Australian Woman Injured While Having Sex During Business Trip Denied Worker's Compensation

An Australian female bureaucrat whose identity has not been publicized requested worker's compensation for injuries she sustained while having sex during a work trip, but the country's highest court has turned her down.

The bureaucrat was injured and hospitalized in November 2007, after part of a glass light fixture hanging above the bed in which she was having sex fell onto her face, the Telegraph reported. Her nose and mouth were injured as a result of the accident, and the woman also reported that she experienced psychological injuries. Court transcripts indicate that either the woman or her partner pulled the light fixture from its wall mount.

The woman stayed in a motel room booked by her employer on her business trip - she'd been tasked with overseeing the budget review process at a regional office, meeting local staff and undergoing training.

The Australian government's insurer Comcare questioned whether the woman should be "considered 'in the course of employement' for workers' compensation purposes."

But since the woman's sexual activity was not work-related, officials stated that the company was not obligated to assist in payment of hospital bills. The ruling indicates that in order for a worker to be eligible for worker's comp, the employee must be "expressly or impliedly induced or encouraged by the employer," to engage in any activity that could result in an injury. The court also ruled that the woman having intercourse showed this instance was "not an ordinary incident of an overnight stay like showering, sleeping, eating or returning to the place of residence from a social occasion elsewhere in the vicinity."

Had the light fixture been damaged, the woman might be eligible for worker's comp, since her employer had booked the motel.

The woman was given compensation by the Full Bench of the Federal Court December of 2012, but the Court has since rescinded that decision.

Comcare said it will pay for the legal bills of the case, the Telegraph reported.