Fall on walk from bed to desk is workplace accident, German court rules

居家办公时从卧室走到书房摔倒受伤，法院：属通勤，算工伤

A German court has ruled that a man who slipped while walking a few meters from his bed to his home office can claim on workplace accident insurance as he was technically commuting.

德国一家法院裁定，一名男子在从床走到几米之外的家庭办公区路上滑倒，可以申请工伤保险赔偿，因为严格来说，他是在通勤路上受伤的。

The man was working from home and on his way to his desk one floor below his bedroom, the federal social court, which oversees social security issues, said in its decision.

负责审理社会保障问题的联邦社会法院在判决书中称，这名男子当时正在居家办公，在前往卧室楼下的办公桌时受伤。

While walking on the spiral staircase connecting the rooms, the unnamed man slipped and broke his back.

这名未透露姓名的男子在连接两个房间的旋转楼梯上滑倒，摔伤了脊背。

The court noted that the employee usually started working in his home office “immediately without having breakfast beforehand”, but did not explain why that was relevant to the case. However, later it said that statutory accident insurance was only afforded to the “first” journey to work, suggesting that a trip on the way to get breakfast after already being in the home office could be rejected.

法院指出，该员工通常“不吃早饭就会立即开始”在家办公，但没有解释为什么这与本案有关。但后来法院称，法定的意外事故保险只适用于 "第一趟" 上班的旅程，这表明如果到达家庭办公室之后，又去吃早餐的话，中途受伤可能不算工伤。

The employer’s insurance refused to cover the claim. While two lower courts disagreed on whether the short trip was a commute, the higher federal social court said it had found that “the first morning journey from bed to the home office [was] an insured work route”.

雇主的保险公司拒绝赔偿这项索赔。虽然两个下级法院对短途行程是否属于通勤存在分歧，但更高一级的联邦社会法院表示，已认定“早晨从床上到家庭办公室的第一次行程[是]符合投保规定的工作路线”。

It ruled: “The plaintiff suffered an accident at work when he fell on the way to his home office in the morning.”

法院裁定：“原告在早上前往家庭办公室的路上摔倒，遭遇了工伤事故”。

In many countries, firms have a duty of care to their employees, regardless of where they work.

在许多国家，无论员工在哪里工作，公司都对他们有保护义务。

The German federal court said: “If the insured activity is carried out in the household of the insured person or at another location, insurance cover is provided to the same extent as when the activity is carried out at the company premises.”

德国联邦法院称："如果投保的活动是在被保险人的家中或其他地方进行的，那么保险覆盖的活动范围与在工作场所进行的活动相同"。

It is not clear if the man was working from home due to the pandemic or had done so previously.

目前还不清楚这名男子是由于疫情而在家工作，还是早已如此。