WORKERS COMP – Coming and going rule used to disallow claim for pilot passenger killed in crash: Airtran Airways, Inc. v. Fortney ( COA 3/27/2009)

Airtran Airways, Inc. v. Fortney
2008-CA-001223
03/27/2009
2009 WL 804216
Opinion by Judge Clayton; Judges Lambert and Wine concurred.

The Court reversed an opinion of the Workers’ Compensation Board reversing an ALJ decision that a widow was not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits when her husband, a pilot, died in an airplane accident while taking a flight on ComAir to Atlanta to begin his workday for AirTran.

The Court first held that the widow’s issue regarding the “going and coming” rule was preserved for appellate review and was properly before the Board when it was listed as a contested issue at the benefit
review conference.

The Court then held that because the deceased was going to his workplace when the accident occurred, the going and coming rule was applicable and that the Board erred by holding that the reciprocal jumpseat agreement between the airlines benefited AirTran so as to bring it under the employer conveyance exception to the coming and going rule.