No Workers' Comp for UPS Driver Who Crashed After Beers

A UPS driver who crashed his truck after downing several beers while driving is not entitled to workers' compensation for his injuries, a Delaware judge ruled. Superior Court Judge Kathleen Vavala ruled late last week that Delaware's Industrial Accident Board abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law in awarding compensation to Timothy Willis, reports the AP. "Voluntary intoxication while working deviates from the ordinary course of employment," the judge noted, saying the board's decision "exceeded the bounds of reason."

Willis crashed his semi-truck into a guardrail in Maryland in June 2021 about 4am. "Willis typically packs a cooler of beers to celebrate the end of his shift while driving back home; but on the day of the crash, he started early," Vavala wrote, noting that Willis admitted drinking three beers. "Willis admitted he usually drinks beer and drives on the way home from work; attended AA meetings to curb his drinking; and was drinking and driving sometime before the crash," the judge noted. Responding officers saw Willis throwing several beer cans out of the truck. Officers said he was slurring his speech, sweating profusely, smelled of alcohol, and had defecated on himself.

Willis refused to perform field sobriety checks, but two blood tests taken hours later registered blood alcohol levels of 0.19 and 0.181, both more than twice the legal limit. The Industrial Accident Board refused to consider the blood alcohol tests because they were not properly authenticated. Board members awarded Willis compensation, saying the accident occurred at a time and place where he was reasonably expected to be while working. They also concluded that violation of UPS' zero-tolerance alcohol policy did not in itself mean the accident was "outside the course and scope of employment." The board noted that the alcohol in question was light beer with lower alcohol content.

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Vavala said the board correctly excluded the breathalyzer results. She determined, however, that it erred in finding that Willis was acting within the course and scope of his employment when he crashed. "A truck driver cannot reasonably drink ... alcohol while operating a semi-trailer ... on curving back roads at close to four in the morning," Vavala wrote. "To affirm the board's decision would set a dangerous precedent that employees can get away with driving impaired on the job—as long as it's light beer." (More alcohol is bad for you stories.)