The Delivery Was Canceled: Documenting a Company-Truck Commute Injury

Permission to take a company truck home does not, by itself, establish that an injury on the next morning’s commute is covered by workers’ compensation. If a delivery was assigned and then canceled, the important question is what work remained to be done when the trip occurred. Preserve that sequence before memories and dispatch records diverge.

A canceled assignment can change the purpose of a journey without changing the vehicle, route or driver. A useful claim review therefore separates authorization to use the truck from the employer’s reason for the travel.

Build the assignment timeline

Record who requested the delivery, what was to be delivered, the destination and the permitted delivery window. Then identify when the assignment changed, who communicated the change and whether the worker knew about it before departure. Keep original messages and dispatch records, including revisions. A screenshot showing only the first instruction may omit the fact that decides the coverage question.

Next, document the actual trip: Departure and destination, items in the vehicle, any stop made for the employer, and the task being performed when the injury occurred. Distinguish the evening journey from the following morning’s return. The reason for taking a vehicle home is relevant, but it is not a substitute for examining the trip on which the worker was hurt.

Test employer benefit separately from permission

California’s going-and-coming rule generally excludes an ordinary commute to a fixed workplace at fixed hours. The special-mission exception can cover a special trip requested for the employer’s benefit. The analysis is about the actual employment connection, not simply ownership of the vehicle. Labor Code section 3600 supplies the underlying requirement that the injury arise out of and occur in the course of employment.

Consider two different records. In the first, a supervisor cancels a customer delivery, removes the company’s pipe and permits the worker to use the truck to transport personal scrap metal. In the second, the worker must still return equipment to a customer before reporting to the plant. Those are different factual questions even if both accidents occur in the same truck on the same road. The second example requires its own legal analysis; it is not a promise of coverage.

Check whether transportation was part of the job

An employer-furnished transportation theory is separate from a special errand. Preserve the employment agreement, vehicle policy, regular practice, commuting arrangement and any promise of transportation made when the job was accepted. Occasional permission to borrow a truck may not establish that the employer furnished commuting transportation as part of the employment relationship.

In Martinez v. Custom Pipe Coupling, No. ADJ17834281 (WCAB Nov. 7, 2025), the Board denied reconsideration and adopted a report rejecting both theories. The delivery had been withdrawn; the worker knew that; and the remaining use of the truck served his personal purpose. The report also found that the employer did not provide his routine transportation as part of the job. Martinez, slip op. at 1–3; adopted report at 4–7.

Preserve disagreements without choosing a story

The worker and supervisor in Martinez disagreed about permission to take the truck after cancellation. The judge explained why the claim failed even assuming permission existed. That is a useful reminder to identify which factual disputes matter under each proposed exception. Do not spend the entire investigation proving permission while leaving the employer’s remaining task unexplained.

Collect both versions, the vehicle policy and contemporaneous instructions for review. A WCAB panel decision is fact-specific persuasive authority, not a rule that every company-truck commute is excluded. MCX Legal’s analysis of the canceled-delivery decision explains why the particular exceptions failed and what a different record would need to address.

Next steps for workers after an assignment changes

1. Write a two-trip chronology that separates the evening departure from the morning injury. Identify the instructions still in force at each point, rather than assuming the original delivery request covered both journeys.
2. Keep the dispatch revision with the vehicle-use policy and the actual employment transportation agreement, if any. Note who supplied each record and which facts remain disputed; do not alter messages to make the sequence look more consistent.
3. List every employer task allegedly remaining on the injury trip and the evidence supporting it. Give counsel the unfavorable cancellation evidence as well as the original instruction so that the proposed travel exception can be evaluated accurately.

Questions about this issue

Does company ownership of the truck establish coverage?

No. The travel still needs the required employment connection; ownership and permission are relevant facts rather than automatic coverage.

What if the delivery was canceled before I left?

Preserve the cancellation and any remaining instructions. The actual purpose of the journey may differ from the original assignment.

Should I save both evening and morning trip records?

Yes. Identify the tasks, items carried and purpose of each journey, including the trip on which the injury occurred.

Read the primary source: Martinez v. Custom Pipe Coupling — filed order PDF.