.
C is incorrect. The court found that Kentucky is a jurisdiction that does not treat a preemployment examination as employment for purposes of workers’ compensation coverage. The court has held that if employment is contingent upon a preemployment physical examination, the individual is not covered as “employed” until the examination is completed.
B is correct. In Rahla v. Medical Center at Bowling Green, et al., No. 2014-SC-000236-WC (Ky. 03/17/16), the Kentucky Supreme Court held that the applicant was not entitled to benefits.
She was not employed by the medical center when she participated in the physical examination. She received confirmation of her hiring after the examination was completed and started work three weeks later.
Editor’s note: This feature is not intended as instructional material or to replace legal advice.
