Did You Have a Vehicle Accident While Working?
If you’re injured on the job in a vehicle accident, you may receive injury compensation from different sources. Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers represent clients injured by others in vehicle accidents, whether they’re on the job or not.
How Many People Drive as Part of Their Job?
You might need to drive for your job, whether that’s what you do full-time or how you get to where you need to be to work on construction sites, repair appliances, make sales presentations, or, in our case, appear in court for our clients. The more you’re on the road, the higher the risk you’ll be in an accident.
There were 54,750 nonfatal work-related transportation accidents causing one or more days of lost work in 2020, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). They also state that 1,778 fatalities were caused that year in work-related vehicle crashes.
About 30% of the US civilian workforce drove as part of their job as of 2016, according to the BLS. Those who delivered packages and worked in law enforcement spent more time on the road, while nurses drove the least of the 32 types of workers listed. Others who drive for their job include:
- Construction managers
- Insurance sales agents
- Lawyers
- Home health aides
- Corrections officers
- Construction laborers
- Financial managers
BLS estimated that the share of those working in these positions who drive ranges from 70.5% to 10.5%. BLS also estimates that in March of this year, 1.9 million people were employed in Kentucky. If the 30% figure is still accurate, that means about 570,000 people in the state drive vehicles while on the job.
You Should Receive Workers’ Compensation Benefits If You’re Injured on the Job
You should collect workers’ compensation benefits if you are on the job while driving, in an accident, and injured. Workers’ compensation is a system of benefits for employees injured or ill due to their jobs. Injuries caused in a vehicle accident while driving somewhere to benefit your employer should be covered.
You could get the following benefits:
- Partial replacement of your lost income
- Compensation for a permanent disability
- Vocational retraining, if you’re too disabled to go back to your job
- Medical and rehabilitation care
If you’re killed in the accident, your next of kin can seek death benefits. Workers’ compensation benefits don’t include compensation for pain and suffering. You’ll also only get part of your lost income.
Filing an Insurance Claim or Lawsuit Against the At-Fault Parties May Be an Option
If you choose no-fault insurance, through your personal vehicle insurance, you may get benefits beyond what you get from workers’ comp. They should cover your medical care, but insurance may provide you the difference in your lost pay and any additional costs you’ve paid due to the accident.
Under certain circumstances, you can go beyond your no-fault coverage and file a claim with the other party’s insurer. If we can’t agree on a settlement, we may file a lawsuit seeking compensation for what workers’ compensation hasn’t provided you if the injuries result in at least $1,000.00 in medical bills or the following:
- A permanent disfigurement
- The fracture of a weight-bearing bone
- The compressed, compound, or displaced fracture of any bone
- A permanent injury
- A permanent loss of a bodily function
If you decided not to take no-fault insurance, you could file a claim with the insurer covering the responsible party without these limitations or a lawsuit.
Who’s at Fault Matters in Insurance Claims and Lawsuits
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. You need not prove your employer caused your injuries, and you will receive benefits if you were hurt while on the job unless you were intoxicated or intentionally caused the accident.
Insurance claims and lawsuits are based on Kentucky’s system of comparative negligence. To be successful, you would need to prove the following negligence elements:
- There was a relationship between you and the defendant (the party sued) because you both shared the road, and the defendant owed you a legal obligation or duty to do or refrain from doing something given the situation
- The defendant failed that obligation or breached that duty
- That failure or breach is the factual and legal (or proximate) cause of the accident and your injury
- You were harmed by the accident
- Under Kentucky law, the defendant must pay you damages (the harm you suffer measured in dollars)
Your damages recovery would be reduced by your share of the blame, if any, for causing the accident.
Your legal rights to compensation for a work-related injury not caused by your employer go beyond vehicle accidents. They apply to any situation where a third party’s negligence harms you, including a slip and fall, electrocution, a defective tool, burns caused by fire or chemicals, or an illness resulting from a toxic or biological exposure.
Speak To A Satterley & Kelley, PLLC Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you’re injured at work because of someone other than your employer, Satterley & Kelley PLLC lawyers are here to protect your interests and legal rights to compensation.
To schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your situation, call our Louisville office at 855-385-9532. If it’s more convenient, you can also complete our contact form.