If you have an accident on the way to or from work, it is an accident. So you should proceed.
Many employees spend a not inconsiderable part of their day of being on the way to work or returning from it. If an accident happens during this time, you are covered by the employer’s statutory accident insurance at no additional costs. But what exactly does that mean? Important questions and answers.
Basically, every accident that happens to you on the direct way from or to work is considered a so -called way. However, “immediately” does not mean that it must be the shortest or fastest way to work.
For example, if you have to ripple due to a construction site or a traffic jam, you are also legally insured on this route. The same applies to detours that are necessary so that you can practice your job. This includes, for example, that you bring your child to the daycare center. The path to the meeting point of a carpool is also insured.
According to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS), the insurance cover begins with the time when you leave your house and ends as soon as you reach your workplace. Conversely, the same applies to the way home.
Section 8 of the Social Code VII (SGB 7) also regulates that they are accidentally insured if they work in the home office. There it says: “If the insured activity in the insured person’s household or in another location is carried out, insurance coverage exists to the same extent as for the exercise of the activity at the corporate facility.”
This ensures, for example, parents who work in the home office but leave the house to bring their offspring to childcare or to pick them up from there. But also the paths to the kitchen, to the toilet or from bed to the desk ensures the statutory accident insurance (judgment of the Federal Social Court of December 8, 2021, Az. B 2 U 4/21 R).
If you take a detour on the way to work for private reasons, any accident is no longer an accident at work. Both the short detour to the supermarket and the visit to friends lets your insurance coverage in the statutory accident insurance expire.
If you have suffered an accident, you should first contact your boss. Not only tell him that you are unable to work, but also in any case that the cause of this was an accident on the way to work. He then reports it to the statutory accident insurance.
It later turns out that you have injured yourself so much that you are unable to work for longer than just on the accident day, you must visit a so-called through doctor (D-doctor). These are usually specialists in orthopedics and trauma surgery. On the website of the German statutory accident insurance (DGUV) you will find one databasein which you can search for a D doctor near you. If you have been treated with your family doctor beforehand, he transfers you to a D doctor.
Good to know: With pure eye, neck, nose or ear injuries, you should see an eye or ENT doctor immediately. These are automatically considered D-doctors. The same applies to dentists.
The D doctor decides on how to be treated and writes a report for statutory accident insurance. You also have to consult it if you are no longer incapable of working beyond the day of the accident, but the medical treatment is expected to take longer than a week or you need to take healing and aids.
The benefits of statutory accident insurance are usually more extensive than that of statutory health insurance. While the health insurance company only has to make sure that it is treated sufficiently and expediently in a private accident, the statutory accident insurance must be exploited “all suitable means” in order to make it fit again.
For example, she takes over the treatment and rehabilitation costs completely- no matter how high it will be. You will also not pay any additional payments to medication or in stationary stays in the hospital. You do not have to show your insurance card of the health insurance company during the treatments. This applies to both legally and privately insured persons. And: The accident insurance pays the so -called injuries in the event of accidents.
