By Andrew G. Simpson

An employee who claimed he injured his knee while swinging a club during an employer-sponsored TopGolf event has failed to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWCC) recently upheld a deputy commissioner who found that the employee failed to prove that he sustained an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment.

While the employee claimed to have mentioned the injury to his supervisor the day of the event and two more times after that, his supervisor, who the deputy commissioner found credible, testified that he never mentioned the injury to her and he only reported it to the human resource department weeks later – on the day he was terminated.

The claimant worked for S&P Global as a customer service specialist. On June 10, 2024, he attended a company-sponsored event at Topgolf, an entertainment venue with a hi-tech driving range. He testified that on the first swing of the day, his right knee buckled, making a “kind of popping sound” with pain radiating down his leg. He fell on his knee and then sat down for 15 to 20 minutes. Thereafter, he continued to participate in the event, attending lunch, and then playing for about another hour after lunch.

More than six weeks later, and a week after he was terminated, he sought an award of medical benefits and temporary total disability. S&P and its insurer denied the claims, asserting that he did not experience a compensable injury in the course of his employment and that he failed to give timely notice of an accident and delayed getting medical treatment.

The deputy commissioner and the VWCC panel agreed with the employer and insurer.

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Workers’ Compensation