No Clear Evidence Worker Was Hurt after Being Fired or Offsite

A worker fell down stairs and hurt his right knee. He filed a workers’ comp claim, which was accepted. But the employer argued that the injury must have happened offsite because the worker said he’d gotten injured at 7:00 when he’d left the premises at 5:00. And even if it had occurred on the employer’s premises, the worker had been fired at noon, before he got hurt. The Appeals Commission disagreed. The evidence as to when the worker was actually terminated was conflicting and it was unclear whether he was fired or laid off. In addition, the employer’s argument that he was hurt offsite was speculative. So the Commission concluded that the worker had a compensable injury that should be charged to the employer’s account [2015-0125 (Re), [2015] CanLII 14076 (AB WCAC), , March 29, 2015].