University of Washington v. Marengo, 122 Wash. App. 798, 95 P.3d 787 (Div. 1, 2004)

The Industrial Insurance Act includes a “parking area” exception.  RCW 51.08.013(1).  Under this exception, although an employee is acting in the course of his employment while coming and going from work on the jobsite in areas controlled by the employer, there is no coverage when the injury occurs in a parking area.

While on his way to work, Robert Marengo, an employee at the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center, fell in an interior stairwell of Harborview’s parking garage and injured his foot.  He applied for workers compensation benefits.  Based on its reading of  RCW 51.08.013(1), the University responded that he was not entitled to coverage because the injury occurred in a parking area. 

The Department of Labor and Industries agreed with the University and denied the claim for benefits.  The Board of Industrial Insurance reversed, however, and awarded benefits.  The Superior Court and Division One both affirmed the Board’s decision.  

So, why are the interior steps of a parking garage not a “parking area” under RCW 51.08.013(1)?  Division One concluded that the statute was intended to include not the entire parking structure but rather only those portions where vehicles actually park.  The Board held, and the court agreed, that the stairwell where Marengo was injured was a means of getting to and from the parking area and not a place where vehicles park.