Workers’ Compensation. The Touch of Class Lounge is in a suburban shopping plaza, or strip mall,…

Workers’ Compensation. The Touch of Class Lounge is in a suburban shopping plaza, or strip mall, in Omaha, Nebraska. Patricia Bauer, the Lounge’s owner, does not own the parking lot, which is provided for the common use of all of the businesses in the plaza. Stephanie Zoucha was a bartender at the Lounge. Her duties ended when she locked the door after closing. On June 4, 2001, at 1:15 A.M., Zoucha closed the bar and locked the door from the inside. An hour later, she walked to her car in the parking lot, where she was struck with “[l]ike a tire iron on the back of my head.” Zoucha sustained a skull fracture and other injuries, including significant cognitive damage (impairment of speech and thought formation). Her purse, containing her tip money, was stolen. She identified her attacker as William Nunez, who had been in the Lounge earlier that night. Zoucha filed a petition in a Nebraska state court to obtain workers’ compensation. What are the requirements for receiving workers’ compensation? Should Zoucha’s request be granted or denied? Why? [Zoucha v. Touch of Class Lounge, 269 Neb. 89, 690 N.W.2d 610 (2005)]