The state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that an eastern Arkansas business will have to pay death benefits to the family of an employee who was killed by a car during a March 2013 cement delivery.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, the Arkansas Court of Appeals denied an appeal from Razorback Concrete that argued that its deceased employee, Michael Perkins, was not doing work or on company property at the time he was fatally struck by a car while trying to cross Arkansas 18 on foot in Blytheville.
The ruling written by Judge Kenneth Hixson noted that "employment services" has no definition and must be applied to each individual case.
Hixson also wrote that since Perkins was on paid time and walking back to his truck from a gas station, the court upheld the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission ruling that found the company was liable for Perkins' emergency medical treatment as well as the costs of his funeral.
Perkins had worked for Razorback Concrete for about 10 years and showed up to work on March 11, 2013, at 4:30 a.m. and drove his truck from the company's West Memphis site to a site in Memphis where it was loaded with raw Portland cement.
He then went to a Razorback Concrete operation in Blytheville for delivery and, after arriving around 6:30 a.m., found that employees hadn't yet arrived and the gate locked.
Instead of waiting for employees to show up, Perkins drove a half-mile to the only area convenience store.
Perkins parked his truck on the side of the road and walked across the highway to the Hard Hat store where he bought a drink and breakfast sandwich. While walking back across the five-lane highway, he was struck by a vehicle.
He died a few hours later from his injuries; the death certificate categorized it as a fatality occurring at work, the court noted.
Although an administrative law judge denied claims from Perkins' family for money to help pay for the medical bills and the funeral, the state's workers compensation board agreed that Perkins was working when he was killed and that drivers were allowed to take breaks on company time in circumstances like Perkins'.
"Perkins was on paid company time, responsible for his truck during his workday, a half mile away from the employer's locked and gated facility, and returning to work after this permissible deviation had been completed," Hixson wrote.
Razorback Concrete, which describes itself as "one of the largest suppliers of ready-mix in Arkansas," claims more than 16 locations and more than 100 mixer trucks; the drum containing the mix is emblazoned with a giant red razorback.
Founded by the K.W. Ingram and Kent Ingram in 1965, the company's vice president is state Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis.
Metro on 06/04/2015