Court Opinion

ID: 9845962
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:31:55.453677+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:30.014348
License: Public Domain

TOAL, Justice:
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s determination that Osteen’s injury is not compensable under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law. I would hold that Osteen’s injury was by accident arising out of and in the course of her employment and therefore compensable. Thus, I would affirm the Court of Appeals.
In my view, there are two basic problems with the majority’s analysis. First, I believe .the majority, in effect, incorrectly characterizes the personal comfort doctrine and certain other acts outside an employee’s regular duties as exceptions to the “arising out of’ requirement in S.C.Code Ann. § 42-1-160 (1985). In other words, under the majority’s analysis, if an injury is found not to “arise out of’ employment, it may still be compensable if it falls under one of these exceptions. Second, by characterizing workers’ compensation law in this manner, the majority creates an overly restrictive standard for determining whether an injury “arises out of and in the course of’ employment.
Pursuant to section 42-1-160, all injuries, to be compensable, must be by accident arising out of and in the course of employment. The two parts of the phrase “arising out of and in the course of’ are not synonymous, but both must exist simultaneously before any court will allow recovery. Branch v. Pacific Mills, 205 S.C. 353, 32 S.E.2d 1 (1944). This is the starting point for analyzing any workers’ compensation claim. *52See Owings v. Anderson County Sheriffs Dep’t, 815 S.C. 297, 433 S.E.2d 869 (1993). We have liberally construed this language and allowed compensation in a variety of cases including on the job injuries suffered while the employee was engaged in personal comfort activities, as well as other acts outside an employee’s regular duties.1
Commentators, like Professor Larson, have categorized these compensable personal activities in an attempt to provide practical guidance. Such categories, however, are not exceptions to the “arising out of’ requirement in section 42-1-160. They are instead devices for determining whether an injury does in fact “arise out of and in the course of’ employment. See, e.g., Mack v. Branch No. 12, Post Exchange, 207 S.C. 258, 264, 35 S.E.2d 838, 840 (1945) (“Such acts as are necessary to the life, comfort, and convenience of the servant while at work, though strictly personal to himself, and not acts of service, are incidental to the service, and injury sustained in the performance thereof is deemed to have arisen out of the employment.”) (emphasis added). These categories also reflect the degree of flexibility with which courts have interpreted this statutory language.
An injury “arises out of’ employment when there is apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of all the circumstances, a causal relationship between the conditions under which the work is to be performed and the resulting injury. Owings, 315 S.C. 297, 433 S.E.2d 869. The majority concludes there is no causal connection between Osteen’s employment and her injury because her employment in no way required her to be placing a chest full of ice into the trunk of her *53vehicle. Under this rigid formulation of “arising out of,” only those activities specifically required by the employment would be compensáble. Such a standard is impractical and effectively overrules those cases where we have allowed compensation, even, though the activity was not specifically required by the employment. E.g., Howell v. Kash & Karry, 264 S.C. 298, 214 S.E.2d 821 (1975) (found compensable where employee was injured while chasing two boys who had stolen a customer’s purse); Sexton v. Freeman Gas Co., 258 S.C. 15, 187 S.E.2d 128 (1972) (found compensable where employee was injured while driving company truck to help put out brush fire); Portee v. South Carolina State Hosp., 234 S.C. 50, 106 S.E.2d 670 (1959) (found compensable where employee was injured while seeking medication for a sore throat).
The fact is there is no case in South Carolina that gives meaningful guidance to resolving the question of compensation under the unique facts of this case. Therefore, I would seek guidance from the North Carolina Supreme Court. See McDowell v. Stilley Plywood Co., 210 S.C. 173, 181, 41 S.E.2d 872, 876 (1947) (“Our Workmen’s Compensation Act having been fashioned to the North Carolina Workmen’s Compensation Act, and practically a copy thereof, the opinions of the Supreme Court of that State construing such Act are entitled to great respect.”).2 In construing the phrase “arising out of and in the course of,” the North Carolina Supreme Court has set forth the following test:
The rule applicable when the employee has been directed, as part of his duties, to remain in a particular place or locality until directed otherwise or for a specified length of time, has been well stated ... as follows: In those circum*54stances, the rule applied is simply that the employee is not expected to wait immobile, but may indulge in any reasonable activity at that place, and if he does so the risk inherent in such activity is an incident of his employment.
Watkins v. City of Wilmington, 290 N.C. 276, 225 S.E.2d 577, 581 (N.C.1976).
In Watkins, a fireman injured himself while repairing a car during working hours. In concluding the fireman’s activity was reasonable, the court found the following facts determinative: the fireman was required, as part of his duties, to remain at the fire station during working hours; the attempted repair to the car was minor; the practice of firemen repairing their automobiles at work was well known to and permitted by the firemen’s superiors; and allowing the firemen to make repairs benefited the fire department in that by keeping their automobiles in working condition the firemen could report to duty when they were off duty, in case of an emergency. Id. at 583.
In this case, Osteen was expected, as part of her duties, to stay on school premises the entire working day, including her lunch hour. The practice of employees getting ice from the cafeteria for personal use was well known to and permitted by her supervisor. Moreover, Osteen’s excursion was brief and near the end of her working day. Her supervisor testified that Osteen’s activity would not have interfered with her job. Finally, by acquiescing in this conduct, the school was benefited with improved employer/employee relations. I would therefore find that Osteen’s act of obtaining cafeteria ice for personal use was a reasonable activity, and the risk inherent in such activity was an incident of her employment. As such, I would hold that Osteen’s injury was by accident arising out of and in the course of her employment and therefore compensable.
For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent.

. For example, in McCoy v. Easley Cotton Mills, 218 S.C. 350, 62 S.E.2d 772 (1950), we utilized the personal comfort doctrine in concluding that an employee’s accident arose out of and in the course of his employment even though the injury occurred when the employee walked outside to smoke a cigarette. Additionally, in Howell v. Kash & Karry, 264 S.C. 298, 301, 214 S.E.2d 821, 822 (1975), we stated that ’’[a]n act outside an employee's regular duties which is undertaken in good faith to advance the employer’s interest, whether or not the employee’s own assigned work is thereby furthered, is within the course of employment.” The injury in Howell occurred.while the employee was chasing two boys who had stolen a customer’s purse. It was not part of the employee’s regular duties to chase potential thieves. We nevertheless held that the injury was by accident arising out of and in the course of employment.

. Since McDowell, this Court and our Court of Appeals have continued to follow the practice of relying upon the North Carolina Supreme Court for guidance in construing our workers’ compensation laws. See Nolan v. Daley, 222 S.C. 407, 73 S.E.2d 449 (1952); Flemon v. Dickert-Keowee, Inc., 259 S.C. 99, 190 S.E.2d 751 (1972); Carter v. Penney Tire & Recapping Co., 261 S.C. 341, 200 S.E.2d 64 (1973); Hines v. Hendricks Canning Co., 263 S.C. 399, 211 S.E.2d 220 (1975); Holley v. Owens Coming Fiberglas Corp., 301 S.C. 519, 392 S.E.2d 804 (Ct.App. 1990); Adams v. Texfi Indus., 320 S.C. 213, 464 S.E.2d 109 (1995); Stephen v. Avins Const. Co., 324 S.C. 334, 478 S.E.2d 74 (Ct.App. 1996); Harding v. Plumley, 329 S.C. 580, 496 S.E.2d 29 (Ct.App. 1998).