Facial injuries from a dog bite that occurred while on a smoke break are compensable.

The claimant was permitted to take smoke breaks and was in an approved area for smoking—and was actually smoking—when he was bitten by a co-worker’s dog. The claimant filed a claim petition for disfigurement benefits, and the employer contested the petition by denying that the claimant was in the course and scope of employment at the time of the injuries. The Workers’ Compensation Judge granted the claimant’s petition, concluding that the claimant was in the course and scope of employment at the time of the dog bite. The Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board affirmed on appeal. The Commonwealth Court also held that the claimant was in the course and scope of employment. They disagreed with the employer’s argument that the injuries occurred while the claimant was actively disengaged from his work. The court rejected the employer’s position that, while smoking a cigarette was a temporary departure from work, the act of petting the dog was an active disengagement from employment. According to the court, this was not a pronounced departure from his work.

_{Case Law Alerts, 2^nd Quarter, April 2015}

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