Part I - Iowa Workers' Compensation - Going and Coming Rule
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A. Special Errand Rule Exception.
This exception addresses those instances where a worker performs a duty not usually considered to be among those of the worker's regular employment, provided it is performed at the direction of the employer or demanded by the business. Otto v Independent School Dist., 237 Iowa 991, 23 N.W. 2d 915 (1946); Chia v. Quaker Oats (App. Descn. May 1994). This may also be referred to as the special service exception. A janitor called back after hours may be covered under this exception. Kyle v. Greene High School, 208 Iowa 1037, 226 N.W. 71 (1929).
In Otto a janitor who had been working for the school district for twelve years, slipped and fell on the icy sidewalk on his way to work at 5:00am during a cold and bitter winter day. His work required him to open and close the school building on a daily basis. His employment contract required him to have the building heated to 70 degrees by 9:00am when school opened. He lived approximately five blocks from the school. On the morning he was injured his wife insisted he put a pair of old socks over his rubbers. In rejecting the claim the court found nothing unusual about the walk to work that morning. Something more than a walk to work at the beginning of the work day is required. Had the claimant been to work and left for a special errand for the employer it may have changed the outcome of the case, but without more there was no basis to except the going and coming rule. The act leading up to the injury, must be something outside of the normal duties of the claimant for there to be a special errand.
There are several cases from other jurisdictions discussed by the court. They involve fact situations dissimilar to Otto's. The fact claimant had fixed hours, had not been called to an emergency, had not been to work already that morning, had no work duties to perform away from the school and his job duties required work only on site at the school house place him squarely within the basic rule. You can't help but think the socks over the rubbers were factored in as well.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Worksite Injuries and Workers Compensation.