Injured Truckers: Understanding Your Rights to Compensation for On-the-Job Injuries

Injured Truckers’ Rights to Compensation for On-the-Job Injuries

Work-related injuries can come with lasting physical, psychological and financial impacts. For truckers who are injured while working:

• Pursuing a claim for compensation can be the key to overcoming the devastating impacts of work-related injuries.
• Knowing your rights as an injured truck driver can be essential to understanding the legal options for financial recovery – and to safeguarding and asserting these rights as you move forward to seek the compensation you may deserve.

The experienced lawyers at the Amaro Law Firm are ready to explain your rights and legal options if you or a loved one is a trucker who has been injured while working. We invite you learn more about your potential claim during a free, no obligations case review.

In the meantime, we encourage you to explore the following for some generally important insights about truckers’ rights to compensation in the aftermath of a job-related injury. Please note that a truck driver’s rights can include either or both of the following, depending on his or her situation.

Right #1 – Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim

If you are an employee of a motor carrier who has opted into a state’s workers’ compensation program, you have the right file a workers’ compensation claim, regardless of whether you, a coworker, or your employer were partly or totally at fault for the injuries. With these claims, injured truckers may be eligible to receive medical benefits and income benefits.

To protect your right to pursue a workers’ compensation claim, it’s crucial to comply with state law and:

• Report the injury to the employer within 30 days (of the injury-causing event or of the date on which the injury is discovered)
• See a physician on the employer’s or insurer’s approved list of treatment providers.

Here, it’s crucial to point out that injured truckers who are classified as independent contractors may also be eligible to pursue a workers’ compensation claim if they have been misclassified (which may be evident by the nature of their job duties, schedule, etc.).

So, do not assume that you are not entitled to workers’ compensation just because an employer has designated you as an independent contractor. The designation may be wrong, and an attorney at the Amaro Law Firm can help you identify when that may be the case.

Are You a Truck Driver Recovering from a Work-Related Injury?

Call (713) 352-7975, Text (281) 612-8024, or Contact Our Firm
for Your FREE Case Evaluation

During your FREE, no obligations consultation, we will explain your rights and legal options. We provide free virtual and mobile consultations to those who cannot visit our office.

Right #2 – Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim against Responsible Third Parties

In some cases, truckers who have been hurt on the job may also be able to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault and responsible third party, seeking compensation from:

• Third parties, such as other truck drivers and trucking companies or other motorists, when their negligence has played a role in causing the accident and injuries
• Employers when truckers working as independent contractors have been hurt as a direct result of a motor carrier’s negligence in forcing drivers to drive when unsafe to do so.

Depending on the circumstances, these personal injury cases may:

• Be pursued in addition to (or in absence of) a workers’ compensation claim
• Result in recoveries that include compensation for (but not limited to) medical bills, lost earning capacity, property damage, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and more.

Knowing whether you have the rights to financial recovery from a workers’ compensation claim and/or a personal injury case is crucial to:

• Fully asserting your rights
• Seeking the full amount of compensation you may be entitled to for your work-related injuries.

Injured Truckers’ Rights to Compensation: The Bottom Line

When it comes to suffering work-related injuries, the bottom line is that truckers generally have legal rights to seek compensation and that there may be more than one option for obtaining the financial recoveries they need and deserve.

Get Effective Help Protecting Your Rights to Recovery: Contact an 18 Wheeler Accident Attorney at the Amaro Law Firm

An experienced truck accident attorney at the Amaro Law Firm is ready to help you get on the path to justice and compensation if you or a loved one is a trucker who has been injured while working.

Call (713) 352-7975, Text (281) 612-8024, or Contact Our Firm for your FREE, no obligations consultation.

Known for our diligence, relentlessness, and compassion, our attorneys can help you seek financial recovery following any type of work-related accident. While the impacts of these accidents may never be erased by compensation (from workers’ compensation and/or personal injury claims), these recoveries can be essential to restoring lives.

The Amaro Law Firm’s record of exceptional representation and success in accident, injury, and trucker workers’ compensation claims is affirmed by glowing testimonials from former clients, as well as our 5-star ratings on Google and Facebook.