The definition of a work-related accident is defined in Article 13 of Social Security and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510, under the heading “Definition, Reporting, and Investigation of Work-related Accidents,” with the following provisions. Accordingly,
Work-related accidents:
a) While the insured is at the workplace,
b) (Amended: 17/4/2008-5754/8 Art.) If the insured is self-employed and working on their own behalf due to work being carried out by the employer, due to the work being carried out,
c) During the time spent by an insured working for an employer, when they are sent to a location other than the workplace on duty, without performing their primary job,
d) (Amended: 17/4/2008-5754/8 Art.) During the time spent by a breastfeeding female insured, covered by Article 4, paragraph 1, subparagraph (a) of this Law, to breastfeed their child in accordance with labor legislation,
e) This is an incident that occurs while the insured is travelling to and from the work location in a vehicle provided by the employer and that renders the insured physically or mentally disabled, either immediately or subsequently.
The work accident occurs in one of the circumstances specified in Article 13 of Law No. 5510, in terms of location and time. A-) For an accident to be considered a work-related accident, the insured must suffer the accident while at work.
According to Article 13/a of Law No. 5510, a work-related accident is defined as a physical or mental disability “while at work.” In Article 11 of the aforementioned Law, a workplace is defined as the place where insured individuals perform their work, including both tangible and intangible elements. These include goods produced or services provided at the workplace, areas connected to the workplace that are qualitatively related to the workplace and organized under the same management, areas for rest, nursing, eating, sleeping, washing, examination and care, physical or vocational training, other annexes such as courtyards and offices, and vehicles.
Accordingly, deaths resulting from physical injury while the insured is at work, such as falling while running in the courtyard, or injuries sustained as a result of a fight in the cafeteria, or being shot by anyone in a rest area, or “suicide at work,” or drowning in places such as pools within the workplace, are considered work-related accidents. [Court of Appeals, 21st Civil Chamber, decision dated July 1, 2004, numbered 6433/6503]
With this legal provision, a large portion of accidents that may occur are considered work-related accidents, thus providing the insured with broad protection. Any accident suffered by the insured while at work, regardless of the cause, will be considered a work-related accident if all other factors are considered together. In other words, any incident that occurs from the moment an employee sets foot on the workplace or its premises until the moment they leave, whether they are working or not, and whether they are under the employer’s authority or not, constitutes a work-related accident. For example, the Court of Appeals has stated in a decision: Given that washing areas at a workplace, that is, areas where insured individuals perform personal hygiene, are considered workplaces, the employer failed to provide dedicated washing areas for those who work at the workplace and stay overnight. Therefore, the employer deemed the area where the injured insured person was forced to wash by entering the “stream” at the workplace as an annex to the workplace, and the incident occurring in the stream was considered a workplace accident. (Court of Appeals, Civil Chamber of Civil Procedure, decision dated July 6, 2005, and numbered 2005/10-444 and 2005/449)
It is not necessary for the accident suffered by the employee to occur during working hours. A causal link between the incident occurring at the workplace and the damage is sufficient for a workplace accident; no further grounds need be sought for this. The accident must be a result of the work. For example, the Court of Cassation ruled in one decision: “…Given that the incident resulting in death occurred while the insured was working at the brake balancing service, when the jack slipped and the vehicle he was adjusting the brakes fell on him, this death clearly constitutes a work-related accident within the framework of Article 11/A-a,b of Law No. 506.” In another decision of the Court of Cassation, it was stated: “Since it has been established that the insured died while working at the workplace and while performing the employer’s job, in accordance with Article 11/A-a,b of Law No. 506, it is incorrect to consider that the death occurred as a result of a work-related accident, instead of deciding that the death occurred while drunk at work and that the incident is not considered a work-related accident.” Thus, it considers any incident occurring at the workplace as a work-related accident. (Court of Cassation, 9th Chamber, decision dated March 23, 1992, numbered 1991-12579/1992-3624).
B-) For an accident to be considered a work-related accident, the insured must be involved in the accident due to work being carried out at the workplace.
The insured, who served as the employer’s representative and duty manager at the workplace, and also oversaw the employer’s external affairs and courthouse affairs, traveled with the employer to a busy business center one day in the same vehicle. There, the insured was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street with the employer and died. His heirs sued the employer, seeking a determination that the incident was a workplace accident. The defendant employer argued in his defense that the insured had boarded the vehicle with him to accompany him to the business center on the day of the incident, that his primary purpose was to obtain a loan for his daughter’s wedding, and that he was not on duty. The Court of Appeals, considering that the bank from which the insured planned to obtain the loan was located elsewhere, that he was not on leave on the day of the incident, that an employee acting as the employer’s representative could not be taken to the business center without cause, and that the insured oversaw all internal and external affairs of the employer, accepted that he was on duty on the day of the incident and considered the incident a workplace accident under Article 5510/13.b. [Court of Appeals, 10th Chamber of Appeals, decision no. 7796/8681, dated October 23, 1995]
C-) If the accident occurs while traveling to and from the work location in a vehicle provided by the employer, the accident also qualifies as a work accident.
The incident where workers were killed when the vehicle was stopped by terrorists and the occupants were shot dead while being transported from Urfa to Silvan for a work dress fitting in the employer-provided shuttle vehicle was also rightly considered a work accident. However, it did not hold the employer liable for the incident, considering that, on the one hand, the cause-and-effect link between the work and the accident was severed due to the gross negligence of third parties, and, on the other hand, the employer could not be expected to ensure general road safety. [Court of Appeals, 9th Chamber of Appeals, decision no. 4294/7382, dated July 4, 1985]
D-) If a nursing female insured suffers an accident while she is away breastfeeding her child, it also qualifies as a work accident.
The Court of Cassation has deemed a work-related accident if the insured person is struck by a vehicle while crossing the street on their way to work during their nursing leave.
E-) An accident is considered a work-related accident if the insured person is transferred to a location other than their workplace on duty and is not performing their primary job.
According to the Court of Cassation’s decision [10th Chamber of the Court of Cassation, dated October 13, 1987, and numbered 5024/5139], the employer sent the insured person to another location on duty, and the employee died from a bomb explosion while sitting and talking with friends in a park on the street. The Court of Cassation has deemed the accident a work-related accident, stating, “…since it is undoubtedly true that the incident occurred during the time the insured person was transferred to another location on duty, it is a legal obligation to consider the accident a work-related accident.”