Flying the Friendly Skies: When Is It [Not] Compensable?
While the facts that follow are from an actual case in another jurisdiction, substantive workers’ compensation laws and legal doctrines are very similar from state to state. Names and location have been changed to help facilitate an objective look at facts and legal doctrine. How would you decide if the following case came before you in Florida?
Facts: Lori Coolidge, a flight attendant for a popular southern airline, lived in Orlando, but her home base airport was in Miami. She regularly commuted to and from work on the airline’s flights between the two cities.
One day, after her shift had ended, she boarded a flight from Miami to Orlando by using a passenger's ticket. After sitting down and talking to other passengers, she was injured when another passenger dropped his carry-on bag from an overhead bin onto her head. Coolidge filed a workers' compensation claim. The airline’s carrier denied the claim, saying the injury did not occur within the course and scope of her employment.
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How would you decide?