My coworker fell in a Brattleboro work parking lot, is that workers' comp?

Q: My coworker fell in a Brattleboro work parking lot, is that workers' comp?

Your employer is hoping you never learn this: a fall in the company parking lot can still be a Vermont workers' compensation claim. Worst case, the insurer says it was just a personal errand, off the clock, or a condition she already had, and wage-loss checks get delayed or denied right when rent, child care, and medical bills are stacking up. In Vermont, that fight usually goes through the Vermont Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division, not a regular injury lawsuit first. It goes better when the facts show the parking lot was part of the job environment. If your coworker was arriving for work, leaving after a shift, walking from an employee area, or dealing with ice, poor lighting, or bad maintenance tied to the workplace, Vermont often treats that as work-related. That is the rule many people miss after moving from another state. What to do now matters: Report it to the employer immediately and ask that the injury be put in writing. Get medical care and make sure the record says where, when, and how the fall happened. Keep photos of the lot, snow, ice, potholes, paint markings, and footwear. Save names of witnesses and whether the lot was employer-controlled or maintained by a landlord or snow contractor. If the employer or insurer disputes the claim, the next step is through the Department of Labor claims process. If someone other than the employer may be responsible - for example, a Brattleboro property owner or plow company maintaining the lot - your coworker may also have a separate injury claim, and Vermont's general deadline for that is 3 years from the accident date. That second claim can matter if workers' comp does not cover everything, especially lost income beyond basic benefits.

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Accepted Answer

Your employer is hoping you never learn this: a fall in the company parking lot can still be a Vermont workers' compensation claim.

Worst case, the insurer says it was just a personal errand, off the clock, or a condition she already had, and wage-loss checks get delayed or denied right when rent, child care, and medical bills are stacking up. In Vermont, that fight usually goes through the Vermont Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division, not a regular injury lawsuit first.

It goes better when the facts show the parking lot was part of the job environment. If your coworker was arriving for work, leaving after a shift, walking from an employee area, or dealing with ice, poor lighting, or bad maintenance tied to the workplace, Vermont often treats that as work-related. That is the rule many people miss after moving from another state.

What to do now matters:

Report it to the employer immediately and ask that the injury be put in writing.
Get medical care and make sure the record says where, when, and how the fall happened.
Keep photos of the lot, snow, ice, potholes, paint markings, and footwear.
Save names of witnesses and whether the lot was employer-controlled or maintained by a landlord or snow contractor.

If the employer or insurer disputes the claim, the next step is through the Department of Labor claims process. If someone other than the employer may be responsible - for example, a Brattleboro property owner or plow company maintaining the lot - your coworker may also have a separate injury claim, and Vermont's general deadline for that is 3 years from the accident date.

That second claim can matter if workers' comp does not cover everything, especially lost income beyond basic benefits.