Q&A of the Week |
Condominium Endorsement and Coverage for Water Loss
A Massachusetts subscriber recently asked the following question:
We have several owned, but rented out condominium units insured with a BP 00 03 07 02. Each unit needs $100,000 in interior structure coverage to cover finished walls, flooring, additions, and alterations due to an all-in master policy with a $100,000 water loss deductible.
If there is a water claim within the owner's unit under the BP 00 03 07 02 policy, would the BP 17 03 07 02, Condominium Commercial Unit-Owners Optional Coverages endorsement, cover the loss?
ANSWER:The BP 17 03 form states that condominium property that is not included under business personal property and pertains to the insured's condo only or that the insured has a duty to insure according to the condo association agreement is added to covered property if a limit of insurance is shown in the schedule and the unit is described in the schedule. So, yes, if the units meet the criteria listed, items that are not considered business personal property would be covered by the endorsement. |
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Litigation Watch |
Causal Connection Between Workplace Accident and Injury
The employer appealed an award of workers compensation benefits to an employee who claimed to have been injured on the job. This case is Giant Food LLC v. Wu, No. 1393-12-4, 2013 WL 793352 (Va. App. Mar. 5, 2013).
Wu was working as a cashier at Giant Food when she took a break. On her way to the bathroom, her purse caught on a merchandise hook hanging from a shelf. Wu lost her balance and fell. She was taken to the hospital, complaining of pain in her left knee, arm, and shoulder. An x-ray of her arm showed a fracture of her left humerus.
After returning to work, Wu continued to have pain in her knee and a limited active range of motion. A doctor diagnosed her with a left distal radius fracture but did release her to full duty work. However, Wu did not return to work; instead, she filed for workers compensation benefits. The deputy workers comp commissioner denied benefits to Wu, finding that her injuries did not arise out of her employment, but on appeal, the full commission reversed the denial. The commission stated that the injuries arose out of Wu's employment because a causal connection existed between her workplace and her injuries since her employment placed her in the aisle, and in walking to the bathroom, Wu had to maneuver around a cart and then confronted a workplace hazard, the shelf hook. The employer appealed this decision to the Court of Appeals of Virginia, Alexandria.
In this instance, Wu fell because her purse was caught on a hook on the merchandise shelf in the store aisle. The court found that the commission determined as a matter of fact that the hook was a hazard peculiar to the workplace. The court said it could not disturb this factual determination because it was supported by evidence in the record. The commission was entitled to conclude that the hook, located on a shelf, was peculiar to the workplace and not common to the neighborhood. Accordingly, the court ruled that the commission did not err in holding that Wu's injury arose out of her employment. The commission's opinion was affirmed.
Editor's Note: With this opinion, the Court of Appeals of Virginia offered a discussion of the meaning of "arising out of and in the course of the employment." The fulfillment of this phrase is essential to coverage under the state's workers compensation act. The facts of the accident led the workers compensation commission to hold that the injury to the worker did indeed arise out of and in the course of employment, and the court upheld this finding. |
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