Clumsiness No Defense to Workers’ Compensation Claim

In two recent decisions, the South Carolina Supreme Court clarified the circumstances that constitute compensable falls.
In Barnes v. Charter 1 Realty, Judy Barnes tripped and fell at work while walking down a hall to check an email for another employee. There was no evidence that Barnes’ fall was precipitated by an internal condition (such as her legs giving way, fainting, heart attack or seizure). There was further no evidence that the work premises presented any defect or danger which caused the fall (“no substance, no object, no item, no debris, or anything else over which Barnes tripped”).