The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey has reversed the dismissal of a New Jersey man's claim for workers compensation, ruling that he was injured while acting within the course and scope of his employment. The case is called Keim v. Above All Termite & Pest Control, 2022 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1865 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2022). Please note that this opinion is unpublished; refer to New Jersey Rule 1:36-3 for rules relating to the citation of unpublished opinions. 

Henry Keim worked as a pesticide applicator for Above All Termite & Pest Control (Above All). The company assigned him a vehicle to drive from his home to Above All's premises and to the residential and commercial properties that had requested pest control services. Keim, like other Above All employees, kept small amounts of pest control chemicals in that vehicle, per company policy, to reduce exposure to heat and cold and decrease the chances of stolen product. This practice required Above All employees to drive to the company premises to ensure they had the proper amount of materials needed for the day. In mid-July 2020, Keim was driving to Above All to gather the required chemicals when he was involved in a major auto accident, suffering injuries to his head and torso; Keim promptly reported the accident to Above All. That October, Keim reported he had experienced balance problems. At the advice of Above All, Keim sought medical treatment, where a "CT scan revealed bilateral subdural hematomas that required immediate surgery." 

Keim filed a petition for workers compensation benefits a few weeks after his surgery, which Above All denied on the basis that Keim was injured outside the scope of employment; Above All followed the denial with a motion to dismiss Keim's claim. Keim, in turn, sought "temporary and/or medical benefits" for post-op treatment as well as temporary disability, both of which Above All contested were not compensable. The parties had a hearing before a Judge of Workers Compensation (JWC) in spring 2021, who dismissed Keim's claim with prejudice–he couldn't amend his petition to fix alleged problems with it–because "[h]e had not yet come under the control [of] his employer" (quoting JCW). It did not matter to the JCW that Keim was obligated to go get the pest control chemicals because Keim "was on his way to his place of employment." (Quoting JCW). Keim appealed.