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Carrillo v. Liberty Northwest Ins.9/3/1996
53 St.Rep. 829
Submitted on Briefs April 18, 1996.
The petitioner, Carol Ann Carrillo, filed a petition in the Workers' Compensation Court of the State of Montana in which she sought benefits for an injury which she alleged occurred in the course and scope of her employment with Blue Cross Blue Shield in 1993. After a trial, the Workers' Compensation Court entered an order and judgment in which it concluded that Carrillo's injury did not occur during the course and scope of her employment and denied her claim. Carrillo appeals the order and judgment. We reverse the judgment of the Workers' Compensation Court.
The issue on appeal is whether the Workers' Compensation Court erred when it concluded that Carrillo's injury did not arise out of and in the course and scope of employment.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Carol Ann Carrillo suffered an injury on the afternoon of March 2, 1993, when she was struck by an automobile while crossing an intersection in Helena. At the time of her injury, Carrillo had left the building where she worked and was walking toward the Holter Museum, which is one and one-half blocks from her place of employment. She had planned to purchase a gift for a co-worker who was leaving and for whom Carrillo and other co-workers were planning a party. Carrillo worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Montana which was insured against workers' compensation claims by Liberty Northwest Insurance (Liberty). After her injury, Carrillo filed a timely claim for workers' compensation which Liberty denied on the basis that her accident did not arise out of and in the course of her employment.
After Liberty denied her claim, Carrillo filed a claim with the Workers' Compensation Court in which she alleged that she was injured when hit by a car during her fifteen-minute break from work. Liberty responded and contended that she had abandoned her employment and was not on break. The Workers' Compensation Court held a trial on March 23, 1995, to determine whether Carrillo's injury occurred within the course and scope of her employment.
Testimony from the trial and from depositions reveals that at the time of the accident, Carrillo worked at BCBS offices located in the Donovan building which is on the west side of Last Chance Gulch south of its intersection with Lawrence Street in Helena. BCBS provided its employees with a fifteen-minute break in the morning and another fifteen-minute break in the afternoon. Employees customarily took the afternoon break sometime between 2:00 and 3:30 p.m. A substantial number of BCBS employees walk during their breaks and Carrillo testified that she walked during ninety percent of her breaks. While BCBS encouraged its employees to engage in a healthy lifestyle, it did not require them to walk during breaks or even to take breaks; employees were free to take them or leave them.
A small break room was located in the basement of the Donovan building where Carrillo worked. Approximately fifty to seventy-five employees worked in the Donovan building and employees at the Donovan building often walked to the Fuller building for breaks. The Fuller building is a second BCBS office which is located on the northwest corner of Fuller and Lawrence streets, approximately one block away from the Donovan building. Employees also walked to other nearby businesses to take their breaks and BCBS also had a room in the Downtown Athletic Club for use as a break room.
Testimony also revealed that BCBS permits its employees to give going-away parties for employees leaving BCBS or transferring to other departments. The parties were, at times, held during breaks and planning could
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