Teachers covered for injuries as chaperones
SJC says such trips are job responsibilities
The state’s high court said yesterday that teachers injured while chaperoning students to ski areas or other types of recreational activities will be covered by the school system’s worker’s compensation.
In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court said that Peabody High School math teacher Karen Sikorski was covered by that city’s worker’s compensation program in January 2004 when she escorted members of the high school ski club for a trip.
Sikorski’s medical bills were covered by her health insurance plan, but the city and Sikorski’s attorney, Alan S. Pierce of Salem, disagreed over whether the case was more properly resolved through worker’s compensation. The trip was to Mount Ascutney in Vermont.
The city said a 1985 state law excluded employees injured in “recreational activities,’’ while Pierce contended that Sikorski’s duties were part of her job as a teacher.
The SJC said Pierce got it right.
“It is clear that the employee’s skiing as a chaperone arose out of and in the course of her employment as a teacher, even though her participation as a chaperone was voluntary,’’ Justice Judith Cowin wrote for the court. “The city encouraged teachers to participate as ski club chaperones. . . . The ski club’s trips benefited the city by furthering the school’s educational mission.’’
In a telephone interview, Pierce said the favorable ruling by the SJC does not mean that Sikorski will get a financial windfall.
She may recover 60 percent of the 16 sick days she used during school breaks, while she underwent two shoulder surgeries since 2004 and may get a small payment if her injuries are permanent.
“It’s not a big money case, but the principle needed to be established that when teachers are performing chaperoning duties do not lose the protection’’ of the worker’s compensation system, Pierce said.
He added, “It sends a message to municipalities and teachers that the work they do on either side of the classroom bell is valued.’’
In court papers, the Massachusetts Municipal Association had urged the SJC to make it clear that the 1985 law applied to teachers who are chaperoning students to recreational sites.
The association said in court papers that it was fearful of an expansion of the sometimes costly insurance plan. Peabody also opposed the move by Sikorski, saying she had freely chosen to participate in an activity that she personally enjoyed.
