Wythe County Community Hospital v. Turpin

Donna Turpin (plaintiff) worked as a hospice nurse for Wythe County Community Hospital (Wythe) (defendant). Turpin was on call during the weekends. Turpin kept her nursing supplies in her car because she often drove to her patients’ homes, which involved driving on mountainous roads. While Turpin was on call, Wythe would contact her using a pager, which was somewhat unreliable. Wythe would also sometimes contact Turpin through her personal cell phone. Turpin did not regularly carry her cell phone unless she was on call, and her family and friends had been instructed not to call her cell phone on weekends when she was on call. If Wythe called Turpin while she was driving, she would pull over as soon as she could so that she could answer the call. While driving home on a mountainous road from a mandatory in-service at the hospice office on November 7, 2009, Turpin noticed her cell phone light up. Turpin was on call at the time, and she believed that she was likely receiving a call from Wythe. Turpin took her eyes off the road for a few seconds to see if Wythe was calling, and she slid on some gravel and lost control of her vehicle, crashing into a bank on the other side of the road. Later, it was discovered that Wythe had not been calling at the time of Turpin’s accident. Turpin filed a claim for workers’-compensation benefits. The deputy commissioner allowed Turpin’s claim, and the commission affirmed. Wythe appealed.