Allison v. PEPSI-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY

In this matter, we are called upon to address the emerging law regarding the circumstances under which an employee, who is fatally injured while driving home following an employer-sponsored social event, may be deemed to have sustained his injury in the course of employment. On the night of May 26, 1979, David Allison died in a single-car accident as he was returning home from a "Vegas Night” party sponsored by his employer, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, held at the Sheraton Motor Inn in Flint.

On August 28, 1979, decedent’s widow filed a petition for hearing with the Bureau of Workers’…