A Virginia police officer was trying to get out of the rain as a sudden downpour came on and she slipped on wet grass. She sought workers’ compensation for her resulting injuries and a Virginia Court of Appeals determined that since she was not pursuing a suspect her injuries were caused by an “Act of God”, therefore her injuries were not compensable under the state’s Workers’ Comp Act.

Shannon Conner worked for the City of Danville Police Department. She was conducting surveillance at a duplex when her and fellow officers located a homicide suspect. She and a fellow officer interviewed the suspect on a sidewalk then moved the interview to a porch on the duplex. During the course of the interview the weather changed, and it began raining very hard and the wind picked up, so they decided to leave the porch and move the interview inside. As she was leaving the porch she slipped and fell on wet grass. She sought medical treatment and had to undergo back surgery. Her physician told her she would not be able to perform the necessary duties of her current position, so she left the police department and found work with another employer.

A deputy commissioner denied her benefits because her injury did not arise from her employment. She was merely trying to get out of the weather and therefore concluded that she was exposed to an Act of God. Conner sought review but the full Commission also agreed with the denial, saying that weather does not constitute a particular risk of employment.

The Court of Appeals determined that as soon as she left the porch she ceased and suspended her work-related tasks. Finding that the suspect was not under arrest, Connor’s running from the porch was to get out of the rain and not for employment-related reasons. “Hazards to which the general public is equally exposed are non-compensable” read the decision. That her job brought her to that location isn’t enough to show her injury arose out of her employment.

Read the full case here.