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

Because the man did not have breakfast beforehand, the trip from bed was his commute. Photo / Getty Images

A German man who slipped a few metres from his bed on his way into his home office in a separate room of the house has won the right to claim it as a workplace accident for insurance purposes, after the court ruled he was technically commuting.

The man was going from his bed to the office, one floor below his bedroom, when he slipped going down the spiral staircase and broke his back.

The court has ruled it to be a workplace accident, after noting that the man usually started work in his home office "immediately without having breakfast beforehand", meaning that was his "first" journey to work.

Because he went straight from bed into the home office, the court considered it part of his commute to work and, as such, the accident can be claimed on his work insurance.

The employer's insurance company had previously refused to cover the claim and two lower courts had disagreed that the journey was a commute. However, the higher federal social court in Germany has now determined that "the first morning journey from bed to the home office [was] an insured work route".

"The plaintiff suffered an accident at work when he fell on the way to his home office in the morning," the court ruled.

"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," the court's ruling stated.

According to the court, the law applies to "teleworking positions", which are "computer workstations that are permanently set up by the employer in the private area of ​​the employees".