08-11WC. Estate of Stephen Paul Carr, by and through the Widow and Administratrix, Bonnie Carr v. Verizon New England, Inc.

• Court: Vermont

Vermont Workers Compensation 2011. 08-11WC. Estate of Stephen Paul Carr, by and through the Widow and Administratrix, Bonnie Carr v. Verizon New England, Inc Estate of Stephen Paul Carr, by and through the Widow and Administratrix, Bonnie Carr v. Verizon New England, Inc.(April 29, 2011)STATE OF VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF LABOROpinion No. 08-11WCBy: Phyllis Phillips, Esq. Hearing OfficerFor: Anne M. Noonan CommissionerState File No. Y-53261RULING ON CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ATTORNEYS:Dennis Shillen, Esq., for Claimant(fn1) J. Christopher Callahan, Esq., for DefendantISSUE PRESENTED: Did Claimant's fatal injury arise out of and in the course of his employment for Defendant? FINDINGS OF FACT: The following facts are undisputed:(fn2) 1.Claimant Stephen Paul Carr was employed by Defendant as a field manager for the Rutland and Sunderland, Vermont offices. As a "floating" manager, at times his job required him to work different assignments at other company locations throughout Vermont. 2.Maureen Oday was Claimant's supervisor from 2003 on. 3.Ms. Oday designated Claimant for a special duty work assignment from Monday, June 26, 2006 to Wednesday, June 28, 2006. The special duty assignment required Claimant to fill in as the acting manager of the Construction Control Center, located at Defendant's 800 Hinesburg Road, South Burlington, Vermont office (the "Hinesburg Road office"), while the regularly assigned manager was on vacation. 4.At the time of this special assignment, Claimant lived with his wife, Bonnie Carr, at 7383 US Route 4 in Bridgewater, Vermont. The distance from Claimant's residence to Defendant's Hinesburg Road office was approximately 104 miles. 5.Travel expenses incurred during Claimant's special duty assignment, including mileage, meals and lodging, were to be reimbursed in accordance with Defendant's policies. 6.When an employee is given a special duty assignment, Defendant reimburses for travel expenses based on the direct route mileage between the employee's regular reporting location and his or her special duty reporting location, not to and from the employee's home. In this case, therefore, Defendant paid Claimant's mileage from the Rutland office to the Hinesburg Road office and back, not to and from his home in Bridgewater. 7.Claimant was responsible for making his own lodging arrangements for his special duty assignment. This he did, by booking accommodations at the Hampton Inn in Colchester, Vermont from Sunday, June 25th through Wednesday, June 28th. 8.The Hampton Inn is located 5.7 miles north of Defendant's Hinesburg Road office. Consistent with previous arrangements between Defendant and the Hampton Inn, the hotel billed Defendant directly for Claimant's accommodations, and Defendant subsequently paid for them. 9.On Sunday evening, Claimant traveled from his home in Bridgewater to the Colchester Hampton Inn. His likely route of travel was via Interstate 89 North. Claimant checked into the hotel at approximately 9:17 PM. 10.Claimant's expected work hours during his special duty assignment were from approximately 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. As a manager, his actual hours may have varied somewhat from this. 11.Claimant was responsible for a number of tasks during his special duty assignment. At Ms. Oday's request, he completed a motor vehicle inventory and researched some callout activity. These tasks likely were completed by Tuesday. 12.Claimant also spent some time during his special duty assignment managing the process by which employees assigned to Defendant's construction unit were loaned out to its installation and maintenance unit in order to assist with workload. He likely fielded requests from other staff and/or Ms. Oday as well, though there is no specific documentation of this. 13.Following the conclusion of his workday at the Hinesburg Road office on Tuesday, Claimant drove to his home in Bridgewater to participate in a non-work-related golf event and to pick up his motorcycle for servicing in the Burlington area the following day. Notwithstanding that Claimant did not actually stay at the Hampton Inn that night, Defendant paid for his accommodations there nevertheless. 14.On Wednesday morning Claimant again traveled from his home in Bridgewater to the Hinesburg Road office. This time he was driving his motorcycle, which he dropped off for servicing at Green Mountain Harley Davidson, located at 157 Pearl Street in Essex Junction, Vermont. 15.Also on Wednesday, at approximately 12:21 PM Claimant checked out of the Hampton Inn. Later, between 4:30 and 4:45 PM Claimant's co-employee, Krista Karns, drove him to Green Mountain Harley Davidson so that he could retrieve his motorcycle. 16.Ms. Oday spoke to Claimant numerous times on Wednesday. For much of that day she was attending a meeting in White River Junction, and later on she had to travel to Woodstock to supervise repairs to a "fiber break" there. She last spoke to Claimant via cell phone late in the day. At that time, Ms. Oday was unaware of any remaining duties that would have required Claimant to extend his special duty assignment to Thursday morning. 17.At some point prior to beginning his special duty assignment, Claimant had requested a half-day of vacation on Thursday morning, so that he could attend an 8:15 AM medical appointment at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Ms. Oday acceded to this request. 18.After concluding his medical appointment, Claimant was expected to report to his regular duty assignment at Defendant's Rutland office on Thursday afternoon. This is where Claimant would have been expected to begin his work day had he not been granted vacation time for the first half of that day. 19.Claimant's wife did not expect him to return home on Wednesday night; rather, it was her understanding that he did not intend to return home until Thursday. Claimant's wife recalled that Claimant had advised her of this on Tuesday evening, when he was home for his golf event. 20.Claimant's wife recalled that Claimant called her on his cell phone on Wednesday evening at approximately 9:45 PM and said that he was...